Mustafa Kemal Pasha: The Ataturk of Turkey

 Mustafa Kemal Pasha

(The Ataturk of Turkey)

    Mustafa Kemal Pasha remains the most loved leader in modern history of Turkey. He is called as the Ataturk meaning the Father of the Nation. He is immensely loved by Turks because he established the Republic in Turkey after First World in early 1920s by overthrowing monarchy. Not only so, he modernized Turkey by introducing reforms.

    He was born in the year 1881 in Salonika in Greece. The name of his father was Ali Riza and that of mother was Zubeyde Hanim. His father was having military background. Hence, Mustafa’s father wanted his son to be a military person. One of the important aspects of Ali Riza’s thinking was that he believed in secular education. Naturally, he sent Mustafa to secular school instead of religious one. It can be said that secular education made deep impact on the mind of young Mustafa. That is why he promoted secular and scientific education after becoming ruler of Turkey and modernised his country by heavily coming down on religious fundamentalists.

    Mustafa Kemal Pasha was attracted towards military service. Hence, after clearing the entrance examination he joined the Secondary Military School in order to pursue a career in armed forces. He was given the title of Kemal by his Mathematics teacher. The meaning of the word Kemal is the Perfect One. Mustafa later on studied in War College and General Staff College.

    Mustafa Kemal Pasha was a nationalist and patriot at core. He loved his country very much and wanted to transform it into modern one. At that point of time Turkey was ruled by Sultans who also used to be the Caliphs of the Muslim world. In order to bring positive changes in Turkey Mustafa Kemal Pasha had played an important role in the establishment of Society for Fatherland and Freedom. He was utterly unhappy with the type of training given to Turkish military. He wanted that Turkish military forces should be given proper modern training like European countries. He had translated the German Military manuals in Turkish language. It showed his intention of modernising Turkish army.

    Kemal Pasha formed the nationalist government at Ankara around 1920. This government of Mustafa Kemal Pasha was rival to that of the one run by Sultan Muhammad VI from Istanbul. At last he was able to force Sultan Muhammad VI to go into exile in the month of November in 1922. Mustafa Kemal Pasha formed the Republic in Turkey on 29 October 1923 formally.

    It would not be an exaggeration to say that Mustafa Kemal Pasha wanted to transform his country totally and bring it to the level of advanced European countries. After coming to power he embarked on a fantastic journey of introducing manifold reforms in Turkey.

Let us discuss the reforms of Kemal Pasha in the forthcoming paragraphs.

    Kemal Pasha realised that there is a need to revamp the administrative set up of the country. It is always difficult for the rulers to provide good governance in the absence of effective administrative system with various layers. This was exactly understood by Mustafa Kemal Pasha. He divided his country into vilayets i.e. provinces, kazas i.e. districts and nahiyas i.e. boroughs. The number of provinces was sixty two and that of districts was four hundred and thirty. This system helped government to reach upto the last person in society. It is evident that this system was having three layers of administration. It could be observed that he not only divided and properly decentralised the administration at province, district and borough level but saw to it that government servants serve the people properly and efficiently.

    He knew very well that until and unless Turkey’s military power is enhanced it would not command the respect from great powers and refrain her enemies to attack her. He trained the armed forces rigorously and disciplined them. Modern weapons were procured. Due attention was given towards modernisation of air force as it was fast emerging as an important wing of armed forces since the First World War. Even artillery was given due attention. For modernisation of armed forces or military funds were sanctioned.

    Turkey was and even today is predominantly Muslim country as the people believing in Islam form majority. Mustafa Kemal Pasha wanted to secularise the country. In 1928 National Assembly declared that Islam was one of the religions in the country paving the way for secularisation of Turkey. He knew quite well that the efforts of modernisation and westernisation of Turkey would not go down well in a religiously conservative country. The conservative Muslim Clergies would have definitely opposed his reforms and some did so as well, that is why Mustafa Kemal Pasha banned the sacred tombs as places of worship. He also made efforts to weaken the position of Clergies. The properties belonging to monasteries were taken over by the state in order to utilise it for providing public facilities. The restrictions were imposed on religious orders.

    Mustafa Kemal Pasha knew that in newly emerging modernised and westernised Turkey there would be a need of modern laws and legal system. Hence, decision was made to do away with the age-old religious laws and legal system. In it’s place modern judicial system was introduced and laws were framed on European models. The laws of European countries like Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, etc. were studied and  modern commercial, criminal and civil laws were introduced in Turkey.

