Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s3.t4.1

v2.c14.s3.t4.1

One of the most active Indian political organisations in Republican China was the Ghadar Party, also known as the Hindustani Ghadar Party. The Ghadar Party was founded by Indian workers and intellectuals in North America in 1913 with the aim of overthrowing British colonial rule in India through force of arms. The Ghadar Party recruited Indians to go back to India to take part in the struggle, publicised the cause of Indian freedom through their publications and mobilisation activities, and also organised financial support and supply of arms and ammunition to send back to India. They successfully utilised the revolutionary conditions prevailing in China and the anti-imperialist sentiment they found there to establish a base for their activities in China, from the time of the first World War through the 1930s. They found particularly strong support among hundreds of Indian soldiers and policemen stationed in Hong Kong and China’s treaty ports, who formed a large proportion of the Indian community in China in this period.