THE NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT

AND MAHATMA GANDHI'S

INVOLVEMENT

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Prateek Singh Dr Rachna Sharma
Roll No. 18096 RGNUL
Group 10

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

2018
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure to present my report on the topic – ‘Non-Cooperation

Movement’. It would not have been possible without the kind support of my teacher in
charge, Dr Rachna Sharma, under whose guidance and constant supervision the project was
brought to the present state.

I would also like to express my gratitude towards my parents for their kind co-operation and
encouragement which helped me in the completion of this project.

I am also thankful to the university for giving me such an amazing opportunity for making
this project and giving suitable instructions and guidelines for the project.

Last but not the least, I thank my friends who shared necessary information and useful web
links for preparing my project.
 CONTENTS

1...................................................................................................................... INTRODUCTION

............................................................................................................................................2

2................................................................................................. CAUSES OF THE MOVEMENT:

............................................................................................................................................3

Disillusion at the end of war............................................................................3

Home Rule movement.....................................................................................3

The Economic distress caused by World War I...............................................3

Montague – Chelmsford Act............................................................................4

The Khilafat Movement...................................................................................4

3.................................................................................................. SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT

............................................................................................................................................5

4............................................................................................................... PEOPLE'S RESPONSE

............................................................................................................................................7

5...........................................................................................SUSPENSION OF THE MOVEMENT

............................................................................................................................................9
6.......................................................... A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT

..........................................................................................................................................12

7.......................................................................................................................... CONCLUSION

..........................................................................................................................................14
 INTRODUCTION

The Non-Cooperation Movement was an important phase of the independence movement of

India. Led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress from the month of August
in the year 1920 to the month of February of the year 1922. It began shortly after the
Jallianwala Bagh incident that took place in Amritsar, which killed thousands of innocent
Indians. It aimed to fight the British rule in India through non-violent means, or 'Ahinsa'.

In this movement, protesters would refuse to buy British goods and adopt the use of local
handicrafts and even picket British liquor shops. The ideas of Ahimsa and nonviolence, and
Gandhi's 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
of 1920.

The non-cooperation movement was nothing but a declaration of peaceful; and non-violent
war against the atrocities of the British government which had gone back on its words.

The Non-cooperation Movement meant active refusal to abide by the laws and regulations
passed by the government.

An appeal was made to all the Indians to surrender their titles and to boycott the law courts,
the educational institutions and the election of the legislatures.

It was thought in the beginning that this would be enough to emphasis upon the government
the need for greater reforms and more amenities in the administration of the country.

However, it was planned that, in case, it did not succeed in bringing down the Government;
the payment of taxes would be refused.

The Congress also declared that it would not be satisfied with anything less than Swarajya.
Thus, for the first time the Congress had taken a revolutionary step. An organization which
was wedded to constitutional means had now adopted a revolutionary policy and was even
ready to work for a self-rule disconnecting all relations from the government of England in
case it was not granted by them willingly.
 CAUSES OF THE MOVEMENT:

Disillusion at the end of war

 During the war, there were few Indians who didn’t want to collaborate with the
government.
 But, Gandhiji thought it wouldn’t be proper to take advantage of the rulers’ weak
position.
 As part of the British empire, India involved in the World War I.
 For its own interest, the government of British used India’s manpower, money and
wealth.
 In various war fronts, about 12,50,000 soldiers of India represented the British and
numerous soldiers sacrificed their lives.
 As war subscription, they have donated about 6 crores and 21 lakh pounds.
 The Indians thought that they would be granted autonomy in return to their valuable
services to the British government.
 But they were greatly disappointed as they were not granted autonomy by the British.
It was the main cause to start the Non-cooperation movement by Gandhi.

Home Rule movement

 To see the British government adopting oppressive measures, Indians were greatly
disappointed. Besant and Tilak started the Home Rule movement in response to this.
 The Muslim league and the Congress were brought together by the Lucknow Pact. in
1916, the return of extremists to the Congress had given it a militant character.
 This movement actually prepared the ground for the Non-cooperation movement.
 The Economic distress caused by World War I

 To the Indians, the World War I had brought a great economic distress. The real
scheme of reforms fell far short of the demands of the nationalists.
 The economic condition took a turn for worse at the end of the war. The prices were
hit. The prices of sugar, clothes etc, began to soar. The agricultural products’ price did
not increase.
 Due to the impact of the war, the peasants and workers suffered greatly. The
unemployed workers lived in half starvation.
 For shedding the blood of Indians, not only the politicians, even the peasants and the
soldiers claimed compensation according to Louis Fischer.

Montague – Chelmsford Act

 The Congress was not satisfied by the Mont-Ford Act in the year 1919. The real plan
of reforms fell short of the demands of the nationalists.

