Civil Disobedience campaign/Gandhi-Irwin pact 1930/1 (17) Flashcards
What initiated the second phase of the campaign (the salt satyagraha being the first phase)?
Gandhi’s arrest in May 1930
What was different about this campaign in contrast to the one in 1920 - 22?
It wasn’t directed centrally. provincial committees were authorised to organise their own satyagrahas as well as determine the time and nature, although Congress recommended an order:
Salt
Boycott of foreign cloth
Non-payment of taxes
Refusal to obey authorities when they tried to prevent the satyagrahas.
What were the benefits of organising the campaign this way?
Congress cleverly avoided potential divisions amongst its members as to the degree of disobedience
By giving provincial committees such a large degree of autonomy, Congress hoped to demonstrate that it was really an umbrella organisation, sensitive to local needs.
The campaign was much more difficult for the Raj to prevent since there was no central organisation.
Was the campaign a success?
It became a formidable psychological weapon against the Raj and in some places, an actual physical threat. By the middle of the year, all provinces were affected. Civil disobedience was often used to express local grievances, but these were expressed on the national stage and, as such, were impressive. Different groups mobilised at different times and places and a whole range of people became politically aware and articulate - from middle-class businessmen and students. Women became involved in their own right - not just because their menfolk were imprisoned - and by November nearly 360 women had passed through gaol.
When was order restored?
By early 1931, law and order was more or less restored. An estimated 60,000 people passed through India’s gaol in 1930, putting immense strain on the civil service, police and magistrates as well as intolerable overcrowding in the gaols.
What did Irwin consider doing in mid 1930?
Imposing martial law on the most disaffected regions, as it was the only way of keeping any kind of order although the memory of Amritsar and the belief that bringing in the army would be an admission of failure prevented him from doing so.
Why was Congress feeling the strain by the end of the year?
Local satyagrahas, though initially successful, couldn’t be sustained and once local grievances were expressed and settled, life frequently returned to normal.
There had been an economic slump in early 1930 and many relished withholding taxes and bill payments. But the economic upturn later changed that and the profit motive once again became paramount.
People simply ran out of energy.
What resolved the stalemate between Congress and the Raj?
The Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931
What did the Gandhi-Irwin entail?
Congress’ civil disobedience campaign was suspended
Gandhi agreed to attend a second London conference
Confiscated property was returned to its owners
Some emergency restrictions were relaxed
Why was Irwin anxious to resolve the stalemate?
He didn’t want Congress to resort to a campaign of violence
Wanted to create a situation in which Gandhi could leave prison and participate as the representative of Congress in the London Conference, but couldn’t be seen to openly negotiate with a terrorist.
He had to be seen to support the ICS and those who stood aside from confrontation and persuade Gandhi that his presence at the Round Table conference was in Congress’ best interests.
How were the discussions between Irwin and Gandhi?
Frank and open, which was helped by the fact that both men genuinely wanted to find a way out of the impasse.
