In March 1931, a special session of the Congress was held at Karachi to endorse the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Six days before the session (which was held on March 29) Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed. Throughout Gandhi’s route to Karachi, he was greeted with black flag demonstrations by the Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha, in protest against his failure to secure commutation of the death sentence for Bhagat and his comrades:
Congress Resolutions at Karachi
● While disapproving of and dissociating itself from political violence, the Congress admired the ‘bravery’ and ‘sacrifice’ of the three martyrs.
● The Delhi Pact or Gandhi-Irwin Pact was endorsed.
● The goal of Purna Swaraj was reiterated.
● Two resolutions were adopted—one on Fundamental
Rights and the other on National Economic Programme — which made the session particularly memorable. The Resolution on Fundamental Rights guaranteed —
- free speech and free press
- right to form associations
- right to assemble
- universal adult franchise
- equal legal rights, irrespective of caste, creed and sex
- neutrality of state in religious matters
- free and compulsory primary education
- protection to culture, language, script of minorities and linguistic groups
The Resolution on National Economic Programme
Included —
- substantial reduction in rent and revenue in the case of landholders and peasants
- exemption from rent for uneconomic holdings
- relief from agricultural indebtedness
- control of usury
- better conditions of work, including a living wage, limited hours of work and protection of women workers in the industrial sector
- right to workers and peasants to form unions
- state ownership and control of key industries, mines and means of transport
This was the first time the Congress spelt out what swaraj would mean for the masses — “in order to end exploitation of masses, political freedom must include economic freedom of starving millions.”
The Karachi Resolution was to remain, in essence, the basic political and economic programme of the Congress in later years.