The Khilafat Movement

The leaders of the Khilafat movement were informed that they shouldn’t expect more. This
had led to the acceptance of the suggestion of non-cooperation by the Khilafat Committee
and they asked Gandhiji to lead the non-cooperation movement.

People were becoming impatient for action, so, the congress had to take some serious action.
To decide on its course of action, the All India Congress Committee held a meeting.

The above-mentioned incidents horrified Gandhi to the core and he proclaimed to the whole
nation to stop cooperating with this 'satanic' British government.1

1
Available at https://www.importantindia.com/16194/causes-and-importance-of-non-cooperation-movement/,
last accessed on 22.10.2018.
 SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT

Gandhi, accompanied by the Ali brothers, undertook a nationwide tour. Thousands of

students left government schools and colleges and joined around 800 national schools and
colleges which cropped up during this time.

These educational institutions were organised under the leadership of Acharya Narendra Dev,
CR Das, Lala Lajpat Rai, Zakir Hussain, Subhash Bose and included Jamia Milia at Aligarh,
Kashi Vidyapeeth, Gujarat Vidyapeeth and Bihar Vidyapeeth.

The decision to non-cooperate was confirmed by the All-India College Students' Conference
at Nagpur on the 28th December 1920 by an overwhelming majority. In the beginning of
1921 thousands of students joined the movement. The withdrawals from colleges and schools
affiliated to the Calcutta University were 27 percent and 23 percent respectively of their total
number. The university suffered a loss of no less than £20,000 under examination fee. The
total number of Students from all over India who left their studies was about 90,000. In many
provinces, schools refused their grants in aid to become free of government control. In other
words, they became national schools.

Many lawyers gave up their practice, some of whom were Motilal Nehru, JN Nehru, CR Das,
C Rajagopalachari. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vallabbhai Patel, and Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Heaps of foreign clothes were being burnt in public and their imports fell nearly by half.
Picketing of shops selling foreign liquor and of toddy shops was also being done at numerous
places.

The Tilak Swaraj Fund was oversubscribed, and one crore rupees were collected.

Congress volunteer corps emerged as the parallel police at that time.

In 1921 July, the Ali brothers gave a call to the Muslims to resign from the Army as it was
highly unreligious in nature for them. The Ali brothers were arrested for this in September of
the same year. Gandhi echoed their call and asked local Congress committees to pass similar
resolutions to that effect.
Now, the Congress gave a call to local Congress bodies to start a civil disobedience
movement if it was thought that the people were ready for it. Already a no tax movement in
Midnapore and in Guntur were going on.

In Assam, strikes in tea plantations, steamer services and Assam Bengal railways had been
organised. JM Sengupta was a prominent leader in these strikes.

In November 1921, the visit of the Prince of Wales to India invited strikes and
demonstrations.2

The spirit of defiance and unrest gave rise to many local struggles such as Awadh Kisan
Movement of Uttar Pradesh, Eka movement, Mappila revolt and the Sikh agitation for
removal of the concept of Mahants in Punjab.3

2
Available at https://learn.culturalindia.net/chauri-chaura-incident.html, last accessed on 22.10.2018.
3
Shodhganga's report on Non-Cooperation Movement (Chapter VI)
 PEOPLE'S RESPONSE

The participation in the movement was from a wide range if the society but to a varying
extent.4

Middle Class

People from the middle classes led the movement at the beginning but later they showed a
plethora of reservations about Gandhi's programme. In places like Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras, which were centres of elite politicians, the response to Gandhi's call was very
limited. The response to the call for resignation from the government services, surrendering
of titles, etc. was not taken very seriously.

The newcomers in Indian politics found expression of their interests and aspirations in the
movement. Rajendra Prasad in Bihar and Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat provided solid support
and, in fact, leaders like them found non-cooperation movement to be a viable political
alternative to terrorism in order to fight against a colonial government.

Business Class

The economic boycott received support from the Indian business group because they had
benefitted from the nationalists' emphasis on the use of Swadeshi. But a section of the big
business remained sceptical towards the movement. They seemed to be afraid of labour
unrest in their factories.

Peasants

4
Spectrum Series - A Brief History of Modern India (2018-2019).
Their participation was massive. Although the Congress was against class war, the masses
broke this restraint. In Bihar, the confrontation between the 'lower and upper castes' on the
issue of the former taking the sacred thread got merged with the Non-Cooperation
Movement. In general, the peasants turned against the landlords and the traders. The
movement gave an opportunity to the toiling masses to express their real feelings against the
British as well as against their masters and oppressors.

