Indian Communists and Trade Unionists on Trial: The Meerut Conspiracy, 1929-1933 - Key Data

The Meerut Conspiracy Case was a controversial court case initiated in British India in 1929. It began with the arrest and subsequent trial of twenty-nine trade unionists, including three Englishmen. These men were collectively charged under Section 121A of the Indian Penal Code, it was alleged that they had attempted ‘to deprive the King Emperor of the sovereignty of British India… ordained by the Communist International’.

The Meerut Conspiracy Case was symptomatic of the British Government’s increasing fear of communist and socialist ideas in the early part of the twentieth century. The concern was that these ideals could undermine British rule on the Indian subcontinent, and would be propagated to the workers by the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Ultimately twenty-seven leftist trade union leaders were convicted. Far from discouraging communist ideas, this trial gave a public platform to the defendants and consolidated the Communist Party of India’s position amongst the workers.