2.2 Flashcards
What were the factors in Gandhi and civil disobedience 1920-22
Gandhi’s aims and beliefs
His becoming leader of Congress 1920
Non-cooperation campaign
Significance of his imprisonment
What were Gandhi’s aims and beliefs
Satyagraha
Respect for parents
Not to touch meat or wine
Improve the life of ‘untouchables’
Adopt a peasant lifestyle and reject western technology
Hindus and Muslims to work together
Cleanliness and good habits as important as prayer
Successes of Congresses campaigns, 1920-22
Some campaigns would definitely encourage action, e.g. mass refusal to pay taxes
Gandhi focused on areas of India where he knew the campaigns would not fall to mobs
Initial successes: students boycotted their exams, taxes were not paid, people stayed away from 1920 elections, around 200 lawyers stopped work
Few Indians attended the official ceremonies when a duke visited Calcutta in 1921
Gandhi had created a sense of excitement that change was imminent
Failures of Congress’ Campaigns 1920-22
Some of the campaigns were unrealistic, e.g. lawyers were unlikely to leave the law courts nor would parents want to remove their children from education
Millions of Indians unable to understand the concept of satyagraha
Violence broke out, e.g. in Bombay where a hartal turned into 4 days of looting and rioting, led to 53 dead and hundreds injured
Muslims declared a jihad, killing British people, and forced Hindu peasants and labourers to convert to Islam
1922, a mob of Congress supporters torched a police station in Chauri Chaura, killing 22 policemen
Gandhi forced to withdraw campaign
Gandhi was arrested and charged with promoting disaffection, sentenced to 6 years imprisonment
Explain significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment
gave British and indians a chance to stand back and reflect on a way forward
Congress more involved in peasant communities
Raj made concessions to India, support given to local assemblies e.g. cholera+smallpox inoculation programme
What were the factors in the work of Gandhi and Congress from 1922-1930
Extending the appeal ‘Back to Basics’ Young Hooligans Nehru Report Lahore Congress Salt March
Explain extending the appeal
Membership in Congress rose from 100000 to 2million by the end of 1921. However, many Muslims left because of what they regarded as Gandhi’s failure to support them over their concerns about the break-up of the Islamic Ottoman Empire after the FWW
Congress achieved this support in two ways
- extended its appeal into a wider spread of geographical areas throughout the subcontinent
- began wooing interest groups that had hitherto been neglected
Explain ‘Back to Basics’
After his release, he set up the All-India Spinners’ Association - spreading the word of hand spinning and promoting the general cause of self-sufficiency
This aligned with his basic belief that India should dismantle the structure and organisation of the state and return to the simpler, self-sufficient communities of the past
Persuaded a willing congress to embark on campaigns of mass literacy and for the improvement of village sanitation
Gandhi campaigned on behalf of the ‘untouchables’ in order to enable them to enter fully into Indian society
Gandhi abandoned his confrontational non-violence and helped Congress to emerge as a responsible political party (however those who believed this were to be proved terribly wrong)
Explain Young Hooligans
Three energetic, charismatic young men burst upon the political scene (‘the young hooligans’)
The British government set up and sent out the Simon Commission
The two events were not unconnected
The young hooligans were Subhas Chandra Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan and Jawaharlal Nehru. They lobbied the All-Indian Congress Committee and the Congress Working Committee - they wanted renewed action
Their objectives was independence
They opposed the Congress discussing the limited independence and freedom that would come if they negotiated with the Raj for dominion status
Gandhi labelled these men as young hooligans as they were attracted to socialism, a doctrine they found resonated with their own anti-imperialist sentiments - Gandhi, deeply conservative, regarded socialism as dangerously radical
Explain the Nehru Report
A report that suggested India take dominion status like many white ruled British colonies. The recommendations it made would have rejected religious freedoms in government however
How did Congress react to the Nehru report
Organised a boycott of the Simon Commission
What was the Lahore Congress
Gandhi had to decide on what was best for the future of the fight for home-rule as supporting Indian conservatives might mean that they’d have to settle for dominion whereas supporting the young hooligans may cause violence and further unrest
He decided to side with the young hooligans and the new guiding philosophy for Congress was total independence
Explain the Salt March
Gandhi planned a March in order to protest the Raj’s tax on salt - 78 marchers followed by thousands
He recruited untouchables to accompany him on this March in order to spread a message of solidarity
He also encouraged Indians to collect natural salt from creeks and oceans as it was tax free
What was the British response to the salt March
Arrested and imprisoned hundreds of peasants, local and National Congress leaders
Arrested Gandhi, resulting in a wage of strikes and protests, as well as a number of moderate people who seemed to be sympathising with Gandhi
What was Civil Disobedience
Congress authorised provincial committees to organise their own satyagrahas
Was effective as avoided potential divisions amongst members on how disobedient civil disobedience should be, as well as being difficult for the Raj to stop as there was no central organisation to take out
