When Oppression Falls, Liberation Calls: Purna Swaraj

Liberation has different meanings for different people. The longer one is held under oppression, the stronger is the desire for freedom. So when the centuries-long Colonial rule loosens its stronghold, will India gain its freedom?

Gathering on the banks of river Ravi on 31st December 1929; Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

According to Indian tradition, the river is a symbol of purity. The cold waves jolts anyone and everyone who wants to wake up from their slumber. In 1929 this belief was to be put to practice once more, as the  National Congress took a pledge of freedom, Purna Swaraj, or complete self-rule.

It was non-other than the lifeline of Lahore, the river Ravi. It has a glorious history of its own and has witnessed many important events like the battle where the kingdom of Bharata emerged triumphant. Following which Valmiki would narrate the tale of the ideal king, Rama, in his Ramayana along the banks of this river. It was also the cleansing source for Guru Nanak where he performed ashnan (bath, as a purification process) and it provided a haven to the tortured body of Guru Arjan. And yet the river remained in all its glory on that chilly winter night of December 31, 1929, ready to witness another historic moment along with millions of Indians.

But what did Purna Swaraj actually mean to these people? For the young president(Jawaharlal Nehru) of a political party that deemed to represent the interest of all Indians 'Purna Swaraj meant a socialist overhaul of the economic structures of the country '. Nehru's new kind of nationalism borrowed from the Dialectical Materialism of Karl Marx. Furthermore, he was also influenced by the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that effectively brought the tsarist rule in Russia to an end.

Purna Swaraj for Nehru, therefore, 'was not just an overthrow of the colonial state but also a new economic policy, of nationalisation, of land reforms, of taking from the elite and distributing to the have-nots'.

Nehru was supported in his endeavour by communist workers, who believed that the Indian National Congress would usher in a proletariat revolution. These workers were also inspired by Bhagat Singh who had gained prominence because of his dauntless character. For instance, Bhagat Singh in order to have better prison conditions in a colonial jail held a hunger strike. By the end of 1929, the atmosphere had transformed in India. Revolutionaries would passionately wait for their day of liberation.

Yet, when Nehru found himself in the company of the most prominent industrialists and personalities of the nation while taking the pledge, one could sense the skepticism that laid thick in the air. Not everyone could fully agree with the notion of Purna Swaraj as a vehicle for liberation. For many of those attendees, 'Purna Swaraj meant an enhancement in economic opportunities'.

Many burgeoning middle class who had benefited from the colonial educational institutions also formed a part of the attending delegation. They belonged to various communities like Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus.

For them, 'Purna Swaraj meant better positions in government departments, and an independent nation where they received a fair representation in the bureaucratic machinery '.

Politics for them was a tool to achieve their aims and goals. In a bureaucratic set-up where fair representation was already an issue of contention, Lahore wasn't untouched. Some delegates belonged to the Arya Samaj. For them 'Purna Swaraj meant a revival of the glorious Hindu past that had been corrupted by the influence of foreigners, including Mughals and other Muslim rulers before the British. For them, Purna Swaraj was not simply a handover of authority from the British to the Indians but a cultural revolution that would bring about the true spirit of India, represented by Hinduism'. The Indian National Congress for them thus represented an 'anti-imperial party' that final point of liberation.

Tying everyone together was Mahatma Gandhi, who had by then emerged as the leading figure of the Indian freedom struggle. But even his own vision of Purna Swaraj was different. For him while ‘it represented political freedom on one hand, on the other it also meant control over one’s own impulse'.

The latter was more important for Gandhi if one wanted to achieve the former. Internal self-control preceded political freedom and Gandhi left no stone unturned to further this cause. For instance, after a clash between the police and his supporters in Chauri Chaura which killed some 25 people, he abandoned his civil disobedience movement disappointed by the lack of self-control.

Thus, when the historic Purna Swaraj was pledged by thousands of people in Lahore on that night, each brought with them their own interpretations of Purna Swaraj. Nevertheless, this pledge would be celebrated every year on the 26th of January. This date was also chosen as the day when. The Constitution of India also came into effect on this day in 1950. It would be celebrated as Republic day.

Ninety years since the pledge was signed, the idea of India still remains at variance and convoluted. However, this idea survives in each of us despite our differences, just like it did among the bunch of people that had gathered under the banner of the Indian National Congress on the banks of the Ravi.