Question
Write about Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929-1933)
Answer
The Meerut Conspiracy Case refers to the false lawsuit that was filed against 33 union leaders on 20th March 1929 by the British government in India. The leaders who were convicted included Muzaffar Ahmed, Sripad Amrit Dange, Gangadhar Adhikary, P.C. Joshi, Mirajkar, Benjamin Bradly, and Philip Sprat, among others. They were all sentenced to long-term imprisonment, which severely weakened the leftist labour movement. The verdict of this conspiracy case led to the banning of all publicities of Congress and communist parties in 1933. This was a serious challenge to the growth of the labour movement in India. In response, reformative labour leaders such as V.V. Giri and N.M. Joshi formed the All India Trade Union Federation (AITUF), which had differences from the leftist labour leaders. The suppression of the labour movement by the British government and idealistic breakups within labour organizations caused the labour movement to decline in 1931. However, in 1935, the communists joined together with AITUC, leading to the revival of the labour movement once again.