Was the civil disobedience campaign a success
Created an impressive level of disturbance, even women became actively involved - 360 women were jailed in 1930
However, 1931 the Raj had more or less resorted law and order
29000 people in India’s jails end of 1930
Viceroy Irwin almost imposed martial law on the most disaffected regions
Local satyagrahas couldn’t be sustained once local grievances were settled
What stuff involved the Muslim league 1920-30
Khalifat movement
Re-emergence of Muslim values
Concept of separateness
Breakdown of relations with Congress
Explain the Khalifat movement
Indian Muslims regarded the Turkish caliph as their spiritual leader
Turkey supported Germany in the FWW - therefore Muslims wanted to go against the British empire
Khalifat movement legitimised Muslim participation in any nationalist movement
It was even supported by Gandhi, however Jinnah said it was an opportunistic move on Gandhi’s part
Why did the Khalifat movement collapse in 1923
Turkey rejected the caliphate and became a secular state
Many Muslims became uncomfortable with Gandhi’s leadership
Explain the re-emergence of Muslim values
1920s - the Tanzeem and the Tabligh movements came to fore, aiming to strengthen the Muslim communities
Each town was to have their own association (anjuman) responsible for preaching, Islamic education, regular observance of religious duties and the construction of mosques
Anti-Hindu sentiment grew rapidly
Congress was no longer seen by Muslims as the body that would push for Independence
Explain the concept of separateness
The British Raj had actually encouraged togetherness but there was separateness
Worship and festivals created separateness between Muslims and Hindus through their different methods of prayer - Hindus used gongs, bells and cymbals whilst Muslims prayed in silence. At the Muslim festival of Bakr’Id, cows were slaughtered, but cows were sacred to Hindus
Arya Samj was a Hindu organisation that sought converts to Hinduism, established the Cow Protection Society which brought them into conflict with Muslim butchers and tradesmen
1906 a Hindu ‘ginger group’ Mahasabha was set up to make the Hindu community powerful and independent, used force
Raj made provision for separate electorates - Montagu declaration 1918, gov of India act 1919
Explain the breakdown of relations with Congress
Jinnah had hoped to get Congrès and the Muslim League to work together again
1927 - he offered to end the League’s support for separate electorates in exchange for 1/3 of the seats of the assembly - Congress rejected the offer
1929 - Jinnah tried again with his 14 points - rejected
Jinnah left for England
Idea of a separate Muslim state began to develop
How did Gandhi emerge as the leader of the Indian National Congress
Captured the popular imagination of the Indian people through his style of campaigning
Lived a peasant lifestyle which appealed to the masses
No other Indian politician behaved like this
His methods combined spiritual strength with political awareness
Some key members of Congress (e.g. Gokhale and Tilak) had died by 1920
What were the factors for the British response
Reasons for and reception of the Simon commission
Labour gov and the significance of Irwin declaration
Explain the reasons for and reception to the Simon commission
1927, the government sent a parliamentary declaration, headed by Sir John Simon, out to India to find out how the Gov of India act was working and to make recommendations for any necessary review
There were no Indians in the delegation, and the future of India was to be decided by British politicians
How did Hindus and Muslims respond to the Simon Commission
Members of Congress, Hindu leaders, liberal thinkers and a large section of the Muslim League led by Jinnah decided to boycott the Commission and refused to give evidence to its commissioners.
However, Muslims from the provinces decided to help the Commission’s enquiries, as did a number of Anglo-Indians, Sikhs and Untouchables that hoped for a better future than that which they were anticipating under a Hindu-dominated Congress
How did attitudes to India change under Labour gov
Labour was much more sympathetic to Indian demands
What was the Irwin declaration and why was this received badly
Reiterated the Montagu Declaration of 1917 and added that the attainment of dominion status would be a natural development of this.
Furthermore, Indian representatives were invited to London to a Round Table Conference where details of a new Indian constitution would be hammered out.
Irwin refusing the Congress Working Committee’s call upon the British government to declare an amnesty for all Indian political prisoners led to Indian frustration
What was Gandhi’s dilemma
Going to London would be political suicide, as they would be on ‘foreign soil’, forced to follow a British agenda and also be alongside all representatives of Indian opinion including princes whom Gandhi regarded as nothing better than pawns of the British, as well as Sikhs and Untouchables.
Congress getting what they wanted would be unlikely. However, not going to London would result in a settlement being made to which Congress - and Gandhi - couldn’t agree with
What were the details of the Gandhi-Irwin pact
Both Gandhi and Irwin were to meet to talk about how to relieve tensions
In the end, the pact meant that:
Congress’ civil disobedience campaign was suspended
Gandhi agreed to attend a second London conference
19000 Congress supporters were released from jail
Confiscated property returned to owners
Churchill claimed that Gandhi’s actions would only increase the unrest in India and the danger to which white people are exposed
