(Dr Pentapati Pullarao)
In the 2024 elections, the BJP made great efforts in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal to get victory. The vote percentages have gone up. But very few MPs were won. Many observers then said BJP cannot win in these states and there is some special resistance. At the same time, BJP has made fast progress in Odisha and Telangana. The results of 2024 elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and some other places have some foundation in the historical action the British took in 1921. The BJP was founded in 1951. The BJP first formed governments in states, where Kings ruled and not the British directly, like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh.
History decided which states BJP will win first: There very good historical reasons for this situation. Studying history helps explain how past actions of the British have impacted events today. The election results of 2024 have its roots in decisions the British government made in 1920.
British Chamber of Princes law in 1920: The British were ruling some parts of India directly and had agreements with kings in other parts. The British formed the “Chamber of Princes “in 1920. The parts where the British ruled directly through governors was called British India. The parts where Kings ruled was called “India “and British formed Chamber of princes for them. There were 120 major kingdoms and 327 minor kingdoms. The kings were subservient to the King of England. But in their kingdoms, they had absolute freedom, with some conditions. The British felt that rather than fight with such historical kings, it is better to come to an agreement. Or the kings will always rebel or ask the French or other enemies of British to fight the British. In this way, the British secured loyalty of the kings and the kings had freedom in their kingdoms.
British India: 1. The freedom struggle started ferociously under Mahatma Gandhi in British India. The princes never allowed the Congress party to work fully in the states. So, the Congress party became the recognized opposition in British India and people gave maximum respect to Congress and Mahatma Gandhi. 2. The British in British India encouraged rival parties against the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi, like Mohammed Jinnah and others. Notably, in South India, British encouraged Justice Party, which was the forerunner of the DMK. But the Congress and mahatma Gandhi were recognized as supreme. 3. When British left India in 1947, the Congress became the natural party of governance, in all areas which was British India. These areas are present day Tamil Nadu, Kerala, parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Bengal. 4. Areas where there were Kings: In such areas, where Rajas ruled, there was very little of Congress party. In 1947, when freedom came, there was space for the BJP and the Rajas generally supported the BJP. Such States were Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and yes, even Hyderabad., where the Nizam ruled. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh part of Madras Presidency: The British has 3 Presidencies or Provinces. They were Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. Under Madras, there was Tamil Nadu, Kerala and present-day Andhra Pradesh. In such states, the BJP has been growing very slowly. This is because in 1947 (Independence), the Congress and other political parties were already establs8ihed. The BJP was totally absent. It takes time for BJP to grow in British India States: In the princely states, the BJP grew easily since in such states, the Congress was weak. From 1967, the BJP started growing in all such former princely states, as the Congress was declining too. For BJP to grow in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, Congress and other parties existed, and the BJP can grow slowly. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP is growing slowly. People expect sudden electoral miracles. But that is not possible, as all these areas were in British India, where Congress was strong. In Telangana, the BJP has grown faster, as it was earlier a princely state, ruled by the Nizam.
History always impact life: The actions of the British in 1920 have impacted election results of 2024. If the British also ruled princely states, then the BJP would not have grown fast in those states too. The British followed the example of Greek Emperor Alexander, who defeated Indian King Poros in present –day Punjab, nearly 2500 years ago. But Alexander handed back King Porus his kingdom, asking him to rule in his name. Alexander felt that fighting such kings would be costly and deadly. The British also felt that fighting popular kings would end in disaster. So, they created “Princely India “, where Indian kings ruled, with British domination and absence of Mahatma Gandhi and Congress.
Great Indian leaders came from British India: Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr. Ambedkar, Gopalakrishna Gokhale, Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajaji, Annadurai and Kamaraj of Tamil Nadu, Jag Jiwan Ram and first Rashtrapati Rajendra Prasad of Bihar, Tanguturi Prakasam and Sanjivayya, Sanjiva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh- they were all from British India. The British studied history thoroughly and used that knowledge to rule India and most of the world. Indian politicians of freedom struggle all knew history. But the present set of politicians are forgetful of how important history is and how everything that happens has its roots in history. Study the past to know the future. The British ensured that Indian history was quietly forgotten. Unless Indians know their history, how can they face the future? The mistakes made can teach us so much. We need to study Indian history to master the future.
(Author is a Political and Economic analyst based in New Delhi)
