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TOPICS - Gandhian Phase Part-2; Revolutionary Activities

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT (CDM) (1930-34)

Date Event Important details

December 1929 Lahore Congress Session  Congress authorised to start CDM.
January 1930 Gandhi's Eleven Points  Gandhi placed 'Eleven Points' of
administrative reforms before Lord Irwin
and gave an ultimatum of January 31,
1930 to accept or reject these demands.
 With no positive response from the
government, Gandhi decided to launch a
civil disobedience movement, making
salt Satyagraha his central theme.
12th March Civil Disobedience  Gandhi started his historic 'Dandi March'
1930 begins from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.
 Thus, began CDM.
6th April 1930 Gandhi breaks salt law  Gandhi reached Dandi, picked up a
handful of salt and broke the salt law as
a symbol of defiance to British laws.
 Gandhi gave the following Directions for
Future Action: Wherever possible civil
disobedience of the salt law should be
started, Foreign liquor and cloth shops
can be picketed, non-payment of tax,
boycott court, resign from government
service etc.
 Gandhi’s arrest came on May 4, 1930
when he had announced that he would
lead a raid on Dharasana Salt Works on
the west coast.
1930s Chittagong armoury raid  Carried out by the Bengal revolutionaries
led by Surya Sen.
 Tamil Nadu: C Rajagopalachari organised
march from Thiruchinapalli to
Vedaranniyam on tanjore coast.
Malabar: Kelappan known for Vaikom
Satyagraha organized salt marches.
 Andhra: Sibirams were organized.
 Orissa: Gopal Bandhu Chaudhuri
organized in Balasore, Cuttack etc.
 Bihar: Non chowkidari tax was imposed.
 Manipur and Nagaland: Rani gaidinliu at
age of 13 years raised the banner against
British.
 Forms of Mobilization: Parbhat pheries,

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vanar senas, manjari senas, secret

patrikas and magic lattern show.
Role of Khan Abdul  Active in NWFP for several years.
Gaffar Khan  Had set up a band of non-violent
revolutionaries, the Khudai
Khidmatgars or the Red Shirts who
played an active role in the
CDM.
Anti-Cunningham  In Assam, a powerful agitation by
Circular agitation students against the
infamous 'Cunningham Circular' was
launched which prohibited students
from participating in political activities
associated with the national movement.
No-revenue No- rent  Was started in UP, Agra and Rae Bareilly
campaign emerged as important
centres.
 Participation of women was the most
remarkable feature of
CDM.
 Students participated in huge numbers,
merchants and traders were
enthusiastic, active participation of
tribals, workers and peasants. Whereas
Muslim participation was nowhere near
the 1920-22 level.
November1930- First RTC (London)  Chaired by Brítish PM Ramsay
January MacDonald of Labour Party.
1931  First conference between the Indians
and the British as equals.
 Boycotted by Congress as it had
launched the CDM,
 Its proceedings proved to be quite
meaningless.
 It recommended-
1) Formation of an All India Federation
of British Indian Provinces and the Indian
States.
2) A responsible government at the
centre with certain 'reservations and
safeguards' for the transitional period,
 Three RTCs were held in London to
discuss the Indian constitutional
question.
 INC participated only in the 2d RTC.
 Ambedkar attended all the three RTCs.

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25th January Gandhi released  Truce period begins.

1931
14th February Gandhi – Irwin talk  By the efforts of Sir TB Sapru and Sir MR
1931 initiated Jayakar.

5th March Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Delhi  Signed by Gandhi on behalf of the

1931 Pact), End of First Phase Congress and by Irwin on behalf of the
of CDM government.
 First pact to be signed between the
Congress and the government on an
equal footing.
 As per the Pact, the Congress agreed to
withdraw the CDM
immediately and participate in the next
RTC.

29th March Special Congress Session  Was called to ratify the Gandhi-Irwin
1931 at Karachi Pact.
 Was presided by Sardar Patel.
 Adopted resolutions on Fundamental
Rights and National Economic
Programme.

April-Aug 1931 Change of  Lord Irwin replaced by Lord Willingdon

Government as Viceroy.
 Sir Samuel Hoare became Secretary of
State for India.
 Changed government adopted a
hardened stand, saw Delni
pact as a mistake.
September- 1931 Second RTC  Congress participated and was
(London) represented by Gandhi.
 Gandhi gave a carte blanche to Jinnah,
yet the communal
problem could not be resolved.