    Reforms in the field of education were considered quite important by Mustafa Kemal Pasha for creating sensitive knowledge society which would receive his reform programme in positive manner. He converted the religious schools called as madrasas into state run secular schools where modern subjects were taught. He instructed the experts to find the way for writing Turkish language in Roman alphabets instead of Arabic script. Institutions for providing legal, administrative and agricultural education were established. Training institutes were started in order to train teachers so that they could teach students properly and appropriately. Efforts were made to see to it that hundred percent children in the age groups of six to sixteen attend the newly modernised secular schools. He also provided scholarships to students who wished to study abroad, especially Europe.

    Both men and women play vital role in the progress made by a country and society. Mustafa Kemal Pasha had understood it very well. Hence, he wanted to ensure the participation of women in the path of modernisaion, westernisation and development of Turkey. In Turkish society women were subjected to various restrictions and exploitation which had resulted into their lower social status. They were also denied the right to proper education. This scenario was reversed by him. Doors of education were equally opened for women. Women were allowed to pursue legal education, become teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, etc. They were given voting rights from local to national elections. They could now contest the elections for National Assembly and become the Members of Parliament. Polygamy and purdah system was discouraged. Women could start business if they wanted to. Men and women could talk openly and feel free in each other’s company in public places thanks to encouragement given by Mustafa Kemal Pasha.

    Mustafa Kemal Pasha wanted to bring cultural changes in Turkey which he believed would help him to modernise it. Accordingly, western style of dresses were promoted among men and women. He asked people to greet each other in European style such as shaking hands. Even the western music was promoted. He also asked Turkish men to wear European style of caps and hats. Weekly public holiday was shifted from Friday to Sunday. In place of Lunar calendar Solar calendar on European model was introduced in Turkey.

    It was quite clear to Mustafa Kemal Pasha that the reform programme for modernisation and westernisation would not be received well with by the people until and unless economic development was achieved. Proper economic planning and it’s execution was done. Industrialisation was promoted. For motivating industrialists and manufacturers tax concessions and even tax holidays were declared. Farmers were urged to adopt modern techniques of agriculture. They were asked to go for crops like figs, opium, cotton, tobacco, etc. Farmers were encouraged for cattle breeding and sheep rearing which would help them to earn extra income. Various minerals like manganese, mercury, coal, copper, etc. were mined. He gave emphasis on developing infrastructure in order to accelerate the economic development. It included laying down railroads and building highways. He even set up banks in Turkey. Emphasis was given on generating employment opportunities. Appropriate measures were taken to earn income from oil resources of Turkey. These efforts of Mustafa Kemal Pasha paid rich dividends and put Turkey on the path of economic development. If we look at today’s Turkey and its well organised and efficient economy, certainly we need to give credit of it to the initiatives undertaken by Mustafa Kemal Pasha who is aptly called as Ataturk by Turks. Meaning of word Ataturk is Father of Nation.

    While modernising and westernising Turkey, Kemal Pasha gave due attention towards foreign policy as well. He successfully renegotiated with Allied Powers and convinced them to replace Treaty of Severes with that of Treaty of Lausanne. Newly signed Treaty of Lausanne was beneficial to Turkey than that of Treaty of Severes  which was imposed on Turkey by Allies after First World War. With the rise of extremist fascist powers in Italy and Germany Mustafa Kemal Pasha improved relations with Allied Powers like England and France which in turn allowed Turkey to militarise the Straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles and allowed her to control these Straits completely during war time. It was a great diplomatic victory for Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Pasha tried to have peaceful relations with its eastern neighbours like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Measured by all means Mustafa Kemal Pasha remains the greatest leader of Turkey. He totally transformed a backward country into modern, western and developed one. This great leader of Turkey died in 1938. His countrymen were highly indebted to him and were in great grief after the death of their beloved leader. It can be apt to say that he made use of his power for promoting Republic in Turkey.

 

 

 

Geographical Discoveries

 

Geographical Discoveries

In late medieval period Europeans were involved in a very unique and new kind of adventure known as Geographical discoveries. In 1453 the Ottoman Turks conquered the city of Constantinople which was the capital of Byzantine Empire. It affected the European trade with the eastern part of the world, mainly India and China through land route. As far as trade through sea was concerned it was monopolised by Italy. Through Mediterranean Sea route the goods were brought to Italy and later on they were distributed in other parts of Europe. Hence, many Italian cities like Venice had emerged as important trade centers in Europe. With the fall of Constantinople in the hands of Ottoman Turks, the Europeans were strongly resolved to find new sea routes which would take them to the East.

The Europeans were not only interested in exploring new sea routes but also acquiring land and attempt adventures. Apart from these factors there were many reasons responsible for the Geographical discoveries. These causes are as following:

The Europeans were attracted by the wealth of eastern countries like India and China. They had come to know about this wealth when they had gone to fight crusades in holy land of Jerusalem. The accounts of earlier European adventures like Marco Polo also gave them information about the richness of the East. This very wealth of Eastern world caught the imagination of the Europeans and they decided to establish direct contact with the East by way of discovering new sea routes.

