History
The controversial announcement of the Government's intentions to declare Ireland a republic and to leave the Commonwealth in 1948 was a short-sighted manoeuvre which resulted in the British Government maintaining its 'most favoured nation' status. As de Valera noted, the Indian Commonwealth solution that was reached the very same year could have suited Ireland's independent position and paved the way for an Ireland within the Commonwealth. Whether or not talks with de Valera ever influenced Jawaharlal Nehru and his Government's decision, India made history by becoming the first republican Commonwealth country. In July 1949 the Indo-Irish relationship had come full circle and the culmination of the countries' shared histories was the appointment of Krishna Menon as Ambassador to Ireland. Menon's role was a dual one as he was already India's High Commissioner in London, and since Ireland had left Commonwealth the previous year joint accreditations were no longer appropriate.
This chapter deals with instances where Indian and Irish left-wing radicals interacted, resulting in increased cause for concern on the part of the British authorities. It is important to note that during 1920 certain British Conservative politicians were consumed by anti-Bolshevik intentions. The thought of communist intervention in India either directly or in the form of support for internal unrest was a major concern for the British authorities in the 1920s. M. N. Roy was a staunch communist during the period in question, a stance which culminated in his support of the allied war effort during the Second World War. In June of 1920 Roddy Connolly had been involved in the outbreak of the Irish Civil War on the anti-Treaty side. In September 1921, with Comintern backing, Connolly would transform the Socialist Party of Ireland (SPI) into the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI), purging it of its more moderate members.
In colonial and post-colonial studies Ireland is presented as a unique phenomenon, as it can be viewed, paradoxically, as both 'imperial' and 'colonial'. The book concentrates on the latter characteristic as the 'imperial' has received more attention than the 'colonial' in the recent historical studies in relation to Ireland and India exclusively. It illuminates the role of figures and organisations previously considered somewhat obscure in both Indian and Irish history. The book shows how effective League Against Imperialism (LAI) was as a means by which Indo-Irish connections were established and flourished in the inter-war period. It demonstrates how the Comintern policy of attempting to solicit broad-based support in the colonies by advocating tolerance towards the noncommunist Left and colonial nationalist movements, and its abandonment was followed by the LAI's rapid decline. The book reveals a significant amount about Indian Political Intelligence (IPI), an agency almost entirely overlooked in intelligence historiography.
The book examines the relationship between Indian and Irish nationalists in the period between 1919 and the late 1940s, and culminates in documenting the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between the two countries. It takes in the Irish and Indian independence struggles, placed respectively at the start and the end of the period in question, with neither route a peaceful one. The book focuses on the cogency of the Irish–Indian narrative, as for example when the two countries became republics within a year of one another, one outside of and the other within the Commonwealth. It addresses Indo-Irish contacts within the confines of Moscow-controlled bodies like the League Against Imperialism (LAI) and other communist-inspired associations. The book supplements the relevant historiographies and redefines the accepted paradigms of decolonisation. The book also discusses Subhas Chandra Bose's extensive contacts with Ireland.
The affinities between Ireland and India have been much commented upon in the nineteenth-century context. Modes of governance, tenancy laws, famines, migrations, policing and military matters have all received attention. This book offers a fresh perspective on the history of the end of Empire, with the Irish and Indian independence movements as its focus, examining the relationship between nationalists between the 1919s and the late 1940s. It details how each country's nationalist agitators engaged with each other and exchanged ideas. Using previously unpublished sources from the Indian Political Intelligence collection, the book chronicles the rise and fall of movements such as the Indian-Irish Independence League and the League Against Imperialism. The histories of these movements have, until now, remained deeply hidden in the archives. The study presented throws light on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Indian National Army (INA). It shows that it is feasible that British intelligence agents established the Friends of India Society (FOIS) in Dublin. The study also illuminates the role of figures and organisations previously considered somewhat obscure in both Indian and Irish history. Individuals like V. J. Patel, Brajesh Singh, Mollie Woods, Philip Vickery, Shapurji Saklatvala, and Charlotte Despard emerge as significant figures in their respective movements. The book also highlights opaque aspects of the careers of popular figures including Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Eamon de Valera and Maud Gonne McBride at points when their paths crossed.