September 1931 Government  While Gandhi was away to London,

Repression Willingdon decided to
launch a hard and immediate blow to
the revival of national movement.
 Policy of 'Civil martial law' was launched.
 Involved passing of sweeping ordinances
banning all Congress organizations.
 Gandhi was arrested as soon as he
returned from the RTC

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(4 Jan 1932).
28th December Gandhi returned  Gandhi returned to a changed political
1931 from London situation.

29th December Second CDM  4 Jan 1932, Gandhi was arrested

1931 launched  The movement was effectively crushed
within a few months.
 Afterwards it just lingered on.
16th August 1932 Communal Award  MacDonald announced the proposal on
(MacDonald minority representation, known as the
Award) Communal Award.
 It declared depressed classes as
'minority’. Entitled them to separate
electorate.
 The Congress strongly disagreed with the
communal award.
 It decided neither to accept nor reject it.
 20 Sep 1932, Gandhi (in Yerawada jail)
sat on a fast unto death to oppose the
Communal Award.
 Gandhi was against this idea because he
did not want to view the untouchables
as being outside the folds of Hinduism.
24th September Poona Pact  Was concluded between Gandhi and
Ambedkar with the efforts of Ambedkar,
MC Rajah and Madan Mohan Malaviya.
 It was signed by Ambedkar on behalf of
the depressed classes and by Madan
Mohan Malviya on behalf of Hindus and
Gandhi as a means to end the fast that
Gandhi was undertaking in jail (against
Communal Award)
 The laid down reserved seats for the
Depressed Classes in the provincial
legislatures for which elections would be
through joint electorates.
 In the Central Legislature, 19% of the
seats would be reserved for the
Depressed Classes.
 This system would continue for ten years
unless a mutual agreement consents to
terminate it earlier.
November- Third RTC  It was attended by only 46 delegates and
December  Was boycotted by the INC as well as the
1932 Labour Party in Britain.
 In March 1933, a White Paper was

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published &
 It contained four major proposals-
Federation, Provincial Autonomy,
dyarchy at the centre and safeguards.
 White Paper later became the basis of
the Govt, of India Act
of 1935.
April 1934 CDM withdrawn  In May 1933, Gandhi temporarily
suspended the movement.
 Formally withdrew it in April 1934.

REVOLUTIONARY TERRORIST MOVEMENT

Reasons  Failure of moderate methods.

 After 1905 Bengal partition, a group of Nationalist realised the
futility of praying and petitioning to the government.
 Were convinced with the extremists’ critique of moderate politics
 Extremists were unable to give a practical expression to these
ideas.
 Extremists failed to organise an effective body that could direct
the Revolutionary energies.
 Violent oppression of the Swadeshis by the government.
 The Congress split in 1907 facilitated this and the government
launched an all-out attack on the extremists.
Methods of the  They believed imperialism could be countered by western
revolutionaries methods of violence alone.
 Took to the cult of revolver and the bomb.
 Recruited young persons, trained them in values of action and
sacrifice.
 Based their style on the lines of Irish terrorists and the Russian
Nihilists.
 Resorted to assassinations of a unpopular officials.
 Aimed to terrorize the British into submission and consolidate the
feelings of nationalism.
Government  The Government of India passed several repressive legislations:
response  The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act 1907.
 The Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act 1908.
 Newspaper Incitement to Offences Act 1908.
 The Press Act 1910.
Decline of  Stern government repression.
Revolutionary  Lack of popular response.
Trend  World War 1 ended and the government released all political

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Prisoners.
 Gandhi arrived on the national scene and emphasized on non-
violent means.

REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES

Anushilan Samities  The organisation arose from a conglomeration of local

youth groups and gyms (akhara) in Bengal in 1902.
 It had two prominent, somewhat independent, arms in East
and West Bengal
o Dhaka Anushilan Samiti (centred in Dhaka, modern
day Bangladesh),
o Jugantar group (centred at Calcutta).
 From its foundation to its dissolution during the 1930s, the
Samiti challenged British rule in India by engaging in
militant nationalism, including bombings, assassinations,
and politically motivated violence.
 It was led by the nationalists Aurobindo Ghosh and his
brother Barindra Ghosh, and influenced by philosophies as
diverse as Hindu Shakta philosophy, as set forth by Bengali
authors Bankim and Vivekananda, Italian Nationalism, and
the Pan-Asianism of Kakuzo Okakura.
 Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal began a Bengali
nationalist weekly ’Jugantar’ (New Era) and its English
counterpart ‘Bande Mataram’ in March 1906 that openly
preached armed rebellion to create the necessary
revolutionary mentality among Indians.
 In 1907 they published ‘Vartaman Rananiti’ advocating
military training, and laid down strategies and tactics of
guerrilla warfare.
 Alarmed by the revolutionary activities of the Samiti, the
British took a series of measures to crush it. The Special
Branch of the Calcutta Police was constituted to deal with
them. Their activities, and that of the Ghadar Party, led to
the passage of the Defence of India Act 1915.
 The organisation moved away from its philosophy of
violence in the 1920s due to the influence of the Indian
National Congress and the Gandhian non-violent
movement.
 A section of the group, notably those associated with
Sachindranath Sanyal, remained active in the revolutionary
movement, founding the Hindustan Republican Association
in north India.
Hindustan Republic  Punjab- United Provinces- Bihar
Association (Later  HRA was founded in October 1924 in Kanpur.
renamed as Hindustan
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socialist Republic  Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin

Association)
Kakori robbery incident
(1925), HRA was involved
in it
Regrouping of HRA into
HSRA (1928)
Feroz Shah Kotla
Saunders Murder, by
HSRA (1927)
Bomb in the Central
Legislative Assembly (8th
April 1929)
Chittagong Armoury raid
by Indian Republican
Army- Chittagong branch
(18th April 1930)
Sanyal were the founders.
 To organise armed rebellion to overthrow colonial
government and establish federal republic of United States
of India.
 The members of HRA looted the official railway cash at
Kakori.
 Bismil, Ashafaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri
were hanged in the case.
 Under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad.
 The participants include Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagwati
Charan Vohra, Bejoy Kumar Sinha etc.,
 It decided to work under a collective leadership and
adopted socialism as its official goal.
 Saunders, police official responsible for the lathi charge in
Lahore and for death of Lala Lajpat Rai during anti- simon
commission protest.
 Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru shot dead Saunders.
 To protest against the passage of the Public safety Bill and
Trade disputes bill which are restrictive on civil liberties.
 The bombs had been deliberately made harmless and were
aimed at making the ‘deaf hear’.
 The objective was to get arrested and to use the trial court
as a forum for propaganda of their ideology.
 Led by Surya Sen.
 The plan was to occupy two main armouries in Chittagong
to seize and supply arms to revolutionaries.
 The raid was successful and Sen hoisted the national flag
and proclaimed provisional revolutionary government.
 But later, they got arrested.

GHADAR MOVEMENT

Ghadar  Punjabi immigrants settled in the West Coast of North America

Revolutionaries since 1904.
 They had to face the hostility of white labour force.
 They decided to organise themselves with the aim of securing
India's freedom from the British rule.
Founded by  Lala Hardayal
 Baba Sohan Singh
 Bhakna Ramchandra Barkatullah
 Baba Gurmukh Singh
Ideology  Ghadar party pledged to wage Revolutionary war against the
British in India
 Ideology was particularly secular
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Main events  Hardayal was arrested by the US authorities on pretext of

during Gadar spreading Anarchy.
Movement  He was released on bail and decided to jump bail and escape to
Switzerland.
 In 1913, Japanese ship named Komagata Maru carried 376 Indian
to Vancouver.
 Upon its arrival, the ship was not allowed to land in Vancouver.
 To fight for the rights of the passengers Shore committee was
formed.
 Lead by Husain Rahim, Sohanlal Pathak and Balwant Singh.
 Yet Komagata Maru was forced out of Canadian waters.
 On 27 September 1914, the ship reached Budge Budge Calcutta.
 The Clash between the police and the passengers resulted in the
death of 18 passengers.
 This created widespread discontentment in Punjab.
 Political dacoities erupted in the districts of Jalandhar, Amritsar
and Ludhiana.
 Outbreak of the First World War was the most significant event
that affected the Gadar Movement.
 The party issued Ailan-e -Jung or proclamation of War.
 Ghadar activists urged people to return to India in large numbers.
Government  Large number of people were put to death and sentenced to long
repression terms in Prison in first Lahore Conspiracy Case involving Ghadar
activists

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