One can say that after Renaissance Europe witnessed development in trade and commerce. People at large developed taste for worldly affairs and hence wanted to enjoy different goods and products. The goods from eastern world were quite famous in the West.

Certain, goods and commodities from East were in tremendous demand in Europe. These goods included spices like clove, pepper, ginger, nutmegs, cinnamon, clothes like silk, cotton, satin, other commodities such as camphor, sandal wood, indigo, glass, metal works, iron, copper, woolen cloth, precious stones like pearls, diamonds, rubies and precious metals like gold and silver. In order to seek these goods directly the Geographical discoveries were promoted. Countries like Portugal and Spain were on the forefront and later on other European countries also joined this bandwagon.

The demand for Eastern goods had increased on great extent but the fall of Constantinople in the hands of Turks created hurdles in the trade between West and East. The capture of Constantinople by Turks definitely affected the trade carried out through land route as Turks imposed restrictions on this trade and also started collecting heavy toll. Even they asked for higher prices for the Eastern goods. Hence, the Europeans were desperate to find out alternate routes which led to the discovery of sea routes and new lands earlier unknown to them such as America.

After Renaissance Europeans gained knowledge of various areas and subjects. It included science and geography. Instruments like mariner’s compass, the quadrant, the astrolabe and telescope made the sea journey of sailors much easier and less risky. The Europeans around this time started making accurate and scientific maps and charts of the world which included the location of the different seas. Equipped with this knowledge and instruments Europeans set on the adventures of Geographical Discoveries.

The European kings and Christian missionaries were interested in spreading Christianity in overseas lands. Hence, both ruling families and missionaries wanted to see to it that geographical discoveries are promoted. The Christian missionaries had such a great zeal for spreading Christianity that most of the times they used to travel along-with traders to the overseas territories.

Europeans gained scientific knowledge about earth and other celestial bodies like planets, stars, moon, etc. thanks to development of science during Renaissance. Earlier there was misconception that Earth was flat but Renaissance scientists proved beyond doubt that Earth is spherical in shape. Hence, European explorers and sailors were quite confident that by traveling towards West through sea i.e. Atlantic Ocean they could ultimately reach the East. Columbus did the same thing and ended discovering New World i.e. America.

As mentioned earlier, Italians were mainly controlling the trade with East. In other words, there was Italian monopoly on trade between West and East. Other Europeans now wanted to break this monopoly of Italy and establish direct trade links with East and earn profits.

The most important factor which resulted in discovery of new sea routes and lands was the patronage and encouragement given to explorers by royal families of countries like Portugal and Spain. Later on the rulers of countries such as England, France, Netherlands, etc. also followed their example. For planning and carrying out sea expeditions lots of money, vessels and money power was needed which was provided by these royal families.

Explorers from various European countries contributed to the Geographical Discoveries. Some of these explorers were- Vasco da Gama (Portugal), Christopher Columbus (originally from Italy but his expedition was sponsored by the royal family of Spain), Ferdinand Magellan (Portugal), John Cabot (originally Italian but voyage to the West towards America was sponsored by the royal family of England), Pedro Alvares Cabral (Portugal), Amerigo Vespucci (Italy), Balboa (Spain), Giovanni da Verrazano (he was Italian, his voyage towards West was sponsored by the rulers of France), Richard Chancellor (Britain), etc.

The Geographical Discoveries proved to be quite beneficial to Europeans in general and European ruling families in particular. It produced the following results or effects:

The countries which were on the forefront of the geographical explorations and discoveries ended up establishing overseas colonial empires. For instance, the Portuguese who came to India established their colonies on western coast of India which included Goa. Portuguese also colonised Brazil in South America. Most of the parts of South America and Central America were colonised by Spain. Eastern part of today’s USA was colonised by British. Canada was colonised by France and Britain. The British established control on various other parts of the world as well such as Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. In due course countries like Netherlands, Belgium and Germany also established their overseas colonies.

The Geographical Discoveries prompted the economic development of European countries. The European countries started getting lots goods, raw material and precious metals from their overseas colonies which helped them economically.

One of the negative aspects of Geographical Discoveries was that it led to Slave Trade. Portuguese and Spanish people captured the sturdy and strongly built black people of Africa and sold them to the plantation owners in New World or America as Slaves. These black Slaves were forced to work on huge plantations and treated very badly by their white masters. Even, the native Americans known as Red Indians were also exploited by the white settlers by way of confiscating their lands.

Europe witnessed rise and expansion in its trade and commerce, thanks to the Geographical Discoveries. Now, European traders started going to almost all important parts of the world like Asia, Africa and South America. Variety of goods were brought from these lands which included sugar, rum, cotton, spices, ivory, tea, coffee, spices, etc. The trade between Europe and other continents increased enormously.

