SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis is essentially an analysis of British attitudes towards Indian nationalism between 1922 and 1935. It rests upon the argument that attitudes created paradigms of perception which conditioned responses to events and situations and thus helped to shape the contours of British policy in India. Although resistant to change, attitudes could be and were altered and the consequent paradigm shift facilitated political change. Books, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, private papers of individuals, official records, and the records of some interest groups have been examined to re-create, as far as possible, the structure of beliefs and opinions that existed in Britain with regard to Indian nationalism and its more concrete manifestations, and to discover the social, political, economic and intellectual roots of the beliefs and opinions. The first chapter is an introductory discussion of attitudes considered as ideological correlates of imperialism. The second chapter deals with British views on the working of Dyarchy in India and Indian demands for further reforms. British reactions to the rise of militant nationalism and the controversy over the Simon Commission are analysed in the third chapter. The fourth chapter is primarily an examination of the responses to the first civil disobedience campaign and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The fifth and sixth chapters analyse the debate on the White Paper, the activities of some pressure groups, the role played by the State in moulding public opinion, and the discussions leading up to the 1935 Act. The seventh and final chapter draws together the threads and sets out the conclusions derived from this study.