Women

Women gave up pardah and offered their ornaments for the Tilak fund. They joined the
movement in large numbers and took part in picketing before the shops selling foreign cloth
and liquor.
 SUSPENSION OF THE MOVEMENT

In reply to the Communique of the Government, Gandhi issued a rejoinder in which he

replied to every charge contained therein. To prove that the Government indulged in
repression, he cited nine cases out of many, of official lawless repression. Hardly had he
issued his rejoinder to the communique of the Government, when he read about the tragic
happenings at Chauri Chaura, a small village near Gorakhpur, U.P, where an angry mob had
forced twenty-two constables and a sub-inspector of police into the police station and set fire
to it. All of them died in the fire, Gandhi was very much pained and agitated at this and
decided to scrap all activities in respect of civil disobedience. The working committee of the
Congress met at Bardoli on the 11th and 12 February 1922, and passed a resolution
suspending all kinds of activities of civil disobedience.

Many leaders did not approve of the suspension of civil disobedience. Lajpat Rai wrote from
prison:" We have been defeated and that too very badly. Our defeat is in proportion to the
greatness of our leader J.L. Banaijee, Syed Mahmud, Mahadev Desai, Subhas Bose,
Jawaharlal Nehru, Asaf Ali registered their disappointment. Many reasons were advanced
against the suspension of the civil disobedience. It was argued that violence at Chauri Chaura
could not have affected Bardoli. That it was politically unwise. Some argued that suspension
was "due to the unfortunate fact that a religious preacher rather than politician is at the helm
of affairs". The communists traced the course of suspension of the movement to its bourgeois
leadership. The secret service of the Government was of the opinion that the movement was
suspended because Bardoli was not ready for it. It is very difficult to agree with any of these
explanations given for the suspension of the movement. Gandhi explained his position in the
article "The Crime of Chauri Chaura" which was described by Romain Rolland as the most
"human document ever written", Gandhi was a firm believer in non-violence. Therefore,
Gandhi could never support any violent movement.

The Chauri Chaura affair was certainly a very gruesome affair. There is no doubt that the
people became violent only after one of their leaders had been hit by a sub-inspector of police
and firing had been resorted to. On the whole, it appears that people became uncontrollable
and violent. To the people who asked how a disturbance at Chauri Chaura could affect
Bardoli, Gandhi's reply was: "Bardoli is but a speck on the map of India. Its effort cannot
succeed unless there is a perfect co-operation from other parts. Bardoli's disobedience will be
civil only when other parts of India will remain non-violent." The argument of losing prestige
did not bother him in the least. He wrote: "Let the opponent glory in our humiliation or so-
called defeat. It is better to be charged with cowardice and weakness than to be guilty of
denial of our oath and sin against God. It is a million times better to appear untrue before the
world than to be untrue to ourselves. It was not the moral argument, alone which led him to
adopt the course he had taken. The situation in the country was unfavourable to the resort of
civil disobedience. Hence, Gandhi cannot be accused of sacrificing the interests of country
for his own principles. Both the practical exigencies of the situation as well as his moral
principles demanded the suspension of the movement. The country was heading towards
violence and indiscipline. He was receiving many letters requesting him to suspend the
movement even before the Chauri Chaura Tragedy. After the violence in Chauri Chaura even
the supporters and sympathizers of the movement demanded that the movement be
suspended. The Chauri Chaura incident was "really an index linger". 'Hie violence at Chauri
Chaura was not committed by unknown people but by Congressmen. This weighed with
Gandhi. He had also been receiving news of indiscipline in the Congress ranks for quite some
time.

Thus, under these circumstances, Gandhi was unable to direct the fight. There lies the secret
of the suspension of the movement. In the circumstances then prevailing in India it was the
right decision. Even Lajpat Rai, Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru who were critics of
Gandhi's decision, later on admitted the wisdom of his decision of suspending the civil
disobedience. The Government felt this was the opportune time to arrest Gandhi who had
also anticipated his arrest. On March 9, 1922, he gave his last message in the article "If I am
Arrested". He asked the people to maintain peace. On 10th March, he was arrested on the
charge of sedition for three articles published in the 'Young India' and was given two years
imprisonment on each article to run consecutively-but not concurrently as was the judicial
convention; so, in all six years. During the trial Gandhi did not defend himself; in fact,
practically no non-cooperation prisoner defended himself. In an oral statement he said, "I
have no desire whatsoever to conceal from this court the fact that to preach disaffection
towards the existing system of Government has become almost a passion with me." Then in a
written statement he explained how from a loyalist and co-operator, he had "become an
uncompromising disaffectionist and non-co-operator.
The first shock came in the shape of the Rowlatt Act, then followed the Punjab horrors
beginnings with Jallianwala Bagh and culminating in crawling orders, public floggings and
other indescribable humiliations. I discovered too that the plighted word of the Prime
Minister to the Musalmans of India regarding the integrity of Turkey and holy places of Islam
was not likely to be fulfilled Gandhi also stated that the British system of administration was
based on the “exploitation of the masses”- which he described as “crime against humanity”.
And he thought it would be sinful to co-operate with such a system of administration. He also
said in the court, "I was playing with fire. I ran the risk, and if I was set free, I would still do
the same."