The Europeans gained knowledge about new territories, seas and people due to Geographical Discoveries. European adventurers and explorers found out the earlier unknown lands and also sea routes. For instance, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World which was unknown to Europeans earlier. The New World subsequently came to be known as America. Like Christopher Columbus each and every explorer added to the existing geographical and world knowledge of the Europeans. They came to about the variety of flora and fauna and different kind of people from different parts of the world. Europeans now firmly started believing in scientific truth that Earth was round and not flat as it was believed earlier.

One of the unique features of Geographical Discoveries was that the countries like Portugal, Spain, England, etc. which had promoted and supported Geographical Discoveries witnessed the rise of powerful monarchies which in turn gave political stability to these countries. The royal families and kings of these countries were on the forefront for promoting the Geographical Discoveries. Hence, these countries established overseas colonies which became the source of money and power to the monarchs of these countries.

One more negative aspect of the Geographical Discoveries apart from Slavery was that it resulted into the destruction of indigenous Red Indian cultures in South America. The Spaniards who had colonised most of the part of South America played the negative role of destroying the erstwhile Red Indian civilsations like Inca, Maya and Aztec.

The above discussion clearly shows that Geographical Discoveries were an important development in the history of the world. It not only resulted in to the discovery of new lands, seas, sea routes, flora and fauna and people but most importantly brought the world more closer.

 

American Revolution of 1775

 

 American Revolution of 1775

        1775 is an important year in the history of United States of America. In this year the War of American independence started. The American War of Independence against Britain is also called as the American Revolution.

      With the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus many Europeans started migrating to this land. America was called as the New World in the beginning. Later on it was named as America after an Italian explorer viz. Amerigo Vespucci.

           The southern part of America was colonised mainly by the Portuguese and Spanish. As far as North America was concerned it was mainly colonised by the French and British. The French were present in what is called as Canada today and the British migrant population established thirteen colonies on today’s eastern coast of United States of America. The names of these thirteen colonies were- Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

        The war broke out between above mentioned thirteen colonies and their mother country Britain in 1775. This American War of Independence or American Revolution resulted in the independence of American colonies from British rule.

        There were various factors or causes responsible for the American Revolution. These causes can be summed up as following:

        The thirteen colonies of America over the years had developed a sense of self-reliant and enterprise. Each of these thirteen colonies had an Assembly. The Assemblies used to make laws of local nature. At the same time there used to be a British Appointed Governor. Over the years the thirteen colonies developed self confidence and thought that they could handle their political matters and administration on their own. This kind of spirit of self-reliance and confidence was one of the factors which prompted the Americans to bring to an end the rule of their mother country that is England.

        The Americans also did not like the approach of the then British king George III towards them. He literally used to consider these colonies as his personal property. This kind of attitude was resented by the Americans. Important laws meant for colonies were made by the British Parliament. It was not liked by the Americans. Because they did not have representation in the British Parliament located in London. There was a huge distance between England and America which were separated by Atlantic Ocean, hence, the contacts between the common Americans and their mother country England were quite less. It automatically resulted into declining love and affection towards England on the part of Americans.

        Apart from above mentioned reasons, the economic factors were essentially responsible for the Revolution. The thirteen colonies of America were tremendously exploited by England. Hence, the colonies resolved to revolt and gain the independence. English Parliament enacted many laws which put lots of economic restrictions on thirteen colonies and it in turn resulted into their exploitation. Some of these British made laws were- Navigation Laws, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act and Townshend Acts. All these Acts exploited thirteen colonies of America economically. Rather, these Acts were passed by in order to exploit the colonies and promote the interests of British traders and manufacturers. Ultimately the Americans revolted against British rule in order to bring to an end the economic exploitation. Americans started saying that if the British wanted to make laws related to Americans then they should be given representation in British Parliament. In other words, they were asking for the right to elect American representatives in British Parliament. Britain was not interested in allowing the Americans to elect their Members of Parliament in Westminster Palace. Americans didn’t like the restrictions imposed on manufacturing of different goods, restrictions on selling their certain goods in European markets, using the British ships for export and import purposes at higher rates and compulsory use of stamp papers on legal documents. They were demanding for stoppage of this type of British policy. When their demands and aspirations went unheard they had only option and that was to revolt which they did in 1775.

        We have seen that today’s Canada was under French control in the beginning. Due to the French presence in North, the Americans were not taking any decisive step against England. They were under the fear of looming danger of French invasion in case they had overthrown the British rule. They thought that if British rule was brought to an end by them then French would invade them and colonies them. But, this danger was taken care when England defeated France in Seven Year’s War fought between 1756 to 1763 and French were forced to leave Canada. After Seven Year’s War, Americans realized that if they could overthrow the British rule then there would be no danger of French invasion.

