Jamia hamdard institute of legal

Studies and research (hilsr)

ACADEMIC SESSION: 2018-19

HISTORY
TOPIC: ‘NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT’

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. Angbin Yasmin Shahnawaz

B.A. LL.B.

2st Semester

Roll No: 12

Section: B
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It feels great pleasure in submitting this research project to Dr. Angbin Yasmin
without whose guidance this project would not have been completed successfully.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude towards my parents and friends who
guided me and helped me at every possible step.

SHAHNAWAZ

Roll. No. 12
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION.
2. CAUSES OF NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT.
3. LAUNCH OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT.
4. METHOD AND SPREAD OF THE NON-
COOPERATION MOVEMENT.
5. PROGRAMS OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT.
6. END OF THE NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT.
7. IMPACT OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT.
8. SUCCESS AND SUSPENSION
9. CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION

The Non-Cooperation Movement was a significant phase of the Indian

struggle for freedom from British rule. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi
and was supported by the Indian National Congress. After Jallianwala
Bagh incident Gandhi started Non Cooperation movement. It aimed to
resist British occupation in India through non-violent means. Protestors
would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts,
picket liquor shops, and try to uphold the Indian values of honor and
integrity. The ideals of Ahimsa or non-violence, and his ability to rally
hundreds of thousands of common citizens towards the cause of
Indian independence, were first seen on a large scale in this movement
through the summer 1920, they feared that the movement might lead to
popular violence. Among the significant causes of this movement were
colonial oppression, exemplified by the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala
Bagh massacre, economic hardships to the common man due to a large
chunk of Indian wealth being exported to Britain, ruin of Indian artisans
due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade goods, and
popular resentment with the British over Indian soldiers dying in World
War I while fighting as part of the British Army, in battles that otherwise
had nothing to do with India. The calls of early political leaders
like Mohammad Ali Jinnah (who later became communal and hardened
his stand),Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress Extremists)
for home rule were accompanied only by petitions and major public
meetings. They never resulted in disorder or obstruction of government
services. Partly due to that, the British did not take them very seriously.
The non-cooperation movement aimed to ensure that the colonial
economic and power structure would be seriously challenged, and
British authorities would be forced to take notice of the people's
demands. Here we should know that many revolutionaries like Bhagat
Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad were supporters of this very movement
but were really dissatisfied by the dismissing of movement by Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi had shown a similar movement in South Africa and in
1917-18 in Champaran, Bihar and Kheda, Gujarat that the only way to
earn the respect and attention of British officials was to actively resist
government activities through civil disobedience.
Now in Champaran and Kheda in 1918 he led impoverished farmers,
mired in social evils like unhygienic conditions, domestic violence,
discrimination, oppression of women and untouch ability. On top of
their miseries, these people were forced to grow cash crops like indigo,
tobacco and cotton instead of food, and for this they were virtually not
compensated. In addition, they had to pay taxes despite a famine. The
Governments of the affected regions signed agreements suspending
taxation in face of the famine, allowing the farmers to grow their own
crops, releasing all political prisoners and returning all property and
lands seized. It was the biggest victory against the British Empire since
the American Revolution. India were assisted by a new generation of
Indian revolutionaries like Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru. In
Kheda, the entire revolt had been led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who
was to become Gandhi's right hand man. A meeting of unarmed civilians
was being held at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden temple in Amritsar.
The people were fired upon by soldiers under the command of
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. He also ordered the only exit to be
blocked. The massacre resulted in the deaths of some 370 protestors
while over 1000 were injured in the shooting. The outcry in Punjab led
to thousands of unrests, protests and more deaths at the hands of
the police. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre became the most infamous
event of British rule in India. Gandhi 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.
 CAUSES OF NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT

There were four main causes of the Non-Cooperation Movement:

1. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and Resultant Punjab

Disturbances
2. Dissatisfaction with Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
3. Rowlatt Act
4. Khilafat Agitation

Let us see each cause of the Non-Cooperation Movement in detail.

1.Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and Resultant Punjab

Disturbances:

A large but unarmed crowd had gathered on 13th April 1919 at

Amritsar in the Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of
their popular leaders, Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal.
However, on the orders of General Dyer, this unarmed crowd
comprising of women and children among others was fired upon
mercilessly with rifles and machine guns. Thousands were killed
and wounded. After this massacre, martial law was proclaimed
throughout Punjab and the people were submitted to the most
uncivilised atrocities.The British government set up the Inquiry
Disorders Committee, popularly known as the Hunter Committee
after its Chairman Lord William Hunter, to investigate
Jallianwala Bagh incident and General Dyer’s role. Although the
Hunter committee held General Dyer responsible for the
massacre at Jallianwala Bagh it upheld his reasons for ordering
the firing upon the unarmed crowd and also the imposition of
martial law in Punjab. The people of India did not accept the
Hunter Committee’s recommendations due to its clear biases.
There was unrest among the masses to ensure that justice was
delivered for the Punjab wrongs. Mahatma Gandhi gave up the
Kaiser-i-Hind titled bestowed upon him by the British
government in protest. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his
knighthood in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

2.Dissatisfactisfaction with the Montagu-Chelmsford

Reforms:

The Government of India Act of 1919 was enacted based on the

recommendations of the Montagu-Chelmsford proposals of 1918.
This Act introduced the system of ‘Dyarchy’ and divided subjects
into lists – Reserved and Transferred. Direct elections were
introduced to the Legislative Assembly (lower house), however,
the right to votes was severely curtailed. Moreover, the
Legislative Assembly had no control over the Governor-General
and his Executive Council. However, Indian nationalists had
advanced far beyond such halting concessions. The Indian
National Congress met in a special session at Bombay in August
1918 under the Presidentship of Hasan Imam and condemned the
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and demanded effective self-
government instead.