The second instance of public criticism was on the suspension of the civil disobedience
movement after the Chauri Chaura tragedy. Purely from political point of view, perhaps, no
political leader should have done that. But, Gandhi was not simply a political leader; nor was
the motive force behind his movement purely political. In him, we find a strange amalgam of
politics and ethics. He wanted to keep the movement non-violent. In his oral statement in the
court, he stated-"Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my
creed. But I had to make my choice. I had either to submit to a system which I considered has
done an irreparable harm to my country, or to incur the risk of the mad fury of my people".

Yet whenever there was an outburst of that mad popular fury, he suspended the movement.
Further, let us consider what would have been the consequences if the movement was not
suspended. Practically all the leaders-national, provincial or even local-were in prison. There
was a move to lead and guide the movement on wrong lines. Outburst of popular violence
would have been no match against the organized violence of the Government. The
steamroller of Government repression would have mauled down the courage of the people.5

The greatest attainment of the Non-co-operation movement was that it made the inert masses
of India bold enough to defy the authority of the mighty British Raj (Government). Gandhi
had asked the people to be ready for sacrifice and suffering and to cultivate the virtue of
Abhaya or fearlessness. There is a limit to the power of endurance by the people.

So, it can be said considering the situation in a historical perspective-that Gandhi's decision
of calling off the civil disobedience was not unjustified even from a political point of view.

5
Shodhganga's Report on Non-Cooperation Movement (Chapter VI)
 A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHAURI CHAURA
INCIDENT

The Chauri Chaura incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district Uttar
Pradesh in British India on 5 February 1922, when a large group of demonstrators,
participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police, who opened fire. In
retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its
occupants. The incident led to the deaths of three civilians and 22 or 23 police officers.
Mahatma Gandhi halted the Non-cooperation Movement on the national level on 12 February
1922, as a direct result of this incident.6

Two days before the incident, on 2 February 1922, volunteers participating in the Non-
cooperation Movement protested against high meat prices in the marketplace. The
demonstrators were beaten back by local police. Several of their leaders were arrested and put
in the lockup at the Chauri Chaura police station. In response, a protest against the police was
called for 4 February, to be held in the local marketplace.

On 5 February, nearly 2,500 protesters amassed and began marching towards the market at
Chauri Chaura. They had gathered to picket a liquor shop in the market place. A part of the
crowd gathered in front of the local police station shouting slogans, requesting the release of
their leader. Armed police were dispatched to control the situation while the crowd marched
towards the market and started shouting anti-government slogans. In an attempt to frighten
and disperse the crowd, the police warned the public by firing shots into the air. This only
disturbed the crowd who began to throw stones at the police.7

With the situation getting out of control, the Indian sub-inspector in charge ordered the police
to open fire on the advancing crowd, killing three and wounding several others. Reports vary
on the reason for the police retreat, with some claiming that the constables ran out of
ammunition while others claimed that the crowd's unexpectedly assertive reaction to the
gunfire was the cause. In the ensuing chaos, the heavily outnumbered police fell back to the
shelter of the police chowki while the angry mob advanced. Infuriated by the gunfire into
their ranks, the crowd set the chowki ablaze, killing all of the Indian policemen and
6
https://divyum.com/chauri-chaura-incident-1922/
7
https://www.britannica.com/event/noncooperation-movement
chaprassis (official messengers) trapped inside. Most were burned to death though several
appear to have been killed by the crowd at the entrance to the chowki and their bodies thrown
back into the fire. The death count is reported variously in the literature as 22 or 23
policemen killed, possibly due to the subsequent death of an additional burn victim.

In response to the killing of the police, British authorities declared martial law in and around
Chauri Chaura. Several raids were conducted, and hundreds of people were arrested.

Appalled at the outrage, Gandhi went on a five-day fast as penance for what he perceived as
his culpability in the bloodshed. In reflection, Gandhi felt that he had acted too hastily in
encouraging people to revolt against the British Raj without sufficiently emphasising the
importance of ahimsa (non-violence) and without adequately training the people to exercise
restraint in the face of attack. He decided that the Indian people were ill-prepared and not yet
ready to do what was needed to achieve independence. Gandhi was also arrested and
sentenced to six years of imprisonment but was later released in February 1924, on grounds
of his ill health.8

On 12 February 1922, the Indian National Congress halted the Non-cooperation Movement
on the national level as a direct result of the Chauri Chaura tragedy.

8
Available at http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463756.001.0001/acprof-
9780199463756-chapter-5, last accessed on 22.10.2018.
 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 of society the 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 this juncture one should judge him.
 REFERENCES
 Shodhganga
 Wikipedia
 ImportantIndia
 CulturalIndia
 OxfordScholarship
 Britannica
 HistoryDiscussion