Congress Rule in Provinces

Congress ministries were formed in Bombay, Madras, Central Provinces, Orissa, United Provinces, Bihar and later in the NWFP and Assam also.

1. Guidance by Gandhi
- Gandhi advised Congressmen to hold offices lightly, treating them as ‘crowns of thorns’.
- Aim: Prove Congress could rule with minimal police/army dependence.

2. Public Response
- Huge enthusiasm; suppressed energies released.
- Congress prestige increased since it could lead people and administer government.

3. Limitations of Congress Ministries
- Could not change the imperialist nature of the system.
- Radical transformation was impossible due to structural constraints.

4. Civil Liberties Reforms
- Emergency laws repealed.
- Bans on organisations and journals lifted.
- Press restrictions removed; newspapers delisted from blacklists.
- Confiscated arms/licences restored.
- Political prisoners released; deportation orders revoked.
- Police powers reduced; CID surveillance stopped.
- Confiscated lands (Bombay) restored; pensions reinstated.

5. Agrarian Reforms: Constraints
- Limited powers of ministries.
- Financial constraints—Centre took major revenue share.
- Need to maintain class adjustments (zamindars, moneylenders).
- Limited time due to emerging war clouds (1938).
- Reactionary Second Chambers blocked progressive legislation.
- Agrarian structure too complex for rapid reform.

6. Labour Policy
- Ministries tried to balance labour-capital interests.
- Improved wages and working conditions.
- Treated militant strikes as law-and-order issues.
- Section 144 used; leftists disapproved.
- Nehru unhappy but defended ministries publicly.
- Gandhi supported non-violent mobilization and political education.

7. Social Welfare Reforms
- Prohibition in select areas.
- Harijan upliftment: temple entry, access to public facilities, scholarships.
- Expansion of education and public health.
- Promotion of khadi through subsidies.
- Prison reforms.
- Support to indigenous industries.
- National Planning Committee set up under Subhash Bose (1938).

8. Extra-Parliamentary Work
- Mass literacy drives.
- Congress police stations and panchayats.
- Grievance committees submitting petitions.
- Strong support to Prajamandal (state peoples' movements).

9. Significance of Congress Rule (28 months)
- Proved Indian self-government could transform society.
- Demonstrated state power could be used without co-option.
- Congress controlled communal riots effectively.
- Bureaucratic morale dropped.
- Neutralised hostile classes such as landlords.
- Helped people visualize governance after independence.
- Broke colonial myth that Indians cannot rule.

10. Aftermath
- Congress ministries resigned in October 1939 after Britain declared war.
- Congress debated supporting Prajamandal struggles in princely states.
- Muslim League formed Pirpur Committee (1938) alleging Congress atrocities.
- Congress realised the difficulty of fulfilling diverse popular expectations.
 

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Subject: Modern History

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