TNPSC Indian National Movement (INM) Free Notes-Meerut Conspiracy Case – 1929

இந்தக் கட்டுரையில், TNPSC குரூப் 1, குரூப் 2, குரூப் 2A, குரூப் 4 மாநிலப் போட்டித் தேர்வுகளான TNUSRB, TRB, TET, TNEB போன்றவற்றுக்கான  முறைகள் இலவசக் குறிப்புகளைப் பெறுவீர்கள்.தேர்வுக்கு தயாராவோர் இங்குள்ள பாடக்குறிப்புகளை படித்து பயன்பெற வாழ்த்துகிறோம்.

Meerut Conspiracy Case – 1929

Communist Activities
 The Meerut Conspiracy Case of 1929 was the most famous of all the communist
conspiracy cases instituted by the British Government.
 The late 1920s witnessed a number of labour upsurges.
 Period of unrest extended into the decade of the Great Depression (1929–1939).
 Trade unionism spread over to many urban centres and organised labour strikes.
 The communists played a prominent role in organising the working class throughout this
period.

Important strikes
 1927 February and September- The Kharagpur Railway workshop strikes
 1928 January and July – The Liluah Rail workshop strike
 1928 – The Calcutta scavengers’ strike
 1928 April – The textile workers’ strike in Bombay
 1928 July – The strike at the Golden Rock workshop of the South Indian Railway,
Tiruchirappalli.
 1929 July-August – The several strikes in Bengal jute mills

Government Repression
 Due to more strikes and the spread of communist activities, the British Government
brought two draconian Acts.
 The Trade Disputes Act, 1928
 The Public Safety Bill, 1928.
 These Acts armed the government with powers to curtail civil liberties in general and
suppress the trade union activities in particular.
 The government was worried about the strong communist influence among the workers
and peasants.
 They arrested 32 leading activists of the Communist Party, from different parts of British
India like Bombay, Calcutta, Punjab, Poona and United Provinces.
 Most of them were trade union activists though not all of them were members of the
Communist Party of India.
 At least eight of them belonged to the Indian National Congress.
 The arrested included three British communists-Philip Spratt, Ban Bradley and Lester
Hutchinson, who had been sent by the Communist Party of Great Britain to help build
the party in India.
 Like the Kanpur Conspiracy Case those arrested were charged under Section 121A of the
Indian Penal Code.
 All the 32 leaders arrested were brought to Meerut and jailed.

Trial and Punishment
 A National Meerut Prisoners Defence Committee was formed to coordinate defence in
the case.
 Famous Indian lawyers like K.F. Nariman and M.C. Chagla appeared in the court on
behalf of the accused.
 Even national leaders like Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru visited the accused in jail.
 16 January 1933 – The Sessions Court in Meerut awarded stringent sentences, four years
after the arrests in 1929.
 27 were convicted and sentenced to various duration of transportation.
 Most importantly, Romain Rolland and Albert Einstein raised their voice in support of
the convicted.
 Under the national and international pressure, on appeal, the sentences were
considerably reduced in July 1933.

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