        Americans were greatly inspired by the writings and thoughts of philosophers and thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Pain. John Locke was British thinker and Thomas Pain was American philosopher. These intellectuals had said that if the rulers are not doing their job properly and ruling the country appropriately and neglected the welfare and rights of the ruled then people have every right to overthrow such governments. Apart from these two thinker’s others American intellectuals like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton also motivated Americans for Revolution through their writings as well as speeches.

        British East India Company used to supply tea to Americans. But, Americans in order to teach a lesson to British started smuggling tea brought by the Dutch merchants. Due to it the East India Company started making losses, hence the British Parliament passed the Tea Act so that East India Company’s tea would become cheaper. But, now Americans were not interested in buying the British tea. They resented the Tea Act passed by the British Parliament. The Americans decided to teach a lesson to East India Company and British government. Hence, on 16 December 1773 some Americans disguised themselves as Red Indians and entered the ships of East India Company docked in Boston harbour containing the tea and destroyed it by throwing it into sea. This incident is called as the Boston Tea Party.

        The Boston Tea Party angered the British and strong action was taken against the colony of Massachusetts. The Boston port was closed down and it would be reopened for operations only after the people of Boston would pay for the cost of destroyed tea. The functioning of the Assembly of Massachusetts witnessed massive restrictions. The colony of Massachusetts was put under the direct control of Britain. In order to declare solidarity and support to Massachusetts the representatives of American colonies met in the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania in 1774. This meeting is called as the First Continental Congress. In this Congress the representatives of American colonies drafted the world famous Declaration of Rights. It was also decided to not to have trade relations with England until it reversed the punitive actions taken against the Massachusetts and Boston. One of the features of First Continental Congress was that colony of Georgia did not send her representative to attend it. In First Continental Congress it was decided to convene the Second Continental Congress in the month of May 1775 if England did not respond positively to the demands made in First Continental Congress.

        But, before the Second Continental Congress could be convened the fighting started between Americans and British in the month of April 1775. Nevertheless, the Second Continental Congress met in May 1775 in Philadelphia as decided earlier. This time Georgia also deputed her representative. Second Continental Congress chose George Washington of Virginia as the Commander-in-chief of American forces and firmly decided to fight for their independence.

        By 1782 it became clear that British would lose the fight. The peace talks began soon and the American Revolution or American War of Independence finally came to an end by the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783.

        The American Revolution resulted in to the overthrow of British rule from thirteen colonies of America. These thirteen colonies won the freedom and emerged as new sovereign country on the map of the world. This country came to be known as the United States of America. It was an independent nation lying between Canada in North, Atlantic Ocean to the East, Mississippi river in the West and Florida in the South. Later on in nineteenth century Americans expanded their boundaries and pushed it up to California in West and Mexico in South.

        During the course of American Revolution thousands of American soldiers died while fighting and also in prisons after they were captured by British. It is said that more than twenty-five thousand American soldiers died either while fighting, in prison or due to exposure to diseases.

        Three countries were involved in American Revolution. These countries were United States of America (erstwhile thirteen colonies), England and France. Americans were given help by France during their struggle against England. France has sent her soldiers to America in order to help Americans in their fight against England. All these countries faced tremendous economic and financial troubles due to this war as they had to spend a lot on their war efforts. Newly emerged nation of United States of America introduced additional taxes and was able to meet the economic troubles. England could come over her economic woes by improving trade relations with United States of America. But, France was the ultimate sufferer. The economic strain caused by the American Revolution was so heavy for her that French treasury was literally empty and it paved the way for French Revolution in 1789.

        American Revolution caused French Revolution by putting economic strain on France and also by inspiring them. French soldiers who had been to America in order to help Americans in their fight against England were very much inspired and impressed by the way the Americans had fought with great valour. In 1789 French had revolted against the rule of king Louis XVI in order to establish the regime based on liberty, equality and fraternity these principles were somewhere influenced by the American principles of Democracy and Rights of human beings.

        Unsympathetic attitude of George III towards thirteen colonies was one of the crucial factors responsible for the American Revolution. Due to the loss of American colonies the political changes took place in England. The days of autocratic monarchy were over in England and it made the way for constitutional monarchy. Not only so, but the Whigs also known as Liberals emerged as a major political opponent group to Tories or Conservatives in England.

        England learnt a major lesson after losing American colonies. It started treating her other colonies like Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in proper way. These were called as white colonies of America because many White people had settled down in these colonies. England realised that one or the other day she is definitely going to lose the colonies.

        The American Revolution was the victory for the principles of democracy and liberty. The United States of America established a Democratic government after independence and valued the liberty of its citizens. It also inspired many other people in the world for these ideals.

