The non-cooperation
movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920 by Mahatma
Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government,
with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.
This came as result of
the Indian National Congress (INC) withdrawing its support for British reforms
following the Rowlatt Act of 18 March 1919 — which suspended the rights of
political prisoners in sedition trials, and was seen as a "political
awakening" by Indians and as a "threat" by the British—which led
to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919.
The movement was one of
Gandhi's first organized acts of large-scale satyagraha. Gandhi's planning of
the non-cooperation movement included persuading all Indians to withdraw their
labour from any activity that "sustained the British government and also
economy in India,” including British industries and educational institutions. Through
non-violent means, or ahimsa, protesters would refuse to buy British goods,
adopt the use of local handicrafts, and picket liquor shops. In addition to
promoting "self-reliance" by spinning khadi, buying Indian-made goods
only, and boycotting British goods, Gandhi's non-cooperation movement also
called for stopping planned dismemberment of Turkey (Khilafat Movement) and the
end to untouchability. This resulted in publicly-held meetings and strikes
(hartals), which led to the first arrests of both Jawaharlal Nehru and his
father, Motilal Nehru, on 6 December 1921.
The non-cooperation
movement was among the broader movement for Indian independence from British
rule and ended, as Nehru described in his autobiography, "suddenly"
on 4 February 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident. Subsequent independence
movements were the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement.
Though intended to be
non-violent, the movement was eventually called off by Gandhi in February 1922
following the Chauri Chaura incident. After police opened fire on a crowd of
protesters, killing and injuring several, the protesters followed the police
back to their station and burned it down, killing the shooters and several
other police inside. Nonetheless, the movement marked the transition of Indian
nationalism from a middle-class basis to the masses.
Factors leading to the
non-cooperation movement –
The non-land movement was
a reaction towards the oppressive policies of the British Indian government
such as the Rowlatt Act of 18 March 1919, as well as the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre of 13 April 1919.
Although the Rowlatt Act
of 1919, which suspended the rights of political prisoners in sedition trials,
was never invoked and declared void just a few years later, it motivated Gandhi
to conceive the idea of satyagraha (truth), which he saw as synonymous with
independence.
Motivation for Gandhi's
movement was further solidified following the events of 13 April 1919, when a
large crowd had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple in Amritsar
to protest against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, while
others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi festival. The civilians were
fired upon by soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer,
resulting in killing and injuring thousands of protesters. The outcry generated
by the massacre led to thousands of unrests and more deaths by the hands of the
police. The bagh became the most infamous event of British rule in India.
Gandhi, who was a
preacher of nonviolence, was horrified. He lost all faith in the goodness of
the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to
cooperate with the "satanic" government. Likewise, the idea of
satyagraha was subsequently authorised by Jawaharlal Nehru, for who the
massacre also endorsed "the conviction that nothing short of independence
was acceptable.”
Gandhi derived his
ideologies and inspiration from ongoing non-cooperation movements, particularly
that by Satguru Ram Singh, who is credited as being the first Indian to use
non-cooperation and boycott of British merchandise and services as a political
weapon.
In response to the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other violence in Punjab, the movement sought to
secure Swaraj, independence for India. Gandhi promised Swaraj within one year
if his non-cooperation programme was fully implemented. The other reason to
start the non-cooperation movement was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional
methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator
campaigning for Indian independence from colonialism.
Other causes include
economic hardships to the common Indian citizen, which the nationalists
attributed to the economic exploitation of India under colonial rule, the
hardships faced Indian artisans due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade
goods, and conscription being employed by the British Indian Army to gather
enough recruits during the First World War.
Movement –
The non-cooperation
movement aimed to challenge the colonial economic and power structure, and
British authorities would be forced to take notice of the demands of the
independence movement.
Gandhi's call was for a
nationwide protest against the Rowlatt Act. In promoting
"self-reliance," his planning of the non-cooperation movement
included persuading all Indians to withdraw their labour from any activity that
"sustained the British government and also economy in India,” including
British industries and educational institutions.
