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The British Section of the League Against Imperialism and British interwar anticolonialism

 October 15, 2025

Ahead of a talk to the Socialist History Society on October 20th, Dilan Tulsiani outlines some of the themes in his paper Traditions of Dissent.

Traditions of Dissent provides a comprehensive analysis of the interwar British anticolonial organisation, the British Section of the League Against Imperialism.

In the aftermath of the First World War and the 1917 Russian Revolution, Britain had become a central hub for domestic and international anticolonial activists. Subsequently, the transnational anticolonial organisation, the League Against Imperialism, established a British Section which continued its operations throughout the interwar period. Traditions of Dissent explores the coalition of activists who participated in developing the British Section’s unique form of anticolonialism, which interconnected various British and transnational traditions in resisting British imperialism and supporting the rights of British and Colonial workers. This thesis resituates the importance of British anticolonialism in developing a substantial network of activists that openly protested against the British Empire’s policies from the British metropole. Crucially, the British Section’s activities in the interwar period display the tenacity of activists in Britain who campaigned against imperialism at the heart of the British Empire.

In recentring the importance of the British Section’s anticolonial actions in interwar Britain, the first half of this thesis provides an insight into the development and practice of the organisation’s philosophy and activities. The second half of the thesis highlights the overlooked contribution of women and people of colour in Britain who made up anticolonial activism in this period. Subsequently, the study examines the response by British policing agencies who had become increasingly concerned by the British Section’s activities and their popularity amongst workers from British colonies. This section of the thesis provides an insight into the justification of racialised policing techniques in the interwar period.

Successively, the penultimate chapter provides a reassessment of the events and factors that led to the dissolution of the British Section, emphasising the importance of British Section member and Communist Party MP, Shapurji Saklatvala. The final chapter of this thesis traces the lineage and legacy of the British Section’s evolution throughout various succeeding organisations in the twentieth century who carried the mantle of its unique form of anticolonialism which in turn influenced antiracist activism. The traditions of dissent that made up the British Section’s understanding of anticolonialism reverberated through its successors and have continued to inspire activists today.

This paper explores how political radicalism was understood in the interwar period amongst various internal divisions on the British left. Traditionally, the interwar period has been studied in relation to the rise of fascism. However, the interwar period also exhibits a period in history where a huge number of anticolonialists from European colonies developed a vast network with other activists and dissidents in Europe.

After the rise of Nazi regime, Britain became a safe hub for many of these anticolonial activists who sought to campaign against imperialism, and in doing so, began to examine widespread poverty and racism in British society that had not been addressed in relation to one another. This paper details the involvement of British Section members who strategically campaigned for the rights of British and colonial workers throughout Britain. In addition, some of these activists recognised the deep racial divisions that existed after the 1919 Race Riots, and made deliberate activities to form a solidarity between Black and Asian British families and anticolonialists.

Finally, much of the legacy of the League Against Imperialism has been linked to the 1955 Bandung Conference in which President Sukarno made reference to the League’s impressive establishment in 1927. Traditions of Dissent demonstrates a much larger legacy of the League, and more specifically, its British Section.The paper shows how the British Section’s anticolonialism transitioned throughout the twentieth century into antiracist ideology that was elemental to organisations such as the Movement for Colonial Freedom.

In spring 2025, many politicians and intellectuals, such as Jeremy Corbyn MP and Vijay Prashad, began a centennial campaign to mark 100 years since the League’s founding, which will organise various events until February 2027. This paper intends to re-emphasise the complexities of political radicalism and the importance of the British Section’s multi-racial cohort in campaigning against British imperialism during the interwar period. In doing so, it demonstrates the unique lineage of British anticolonialism that further developed anti-racist organisations due to its amalgamation of political traditions.

Dilan Tulsiani is a historian of transnational anticolonialism in the twentieth century. based at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.Monday 20th October 5.30pm on Zoom Dilan Tulsiani ‘Traditions of Dissent: The British Section of the League Against Imperialism and British interwar anticolonialism’.Free on Zoom. Booking essential. To Book https://www.history.ac.uk/news-events/events/traditions-dissent-british-section-league-against-imperialism-british-interwar-anticolonialism

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