French Revolution of 1789

French Revolution of 1789

(One of the landmarks events in World History)

        France, a country located in Western Europe witnessed one of the epoch making events in human history. This event was the Revolution of 1789. The revolution was directed against the inefficient, ineffective, exploitative and arbitrary rule of French monarchy. The king of France at the time of Revolution when it started in 1789 was Louis XVI. He belonged to the Bourbon dynasty. The French society was divided into three classes i.e. estates and if we say that it was based on principle of inequality it would not be an exaggeration. The Revolution of 1789 resulted in tremendous effects which not only brought sweeping changes in France but inspired the people from different countries in the world directly or indirectly. The French Revolution started on 4 July 1789 with the Fall of Bastille and came to an end in 1799 with the establishment of Consulate under the leadership of Napoleon. These ten years not only witnessed the political upheaval in France but also a lots of bloodshed.

        Before the 1789 Revolution as mentioned above there was monarchy in France. The king of France in 1789 was Louis XVI. Before him France was ruled by Louis XIV and Louis XV. Both of these two predecessors of Louis XVI were more interested in fighting wars and leading luxurious life at the cost of state treasury. Unfortunately, Louis XVI did not learn from the mistakes of Louis XIV and XV and mostly repeated their mistakes. All these kings had neglected the public welfare on great extent. Not only so during their rule the first two estates consisting Clergies and Nobility were exempted from taxation and they in turn were allowed to collect taxes from third estate, especially the peasants. The French Revolution of 1789 ended this inequality and resulted into the loss of privileges enjoyed by the first two estates. Feudalism became the past and autocratic rule of monarchy was brought to an end.

        The French Revolutionaries have given one of the unique documents known as Declaration of Rights of Man to the world. It said that liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression are some of the basic and natural rights of human beings. It is very important document as it inspired the oppressed people in other parts of the world in order to rise against those regimes which had denied these rights to them. The Constitution makers while drafting the Constitution of their respective countries were impressed by these principles and incorporated it in their respective Constitutions. It has also influenced the international organizations like the United Nations.

        The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in ending the privileges enjoyed by the Clergies of the Church. The Revolutionary government of France declared that, henceforth the Church officials will be subordinate to the state. The property of the Church was taken over by the new regime. The Clergies were made to take the vow that they would remain loyal to the State. In this way one can say that the Pope lost control on the National Church of France and it came under the direct control of the French government.

        As mentioned earlier, the French Revolution of 1789 was not just one of the important events in the history of France but a landmark event in the history of humankind. We are saying so because French Revolution inspired the oppressed and exploited people in other parts of the world to revolt against their autocratic rulers who had denied them the liberty, equality and fraternity. Not only so, but the ideals of French Revolution of 1789 motivated the freedom struggles in nineteenth and twentieth centuries in different continents of the world. It also promoted the ideas of democracy, nationalism and republicanism.

        The French Revolution of 1789 resulted into lots of killings or human loss. The king of France, Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette lost their lives. During Reign of Terror (1793-94) many people who were opposed to Revolution were killed by using guillotine machine at the behest of Maximilien Robespierre and his supporters. At last on 27 July 1794 Robespierre and his followers were also guillotined or killed which ultimately paved the way for an end of Reign of Terror.

        One of the most important effects of the French Revolution of 1789 was that it resulted into bringing Napoleon Bonaparte to the forefront who became the ruler in the form of First Consul in 1799. He brought enormous changes in France and brought good days in the life of common people in France that is why he is aptly called as the Child of French Revolution.

 

 

 

 

The Bombay Plan

 The Bombay Plan

(Memorandum Outlining a Plan of Economic Development for India)

 

            The Economic History of 20 the century India would not be completed without referring to an important document, rather a Vision Document called 'A Plan of Economic Development for India' which is also popularly known as 'The Bombay Plan'. It was published in 1944-45 and divided in to two parts. The contributors or writers of The Bombay Plan were the stalwarts from the world of business from different parts of India including Bombay city. They were already the estlished and reputed business leaders. The who's who from Indian business world viz. Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas, J.R.D. Tata, G. D. Birla, Sir Ardeshir Dalal, Sir Shri Ram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, A. D. Shroff and John Mathai were the people who penned this document in order to help government to design its economic policies in post second world war period. The writers of the Bombay Plan were assuming that after the Second World War some sort of national government would be constituted in India with a total freedom to make decisions in economic sphere of the country. Some of these businessmen were having the title of 'Sir' i.e. they were knighted by the British Monarch which shows that they were respected by the British government as well. Their contribution in the business related matters were aptly recognized by the government of the time.

        Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas was a cotton trader and was highly respected in the government circles.