3.Rowlatt Act

On the basis of the finding of the Rowlatt Committee, the

government enacted the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act
of 1919 which was popularly called the Rowlatt Act. This act
authorized the government to imprison for a maximum period of
two years, without trial, any person suspected of terrorism. Thus
in succession, the Government passed Montagu Chelmsford
Reforms and Rowlatt Act that were part of the Carrot and Stick
policy of the British. This act gave a new direction to the
movement. Gandhi organized a mass protest at all India level.
 4.Khilafat Movement

The most important cause of the Non-Cooperation Movement was

the Khilafat Movement started in 1919 which brought the Muslims
and the Hindus on a common platform against the British rule.
This point requires elaboration.

In the first World War Turkey had aligned with the Axis powers
led by Germany that were defeated by the Allied powers led by
Great Britain. The politically conscious Muslims were critical of
the treatment out to the Turkish (Ottoman) Empire by Britain and
its Allies who had partitioned it and taken away Thrace from
Turkey proper.The Muslims also regarded the Sultan of Turkey as
the Caliph or the religious head of the Muslims and they strongly
felt that his position over the Muslim religious places should not
be undermined.

A Khilafat Committee was soon formed under the leadership of

the Ali Brothers (Maulana Mohammed Ali and Maulana Shaukat
Ali), Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani and
country-wide Khilafat agitation was organised. The All-India
Khilafat Conference held at Delhi in November 1919 decided to
withdraw all cooperation from the government if their demands
were not met by the government.

Mahatma Gandhi looked upon the Khilafat agitation as “an

opportunity of uniting Hindus and Muslims as would not arise in
a hundred years”. The Muslims League, too, gave full support to
the National Congress and its agitation on political issues.Gandhi
declared in early 1920 that the Khilafat question overshadowed
that of the constitutional reforms and the Punjab wrongs
(Jallianwala massacre) and announced that he would lead a
movement of Non-Cooperation if the terms of peace with Turkey
did not satisfy the Indian Muslims.
 LAUNCH OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT

The causes mentioned above led to unrest among the masses who
were anxious for political action against the British government.
The economic hardship suffered by the ordinary Indians only
added fuel to the fire.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was formally launched

on 1st August 1920.

The Nagpur session of the Congress in December 1920 clearly

defined the program of the Non-Cooperation in detail. Following
changes were made to the Constitution of the Indian National
Congress at the Nagpur Session of December 1920:

1. The goal of the Congress was changed from the attainment of

self-government by constitutional and legal means to the
attainment of Swaraj by peaceful and legitimate means.

2. The Congress was now to have a Working Committee of 15

members to look after its day-to-day affairs.

3. Provincial Congress Committees were now to be organized

on a linguistic basis.

4. The membership fee was reduced to 4 annas per year to

enable the poor to become members.

5. The Congress was to use Hindi as far as possible.

 METHOD AND SPREAD OF THE NON-
COOPERATION MOVEMENT

 Mahatma Gandhi along with the Ali brothers undertook a nation-

wide tour addressing numerous rallies and meetings of students
and political workers. This resulted in thousands of students
leaving schools and colleges to join more than 800 national
schools and colleges that had been established all over the
country.

 The educational boycott was particularly successful in Bengal. C.R

Das played a major role in promoting the movement and Subhash
Bose became the principal of the National Congress in Calcutta. In
Punjab too the educational boycott was very successful and the
leading role here was played by Lala Lajpat Rai.

 The other successful boycott observed was the boycott of the law
courts by lawyers such as C.R Das, Motilal Nehru, M.R Jaykar,
Saifuddin Kitchlew and others.

 However, the most successful item of the Non-Cooperation

Movement was the boycott of foreign cloth. Picketing of shops
selling foreign cloth was also a major form of the boycott.
Picketing of liquor shops was also carried out.

 Gandhi and the Congress laid great stress on wearing hand-spun

Khadi to support the domestic textiles. Charkhas were
popularized on a large scale and khadi became the uniform of the
national movement.

 In July 1921, Mohammed Ali, at the All India Khilafat Conference

held at Karachi declared that it was ‘religiously unlawful for the
Muslims to continue in the British Army’. Gandhi repeated this
exhortation of Mohammed Ali and added that every civilian and
 member of the armed forces should sever connections with the
repressive British government.

 In Midnapore district of Bengal a movement against Union Board

Taxes was started. No-tax movements were also organized in
Chirala-Pirala and Pedanandipadu taluka in Guntur district of
Andhra.

