Who founded the Indian League?

Asked 17-Jun-2018
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The India League was a campaigning group founded in England that fought for India's full independence and self-government. Krishna Menon founded the League in 1928, and it has been called 'the primary organization supporting Indian nationalism in pre-war Britain.'

The India League grew out of the Commonwealth of India League, which was founded in 1922, and the Home Rule for India League, which was founded in 1916. When Menon was appointed joint secretary of the Commonwealth of India League, he abandoned the league's former goal of giving India dominion status in favor of full independence. During the 1930s, the group grew and opened offices in towns across the United Kingdom.

Although a chapter was founded in the East End of London in the early 1940s to recruit more supporters from the South Asian population there, members of the League were mostly drawn from the British elite. According to political historian Nicholas Owen, British viewers were skeptical of Indian tales of British persecution and socioeconomic conditions in India, so the League dispatched a British team to India to corroborate its claims, culminating in the publishing of The Condition of India in 1933.

While the group remained active after India's independence in 1947, 'the League was collectivist in its view throughout, considering India's war for freedom as part of a wider fight against colonialism and capitalism,' according to its website. Following India's independence, the group concentrated on improving UK-India ties and assisting Indian refugees in the UK. We met at the India Club in London regularly. Its public prominence waned over time.

The India League's minimum subscription was stated to be five shillings in 1947. Branches might be formed by teams of 5 or even more persons, with the League's executive committee's consent. Branches were expected to pay the executive committee £2 6 shillings every year.