India League

The India League originally was a Britain-based organisation whose aim was to campaign for the full independence and self-governance of India.[1] It was formally established in 1928 by Krishna Menon and was the most influential and successful organisation in Britain during the 1930s and 1940s to fight against British imperialism.[2] In the early years, the India League was supported by stalwarts such as Bertrand Russell, Michael Foot, and Jawaharlal Nehru;[2] Russell and Foot both went on to chair the League. Nehru, being very close friends with Menon, supported the League throughout.[3] The League was revived in 2020 and its new objectives include being a think-tank which examines the views/needs of Indians in the UK.[4] The name of this new entity is the 1928 Institute and it is affectionately called the League.[4]

The India League
PredecessorHome Rule for India League (est. 1916) Commonwealth of India League (est. 1922)
Formation1928 (formally established)
FounderKrishna Menon
PurposeThink Tank. Community Group. Charity.
OriginsIndian Independence Movement
Websitewww.1928institute.org
146 Strand, London WC2 - former HQ

In the 1910s, the "Home Rule Movement" was started in India by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Its objective was to push for the self-governance for India. In 1916, Annie Besant started a separate yet similar organisation and modelled it on the Irish freedom movement—"Home Rule for India League".[5] This in 1922 morphed into the "Commonwealth of India League" and had the objective of lobbying British MPs for self governance whilst remaining within the Empire.[5]

Freedom struggle

In 1928, Krishna Menon took control of the organisation and formalised it into the famous "India League". Menon was a charismatic, well-connected, and eloquent. This allowed him to flourish in elite British left-wing circles where he influenced several top intellectuals, subsequently, involving them with the league.[6] Additionally, breaking with past conventions, the League now demanded full independence for India.[6]

As the 1930s progressed, a few other UK based groups had this objective. As the League was the most powerful and influential, it often acted as the co-coordinating force. The League was effective at educating the British public about the atrocities of colonial rule and the hypocrisies of the Empire.[7] It did this by organising public meetings, distributing pamphlets, and engaging with media/policy-makers. They formed alliances with organisations such as women's groups, workers organisations, anti-imperialists, and anti-capitalists. The League documented and then provided robust information to ‘influencers’ and often won the moral case for independence. The League would regularly host events where the intellectual heavy-weights of British society would be present and engaged. Those involved with the League include: Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Michael Foot, Bertrand Russell, Stafford Cripps, Aneurin Bevan, Ellen Wilkinson, Harold Laski, and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.[8]

Affiliations with other Indian groups

The League's members were mostly British elites and wealthy Indian students and apprentices. However, as more working-class Indians came to Britain in the 1930s, a new organisation was formalised.[6] In Coventry 1939, the Indian Workers Association (IWA) was born and became affiliated with the League. Many members of such groups were watched by Scotland Yard as their revolutionary activities ran contrary to the interests of imperial Britain.[8] The original IWA partook in street marches and highlighted India's plight to the sympathetic British working-class. In the UK, the League was affiliated to the Labour Party and the Communist Party. In India, the League worked very close to the Indian National Congress due to the friendship of Krishna Menon and soon-to-be prime minister, Nehru.[2] In 1951, the League created the India Club as an official meeting venue, the club is now independent of the League and based in the Strand, London.

Post India's independence

Post India's independence and partition, the League stayed affiliated to the aforementioned groups, but its role changed. The League became an organisation to promote a cross-cultural understanding of India and the UK, in addition to, helping new Indian migrants settle into British life.[2] The League had chapters across the UK who would put on cultural events and engaged with local politics. During the 1960s/1970s, the League would partake in anti-racism activism and fought to ensure social cohesion between native and migrant populations. A former League President, Ujagar Singh Rurka (the grandfather of Baroness Verma), was even invited to a Royal Garden Party.[9] Other notable members of the League include Lord Desai and its former Chair, V P Hansrani.[4]

Decline and renewal

As many new organisations came about in the 1980s onward, the League's unique place in society was no longer apparent. As many of its founding members had died and with no one to carry the baton, the League slowly began to lose relevance as its various leaders struggled to adapt it to a changing world. However, the League has continued on with minor activities. Such activities included tending the Gandhi statue in Tavistock Square, London.[10]

In 2020, the League (now formally the 1928 Institute) was repurposed as a progressive platform for contextualising Indian ideas in the modern era, in addition to, a body which represents the views of British Indians.[4] The League's first project is in conjunction with the University of Oxford and they are writing a seminal report on Indians in the UK.[11] This report will be launched in Parliament and will touch on issues ranging from, Health to Representation to Political Priorities.[11]

References
  1. Nasta, Susheila. "The India League". Open University.
  2. Ramesh, Jairam. A chequered brilliance : the many lives of V.K. Krishna Menon. Haryana, India. ISBN 978-0-670-09232-1. OCLC 1138886625.
  3. Smita, Sarkar; Anand Pillai (2017). "India League in a league of its own". Asian Voice.
  4. "Our Story".
  5. "Home Rule India League".
  6. India in Britain : South Asian networks and connections, 1858-1950. Nasta, Susheila. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013. ISBN 978-0-230-39271-7. OCLC 802321049.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. India in Britain: South Asian networks and connections, 1858-1950. Nasta, Susheila. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013. ISBN 978-0-230-39271-7. OCLC 802321049.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Chakravarty, Suhash (1997). V.K. Krishna Menon and the India League, 1925–47. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 81-241-0544-8. OCLC 38139683.
  9. Hansrani, Vidya Parkash (1980). My Memories & Recollections: Indians in Britain, 1930–1970. `Leicester.
  10. Sarkar, Smita (2019). "Remembering Mahatma through India League". Asian Voice.
  11. "The British Indian Census". 2020.
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