India
The most populous country in the British Empire, an older civilisation, brought to its knees by the conquering power.
The growth of textile production in North West England was at the expense of manufacturing in India, whose workers were used for the production of raw materials and food, which was often exported without regard for food security of its producers and their families.
Industrialisation and the associated growth of a labour movement were accompanied, as in the West by the adoption of socialist intentions. In India however, it was the Communist Party which was dominant in the early days.
The All-India Trade Union Congress was formed in 1920 and the Communist Party in 1926. Throughout the next few yearst there were increasing waves of strikes and confrontations.
In 1929 a large number of trade unionists were arrested and jailed in Northern India, in what was known as the Meerut Conspiracy Trial. Three of the defendants were English and communist, including one Mancunian, Lester Hutchings.
An international campaign for the release of the prisoners kept the case alive through to the 1933 appeal when sentences were reduced. As part of the campaign, Manchester's street theatre group the Red Megaphones performed a Workers Theatre Movement play.
Our holdings on India can be found by searching our catalogue