Inland Emigration Act 1859
Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Nationalism in India"
Meaning
The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 was a colonial law. Under it, workers on the Assam tea plantations could not leave the gardens without permission, and permission was hardly ever given. This kept the workers tied to the plantations. In 1921, workers took swaraj to mean the right to leave and go back to their home villages and land.
Example
In 1921, during the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of Assam plantation workers left the gardens in defiance of the law. They believed "Gandhi Raj" was coming. A railway and steamer strike left them stranded on the way, and the police caught them and beat them badly.
Don't confuse with
- Rowlatt Act 1919: let the government keep political activists in jail without trial. The Inland Emigration Act controlled where plantation workers could move.
Related concepts
- Gandhi as Mahatma
- Shahid Amin
- Gandhi's dhoti and loincloth
- Charkha
- Khadi
- Linguistic Pradesh Congress Committees
- Praja Mandal
- All India States Peoples Conference
- Bijolia movement
- Abul Kalam Azad