The onset of the Second World War furthered both Ireland's and India's national aspirations. An incident involving an Irish former Indian Political Intelligence (IPI) officer ruffled some feathers in the Dublin Government during the Second World War. The Second World War brought with it irreversible changes to the imperial political landscape. The war also provided radical Indian nationalists with opportunities to use Britain's difficulty as India's opportunity, as Ireland had done in 1916. Radical Indian nationalists such as Krishna Menon remained tuned into Irish affairs throughout the war. In the late 1930s Menon became involved in local politics and was elected as a councillor for St. Pancras. Towards the end of the 1930s, despite the fading Anglo-Irish trade war, de Valera was still considered quite the radical in British eyes and the British authorities continued to long for his departure from office.
This chapter focuses on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's interest in Ireland and his eventual visit there in 1936. The Irish representative, Charles Bewley, thought one such visit he had from Bose, in April 1934, significant enough to report on to Dublin. Bose's intention to visit Ireland finally reached the public domain via a short report in the Irish Times on 25 January 1936. From the formation of an Irish-style Volunteer Force in Calcutta in 1928, to the propaganda campaign to gain recognition for Indian independence in the mid-1930s, Ireland was an evident influence on Bose throughout his life. Bose's story is representative of the lesser-known radical, aggressive and revolutionary road to Indian independence, one that is the antithesis of the world-renowned, Gandhi-inspired, non-violent struggle against the Raj. He died unexpectedly and relatively young.
Ireland and India in the late 1920s were tempestuous imperial appendages, both still in the Empire, while aggressively pulling on their reins. Indian Political Intelligence (IPI) was under the impression that the students were 'particularly anxious to revive the Indian Irish Independence League (IIIL), which ceased to function soon after the outbreak of war in 1939'. The many similarities between both Ireland and India's nationalist struggles were acknowledged formally in 1932 with the formation of the IIIL by Vithalbhai Javerbhai Patel (V. J. Patel), Indulal KanayalalI Yajnik, Mary Woods, Maud Gonne MacBride and Charlotte Despard. Throughout his time in Dublin Patel was encouraging the Irish population to take up the boycotting of British goods that was proving so successful in India. Margaret Cousins became the first non-Indian member of the Indian Women's University at Poona.
This chapter explores the varied identities held by the Scots and the Irish in New Zealand assessing, firstly, the broadest level of identification at the national level, before considering regional and county origins. It then turns to look at local attachments to specific places in the homelands. Quite apart from identifying with their varied Irish and Scottish origins, other identities such as British and New Zealander are also examined. The complexity of ethnic and national identities in Northern Ireland has puzzled some film commentators. Irish migrants were less inclined than their Scottish counterparts to comment on regional origins, but when they did so it was usually with reference to distinguishing the northernmost province of Ireland. County affiliations were also occasionally connected to the Scots and Irish in New Zealand. Irish Catholic commentary on Britain and the Empire, however, appears and is frequently aggressive.
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in this book. The book provides some insight into the myriad ways that insiders and outsiders conceptualised Scottishness and Irishness in New Zealand. The records of the ethnic press and ethnic associations offer insight into the collective depiction of Scottishness and Irishness in New Zealand. The ocean passage to New Zealand revealed differences in religious practices which were associated with the Irish and the Scots. First impressions of the New Zealand landscape were also important, with Irish and Scottish migrants stressing similarities with home, often focusing on specific localities as well as the broader nation. The national characteristics of Irish and Scottish migrants conveyed a range of elements that were considered typical of Irishness and Scottishness. Scottish migrants tended to disseminate and engage good-naturedly with the same characteristics that outsiders linked to them such as clannishness and frugality.