        J. R. D. Tata can be considered as the doyen of Indian business world from 20 th century. He was born in Paris on 29 July 1904. He was half Parsi and half French. His father, Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was Parsi and first cousin of Jamshedji Tata. As most of us know, Jamshedji Tata was a premier entrepreneur from India who had started the Tata Iron and Steel Company in 1807 at Sakchi, a place in erstwhile Bihar and now it falls in Jharkhand. Around 1919, this place was renamed as Jamshedpur by Lord Chelmsford, the then Governor General of India in the honour of Jamshedji Tata. The name of J.R.D. Tara's mother was Suzanne Briere. He is considered as the first pilot of India and credited with expanding the Tata conglomerate by starting new companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Salt, Voltas, other ventures. He was given the 'Legion of Honour', the highest Award of France. This Award was constituted long back by the legendary French Emperor and Warrior, Napoleon Bonaparte. Government of India also honoured him with the 'Bharat Ratna', the highest Civilian Award in India. It was JRD Tata who had recommended the name of Ratan Tata in 1991 to succeed him as Chairman of Tata Sons. and lead the Tata Group.

            Ghanshyam Das Birla a.k.a. G. D. Birla was born on 10 April 1894 in Pilani Rajasthan. Since pre- independence time he was known as the 'Nationalist Businessman'. He often used to meet Mahatma Gandhi and they used to write letters to each other. In 1918 he started the jute mill in Calcutta and a cotton mill in Bombay, which he larer on shifted to Calcutta. He also started paper mills and made a foray into automibe industry by establishing the Hindustan Motors. The famous car models produced by Hindustan Motors were Contessa and Ambassador. Contessa was also dubbed as the Indian Mercedes by some people. He had started the United Commercial Bank on 6 January 1943. This bank is known as UCO Bank at present. It was one of the banks nationalised by Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1969. G. D. Birla along with Purshotamdas Thakurdas had established the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 1927. In 1964, he started one of the top most Institutes of Higher Technical Education in India at Pilani, in Rajasthan, it was named as Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS). Some of the prominent alumni of BITS, Pilani are Nanaji Deshmukh (Social Reformer), Prof. S. P. Kothari (Academecian), Baba Kalyani (Businessman/Industrialist- Bharat Forge-Kalyani Group), Sunil Duggal (Dabur India), Prithviraj Chouhan (Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra).

            Sir Ardeshir Dalal was known as the technocrat and administrator. In British India he had served on important adimistrative posts of government. In 1928 he became the first Indian to be appointed as the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay City. He was ICS officer. He joined the Tata Group in 1931 as Director of Tata Iron and Steel Company. He was with Tata Group from 1931 to 1941 and again from 1945 to 1949. Lord Wavell (Viceroy and Governor General of India between October 1943 to February 1947) appointed Dalal as the Member of Viceroy's Executive Council in 1944 to look after the Planning and Development.

            Sir Shri Ram or Lala Shri Ram was born on 27 April 1884 in Delhi. He was associated with the Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM). He was the main spirit behind the establishment of important educational institutions in Delhi viz. Shri Ram College of Commerce ( Some of the notable alumni of this College are Late Arun Jaitley- the former Finance Minister of India, Rakyesh Omprakash- noted film maker of ,'Rang De Basanti' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' fame and actor Gulshan Grover) Lady Shri Ram College for Women (Notable alumane of this College are Aung Saan Suu Ki- the famous political leader of Myanmar, Archana Puran Singh-actress, Nidhi Razdan-journalist, Mrudula Mukherjee-historian) and Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research among others.

            Kasturbhai Lalbhai was born on 19 December 1894 in Ahmedabad. It is said that he was the descendant of Shantidas Jhaveri, the royal jeweller of Mughal Emperor, Akbar. His father, Lalbhai had started the Saraspur Cotton Mill in 1896. He became the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 1934. Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) was formed by Kasturbhai Lalbhai along-with Vikram Sarbhai and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar in 1947. He was the Director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 1937 to 1949. He had donated the land for the establishment of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad.

            A. D. Shroff was born on 4 June 1899. He was Industrialist, banker and economist. He is regarded as one of the guiding spirit behind the banking and insurance business in India. He attended the Bretton Woods Conference on post war monetary and financial systems in 1944. He was the founder Director of the Investment Corporation of India and Chairman of Bank of India and New India Assurance Company Limited.

            John Mathai was born on 10 January 1886 in Calicut now known as Kozhikode in Kerala. He was the Professor of Economics in Madras University. He also served as the Railway Minister and Finance Minister under Pandit Nehru. He was the first Chairman of State Bank of India. He was also the Vice Chancellor of University of Bombay from 1955 to 1957. Verghese Kurien, the man credited for bringing White Revolution (Milk Revolution) in India was his nephew. Mathai had also served as the Director of Tata Sons Ltd.

