Non-cooperation movement

Non-cooperation movement
Name	Non-cooperation movement
Date	September 1920 – February 1922
Place	British India
Causes	Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Khilafat movement
Goals	Attainment of Swaraj
Methods	Boycott, renunciation of titles, resignation from government posts, withdrawal from schools
Result	Called off after the Chauri Chaura incident
Side1	Indian National Congress, Khilafat Committee
Side2	British Raj
Leadfigures1	Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, C. R. Das
Leadfigures2	Lord Chelmsford, Lord Reading

Non-cooperation movement. It was a pivotal nationwide campaign of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance launched by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The movement aimed to secure Swaraj, or self-rule, by persuading Indians to withdraw their cooperation from the British Raj. Spanning from September 1920 to February 1922, it marked Gandhi's first large-scale satyagraha in India and fundamentally transformed the nature of the Indian independence movement.

Background and causes

The movement emerged from a confluence of post-World War I grievances and specific repressive actions by the colonial government. Indian expectations for greater self-government, promised in return for wartime support, were dashed by the Government of India Act 1919. The unpopular Rowlatt Act, which extended wartime emergency powers, led to the Rowlatt Satyagraha and the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar under Reginald Dyer. Simultaneously, the Khilafat movement, led by Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali Jauhar, sought to protect the Ottoman Caliphate, galvanizing Muslim political participation. Gandhi saw a unified Hindu-Muslim platform as the ideal moment to launch a mass struggle.

Launch and spread

The movement was formally launched by the Indian National Congress during its session in Calcutta in September 1920, after Gandhi secured support from leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and C. R. Das. The program was later endorsed at the annual Congress session in Nagpur in December 1920, which also saw significant organizational reforms to the party. The call for non-cooperation spread rapidly from major cities like Bombay and Ahmedabad to towns and villages across Bengal, the United Provinces, Bihar, and Punjab, drawing in students, lawyers, farmers, and urban workers.

Key features and methods

The strategy centered on the complete, yet peaceful, withdrawal of cooperation from British institutions. Indians were urged to resign from government services, withdraw from schools and colleges run by the government, and boycott British courts by establishing private arbitration courts. A central plank was the boycott of foreign goods, especially British cloth, and the promotion of khadi (homespun cloth). People were also asked to surrender British titles and honors, with notable resignations coming from lawyers like Motilal Nehru and C. R. Das.

Major events and phases

The initial phase saw a significant response, with thousands of students leaving government schools to join national institutions like the Kashi Vidyapeeth and Jamia Millia Islamia. The visit of the Prince of Wales to India in November 1921 was met with empty streets and successful hartals. The movement's mass character was demonstrated in events like the Punjab protests and the Awadh peasant movement. However, the campaign began to show signs of evolving beyond strict nonviolence, with instances of popular unrest and clashes with police.

Impact and consequences

The movement had a profound psychological and political impact, breaking the fear of colonial authority and bringing millions of common Indians into the nationalist fold. It severely disrupted the colonial economy, particularly through the boycott of British textiles. The alliance with the Khilafat movement fostered unprecedented Hindu-Muslim unity. Politically, it established Gandhi as the undisputed leader of the Congress and popularized satyagraha as the principal method of struggle, moving the demand from Home Rule to outright Swaraj.

End and aftermath

Gandhi abruptly called off the movement in February 1922 following the Chauri Chaura incident in the United Provinces, where a police station was set ablaze, killing 22 policemen. He insisted that the movement had veered from its nonviolent creed. The decision caused dismay among leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. The immediate aftermath saw the arrest of Gandhi, who was tried and sentenced to six years in prison. While the movement ended, it energized the populace and set the stage for future campaigns like the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Category:Indian independence movement Category:History of India Category:British Raj Category:Protests in India Category:Gandhism