The Upsurge of 1946: A Deadlock to the Constitutional Process of India as Revealed in the Political Writings of Madras Presidency

Abstract

The year 1946 A.D has an important place in the history of Indian National Movement. That year the Indian leaders were busy in negotiations with the British concerning independence of India, the Indian citizens, without any guidance from them, expressed their deep sentiment against continuation of the British rule. The mass movements began with protests against the trails of the officers of the Indian National Army. Protest meetings were held all over India in which people of all shades participated and demanded the release of officers and soldiers of INA unconditionally. They were released by the British Government. In the same year the Indian Air Force expressed its resentment against the government. The Postal and Telegraph department observed India wide hartal and in south, the Indian Railways did the same. The peasants also expressed their solidarity with the rest of the Indian population. The students also became involved with these mass movements and organized processions, meetings, etc. for getting the demands of the national leaders accepted by the government. Yet, all of them exhibited national resentment against the British rule in India. It was a year that the Indian people had decided that if the British Government failed to reach an agreement with the national leaders this time, they would fight against it. This was a novelty in the Indian National Movement that, without a call from the national leaders, the Indian people decided to fight against the government on their own. The British government, probably, realized that it couldn’t or shouldn’t face this mass upsurge.