            The brief profile of the authors and signatories to the Bombay Plan indicates it's significance. These were the people who had created the niche for themselves in administration as well as business affairs of India during British rule. Their achievements had made the British government to take cognizance of it and accordingly not only to honour them but also exploit their expertise in designing and implementing government decisions, wherever needed.

            The Bombay Plan(ners) were contemplating the idea that there would be National Planning Committee and the Supreme Economic Council for designing and executing the economic plans respectively. And these two would function under the control or supervision of central government. The most important objective of the Bombay Plan was to double the per capital income of India within fifteen years from the implementation of the Plan. The Planners emphasised that the prime attention to be given for producing power and capital goods in the beginning while not neglecting the production of consumption goods for consumers. While pondering over the financial aspect of implementation of the Plan, the authors said that the real capital of the country is resources in material and man-power. Once these are mobilised and properly canalised in to economic activity most important thing is done. The Bombay Plan had envisaged the reasonable standard of living with the emphasis on food, clothing, shelter, medical relief and education. The Plan believed that the people should be able to get balanced diet with 2,800 calories per day. The Plan stated that on the basis of the population of 1941 India would require 11,670 million yards of cloth for fulfilling the clothing needs of the country. Regarding housing space it stated the need of 100 square feet per person and the estimates for number of persons per house in 1941 were 5.1. Hence, it recommend the minimum 500 square feet as the average area of house where five persons can live comfortably.

            For achieving the Minimum Health Standards, it recommend the steps such as proper sanitation and water supply, dispensary for every village, general hospitals and maternity clinics in towns and special institutes for treating the tuberculosis, cancer, leprosy, venereal diseases, etc. The Plan also discussed the nitty-gritties of above mentioned measures in detail.

            The Planners had recommended that all the persons above the ten years of age should be able to read and write. It had suggested the school for each village with minimum basic facilities. It also gave emphasis on adult literacy. The Plan believed that for ensuring the minimum standard of living the per capital income of Rs. 74 was essential at pre-war (Second World War) prices.

            The Plan aimed at threefold increase in the national dividend or income within fifteen years from the implementation of it.

            The Plan classified the industries in to two categories i.e. Basic Industries and Consumption Goods Industries. The former included power, mining and metallurgy, engineering, chemicals, armaments, transport and cement companies and that of latter textiles, glass, leather goods, paper, tobacco and oil Industries mainly.

            As far as agriculture was concerned it proposed increasing agricultural production by 130 per cent with the suggestion of co-operative farming for increasing the size of agricultural holdings. It felt the need of liquidation of the rural or agricultural indebtedness. The Plan recommended the provision of Rs. 200 crores capital outlay and Rs. 10 crores as recurring amount towards conservation of soil and other measures for improving the quality of land. Apart from these aspects, it also advised extending the area of agricultural cultivation and increasing the production per acre. It talked about the Model Farms for educating the cultivators.

            The Bombay Plan touched most of the important areas of economy and infrastructure such as transport and communication, railways, roads, shipping, education, sources of finance, needs of consumers, distribution of the national income, full employment i.e. suitable sources and opportunities of earning to every adult, urban and rural wages, agricultural prices, free social services which included the free primary and middle school and adult education and medical treatment both in urban and rural areas, due emphasis on utility services such as electricity, gas, transport, provision of National Relief Fund, social security measures, taxation of income, regional development, etc.

           The Bombay Planners also recognized the role of State and its need based intervention in the economic affairs of the country. In addition to State functions such as managing currency and public finance, collection of statistical information/data, safeguarding the interests of economically weaker sections, it expected the State to deal with matters of ownership, control and management of economic enterprises. It suggested that enterprises owned by the State, public utilities, basic industries, industries using scarce natural resources to be controlled by the State. Thus, the Bombay Plan suggested the model of mixed economy in a way by giving space and defining the role of both the private Enterprise and the State in economy and industiral sector.

            The authors of Bombay Plan were of the opinion that the Bombay Plan should be split in to three five year plans and to be implemented accordingly in total fifteen years.

           The Bombay Plan was published in two parts. The second part of the Plan was not signed by Sir Ardeshir Dalal as by the time second part was published in1944, he was appointed as the Member of Viceroy's Executive Council as the Member for Planning and Development.

            It is advisable for the students of economics, commerce and management in particular and all other students in general to study and analyse the Bombay Plan as it is very important Document which tried to give important piece of advice to government on economic affairs. In 2018, the Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd. has published a fantastic book on Bombay Plan. The title of the book is 'The Bombay Plan: Blueprint for Economic Resurgence'. It has been edited by Sanjaya Baru who was Media Advisor to Dr. Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India and Lord Meghnad Desai, the UK based economist and politician. It's a must read book.

Asst. Prof. Subhash G. Shinde

Vice Principal and HoD, History

VPM's Joshi-Bedekar College, Thane