 In U.P, where a strong kisan sabha movement was underway, the

Non-Cooperation movement was led amongst others by
Jawaharlal Nehru.

 In Malabar region of Kerala, the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat

propaganda helped to arouse the Muslim tenants, called the
Moplahs, against their landlords but the movement at times took
on a communal colour.

 In Punjab, the Akali movement was carried out as a part of the

Non-Cooperation Movement for wresting control of the
gurudwaras from the corrupt mahants (priests)
 PROGRAMS OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT

Right after the commencement of the movement, Gandhi traveled

the length and breadth of the country explaining the ideology and
programs with an aim to reach people from all levels of the
society. He organized rallies and spoke in public gatherings in a
bid to gather public support and mobilize his ideals among the
masses in favor of the movement. The programs of the movement
are outlined as follows:

1. Surrender of all titles.

2. Renouncing honorary offices.

3. Withdrawing of students from government funded schools and

colleges.

4. Boycott of British courts by lawyers and litigants.

5. Boycott of civil services, army and police.

6. Non–payment of taxes to the Government.

7. Boycott of council elections.

8. Boycott of foreign goods.

9. Resignation from government nominated seats in local bodies.

 End of the Non-Cooperation Movement

The Non-cooperation movement was withdrawn because of

the Chauri Chaura incident. Although he had stopped the national
revolt single-handedly, on 10 March 1922, Gandhi was arrested.
On 18 March 1922, he was imprisoned for six years for publishing
seditious materials. This led to suppression of the movement and
was followed by the arrest of other leaders.

Although most Congress leader's remained firmly behind Gandhi,

the determined broke away. The Ali brothers would soon become
fierce critics. Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Dasformed
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.

Contemporary historians and critics suggest that the movement

was successful enough to break the back of British rule, and
possibly even the catalyst for the movement that led to
independence in 1947.

But many historians and Indian leaders of the time also defended
Gandhi's judgment. However, there have been claims that Gandhi
called off the movement in an attempt to salvage his own personal
image, which would have been tarnished had he been blamed for
the Chauri Chaura incident, although a similar type of movement
was introduced in 1930, the civil disobedience movement. The
main difference was the introduction of a policy of violating the
law.
 Chauri Chaura Incident

On 5th February 1922, a Congress-Khilafat procession was

underway at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district of U.P. Irritated
by the behaviour of some policemen, a section of the crowd
attacked them. In retaliation, the police opened fire at the
unarmed procession. Instigated by this, the entire procession
attacked the police and when the policemen hid inside the police
station, the mob set fire to the building. The policemen who tried
to escape were hacked to pieces and thrown into the fire. 22
policemen were killed in the Chauri Chaura incident.

Gandhi was deeply disturbed on hearing the news of the Chauri

Chaura incident. Since it violated the strict condition of non-
violence he had laid down for launching the civil disobedience
phase and continuing the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi
decided to withdraw the movement. Thus, on 12th February
1922, the Non-Cooperation Movement came to an end.
 IMPACT OF THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT

Although the Non-Cooperation Movement did not succeed in

achieving its primary objective of Swaraj, it succeeded on many
other counts that are highlighted below:

1. The National Congress demonstrated that it represented the

majority opinion in the country. It could no longer be
accused of representing a ‘microscopic minority’.

2. The geographic spread of the movement was also nation-

wide. Although some areas were more active than others,
there were few areas, if any, that remained completely
passive to the call of Non-Cooperation.

3. The Non-Cooperation Movement was the first opportunity

for the masses at political participation and fight against
injustice and economic hardship caused by many years of
foreign rule.

4. There was a considerable participation of Muslims in the

movement and the maintenance of communal harmony,
despite the Malabar incidents, which was not seen later
during the Civil Disobedience Movement.
 SUCCESS AND SUSPENSION

The success of the revolt was a total shock to British authorities

and a massive encouragement to millions of Indian nationalists.
Unity in the country was strengthened and many Indian schools
and colleges were made. Indian goods were encouraged .
On 5 February 1922 a clash 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 (pron.-chau key) (station). The mob set fire to the
police chowki with some 22 police men inside it.
Mahatma Gandhi felt that the revolt was veering off-course, and
was disappointed that the revolt had lost its non-violent nature.
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 lasting 3
weeks, and called off the non-cooperation movement.
 CONCLUSION

The Non-cooperation movement made the Indian masses

conscious of their strength to stand up before the repression of an
alien Government. Gandhi was correct in advising the nation to
accelerate slowly and to call off the movement that was going on
the wrong track. He gave a touch of new life to every section of the
society. In the year 1921, there were 400 labour strikes involving
about 5,00,000 workers - a thing almost undreamt of before. He
instilled a new life in men and women belonging to the lowest
strata ofsocietythe untouchables, the prostitutes, the lepers and
similar other sections of society.
There were many ideas Gandhi preached and propagated through
the Non-co-operation movement. But his method of revolution
was non-violent and peaceful in thought, word and deed. That is
why he could say that a Satyagrahi had no enemy. His idea was to
fight the evil without harbouring any ill will towards its
perpetrators. From this moral juncture he spoke and acted; and
from thisjuncture one should judge him.