| The relations between Great Britain and the nationalist movements in Egypt and India were violently accelerated at the turn of the century. In Egypt, the National Party, which was freed in 1906 from the tutelage of the Khedive, assumed a leading role in guiding the Egyptian struggle for freedom. This coincided with the emergence, in 1905, of the Indian National Congress, as a contending force for the improvement of the political, social, and economic rights of the Indians. The changes were further accentuated by the formation of the Egyptian Wafd Party in 1919 and the assumption by Gandhi of the leadership of the Indian National Congress. The aim of this study is to trace the growth and development of the nationalist movements in both Egypt and India during the formative years of 1900 to 1939, with special emphasis on the relations of the occupying power, Great Britain.This work is based on unpublished materials found in the India Office Library and Records, London, the Public Record Office, Kew Garden, and the Hayat Al-Wathaiq Al-Watania Al-Misria, Cairo, published documents, journals, newspapers and secondary sources.Although I was allowed to enter the Egyptian National Archives building, I was not given permission to copy any document because my security clearance had not been approved by the Security Department at the Ministry of Information. I am still waiting for the security clearance. I was, however, permitted to read and copy by hand a few documents relating to the Arabi uprising. This was done at the insistence of the Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Information who clearly disapproved of these regulations requesting researchers to obtain from the Security Department a certificate clearing them of any political activities.The first and fourth chapters analyze in detail the political, social, and economic conditions prevailing in both Egypt and India prior to the occupation. Chapters two and five deal with the causes of the British occupation of Egypt, and the development of nationalism in India, respectively. The third and sixth chapters describe the phases of Egyptian nationalism and the Hindu-Muslim discord, and the partition of India. |