Through non-violent
means, or ahimsa, protesters would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use
of local handicrafts (by spinning khadi, etc.), and picket liquor shops. Moreover:
- all offices
and factories would be closed;
- Indians
would be encouraged to withdraw from Raj-sponsored schools, police services,
the military, and the civil service, and lawyers were asked to leave the Raj's
courts;
- public
transportation and English-manufactured goods, especially clothing, was
boycotted; and
- Indians
returned honours and titles given by the government and resigned from various
posts like teachers, lawyers, civil and military services.
Gandhi's non-cooperation
movement also called for the end to untouchability.
Publicly-held meetings
and strikes (hartals) during the movement ultimately led to the first arrests
of both Jawaharlal Nehru and his father, Motilal Nehru, on 6 December 1921. The
calls of early political leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress Extremists)
were called major public meetings. They resulted in disorder or obstruction of
government services. The British took them very seriously and imprisoned him in
Mandalay in Burma and V. O.Chidambaram Pillai received 40 years of imprisonment.
Veterans such as Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and Annie Besant
opposed the idea outright. The All India Muslim League also criticized the
idea. However, the younger generation of Indian nationalists was thrilled and
backed Gandhi, whose plans were adopted by the Congress Party in September 1920
and launched that December.
Gandhi strengthened the
movement by supporting the contemporaneous Khilafat Movement, the Muslim
campaign to restore the status of the Khalifa and protest the dismemberment of
the Ottoman Empire after World War l. As such, Gandhi received extensive
support from Indian-Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari,
Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi, Abbas Tyabji, Maulana Muhammad Ali
Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali.
The eminent Hindi writer,
poet, playwright, journalist, and nationalist Rambriksh Benipuri, who spent
more than eight years in prison campaigning for India's independence, wrote:
When I recall
Non-Cooperation era of 1921 , the image of a storm confronts my eyes. From the
time I became aware, I have witnessed numerous movements, however, I can assert
that no other movement upturned the foundations of Indian society to the extent
that the Non-Cooperation movement did. From the most humble huts to the high
places, from villages to cities, everywhere there was a ferment, a loud echo.
Impact and suspension –
The impact of the revolt
was a total shock to British authorities and a massive support to millions of
Indian nationalists. Unity in the country was strengthened and many Indian
schools and colleges were created. Indian goods were encouraged. On 4 February
1922 a massacre took place at Chauri Chaura, a small town in the district of
Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. A police officer had attacked some volunteers
picketing a liquor shop. A whole crowd of peasants that had gathered there went
to the police chowki (station). The mob set fire to the police chowki with some
22 policemen inside it. Around 30 mobs were there for this incident. This
cruelty made Gandhi think to end the movement.
Mahatma Gandhi felt that
the revolt was veering off-course, and was disappointed with the rise of
violent nature of the movement. He did not want the movement to degenerate into
a contest of violence, with police and angry mobs attacking each other back and
forth, victimizing civilians in between. Gandhi appealed to the Indian public
for all resistance to end, went on a fast and on 12 February 1922 called off
the non-cooperation movement.
End of non-cooperation
movement –
The non-cooperation
movement was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident. Although he had
stopped the national revolt single-handedly, on 12 February 1922, Mahatma
Gandhi was arrested. On 18 March 1922, he was imprisoned for six years for publishing
seditious materials. This led to the suppression of the movement and was
followed by the arrest of other leaders.
Although most Congress
leaders remained firmly behind Gandhi, the determined leaders broke away,
including the Ali brothers (Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali Jouhar). Motilal Nehru
and Chittaranjan Das formed the Swaraj Party, rejecting Gandhi's leadership.
Many nationalists had felt that the non-cooperation movement should not have
been stopped due to isolated incidents of violence, and most nationalists while
retaining confidence in Gandhi, were discouraged.
Aftermath –
Gandhi's commitment to
nonviolence was redeemed when, between 1930 and 1934, tens of millions again
revolted in the Salt Satyagraha which made India's cause famous worldwide for
its unerring adherence to non-violence. The Satyagraha ended in success. The
demands of Indians were met and the Congress was recognized as a representative
of the Indian people. The Government of India Act 1935 also gave India its
first taste in democratic self-governance.
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