Towards Freedom: Documents on the Movement for Independence in India, 1940, Part I

The Towards Freedom volumes, each edited by a distinguished scholar, bring together historical materials relating to the period 1937-47 from a wide variety of sources–official records, private and organizational papers, newspapers, and other contemporary publications available within the country. The series presents, documents relating to the activities, attitudes, and ideas of diverse classes and sections of Indian society, all of which contributed to the attainment of independence with partition. This volume systematically covers the sociopolitical history of British India during 1940. It examines the events and negotiations surrounding the Second World War. The first chapter discusses the various responses to the war. Chapter 2 deals with the constitutional negotiations promised/demanded in lieu of Indian support of the war. The next examines civil disobedience programmes and activities of the Indian National Congress and the left parties. The concluding two chapters respectively deal with the individual satyagraha movement and the communal politics.   A unique resource, this collection presents unpublished documents from the national and state archives and the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, as well as extracts from English newspapers and weeklies and some collections of private papers. It sheds light on the contours of the freedom movement in British India, as well as movements for civil and political rights, socio-cultural movements, and constitutional legislation. The general editor's preface provides the context and focus for the series as a whole. K.N. Panikkar's introduction to the volume provides a comprehensive analyses of the documents. The Calendar of Documents at the beginning of the volume is an excellent guide to the selected source material. This volume will be indispensable for research scholars, professional historians, teachers and students of history, particularly those concerned with the Indian national movement and British imperialism.