CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT AND ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE Flashcards
- Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru suggested that a two year grace period be given to the government to accept the demand for the Dominion status. Later under pressure from the younger elements, this period was reduced to one year.
- Congress decided that if the government did not accept a constitution case on Dominion status by the end of the year, the Congress would not only demand complete independence but would also launch a civil disobedience movement to attain its goal.
True/False?
- False, Mahatam Gandhi and Motilal Nehru.
- True.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) organised a __________ to propagate an aggressive programme of boycotting foreign cloth. Gandhi initiated the campaign in March 1929 in Calcutta and was arrested.
Foreign Cloth Boycott Committee.
What was the purpose behind the Irwin Declaration?
- October 31, 1929. The purpose behind the declaration was to restore faith in the ultimate purpose of British policy.
- There was no time svelte. The Dominion status promised by the Irwin would not be available for a long time to come.
- Lord Irwin also promised a Round Table Conference after the Simon Commission submitted its report.
What was the Delhi Manifesto?
- On November 2, 1929, a conference of prominent national leaders issued a Delhi Manifesto’ which put forward certain conditions for attending the Round Table Conference:
1. That the purpose of the Round Table Conference should be not to determine whether or when dominion status was to be reached but to formulate a constitution for implementation of the dominion status (thus acting as a constituent assembly) and the basic principle of dominion status should be immediately accepted.
2. That the Congress should have majority representation at the conference.
3. There should be a general amnesty for political prisoners and a policy of conciliation. - Viceroy Irwin rejected the demands put forward in the Delhi Manifesto.
Who was the President of the Lahore session of Indian National Congress held in December 1929?
Jawaharlal Nehru was nominated the president for the Lahore session of the Congress, mainly due to Gandhi’s backing (15 out of 18 Provincial Congress Committees had opposed Nehru). Nehru was choosen.
Major decisions taken at the Lahore session of INC in December 1929?
- The Round Table Conference was to be boycotted.
- Complete independence was declared as the aim of the Congress.
- Congress Working Committee was authorised to launch a programme of civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes and all members of legislatures were asked to resign their seats.
- January 26, 1930 was fixed as the first Independence (Swarajya) Day, to be celebrated everywhere.
- December 31, 1929
At midnight on the banks of River Ravi, the newly adopted tricolour flag of freedom was hoisted by Jawaharlal Nehru amidst slogans of Inquilab Zindabad.
The Independence Pledge of January 26, 1930: was drafted by whom and what are its points?
- Drafted by Gandhi. Made the following points.
- It is the inalienable right of Indians to have freedom.
- The British Government in India has not only deprived us of freedom and exploited us, but has also ruined us economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually. India must therefore sever the British connection and attain purna swaraj or complete independence.
- We are being economically ruined by high revenue, destruction of village industries with no substitutions made, while customs, currency and exchange rate are manipulated to our disadvantage.
- No real political powers are given, rights of free association are denied to us and all administrative talent in us is killed.
- Culturally, the system of education has torn us from our moorings.
- Spiritually, compulsory disarmament has made us unmanly.
- We hold it a crime against man and God to submit any longer to British rule.
- We will prepare for complete independence by withdrawing, as far as possible, all voluntary association from the British government and will prepare for civil disobedience through non-payment of taxes. By this an end of this inhuman rule is assured.
- We will carry out the Congress instructions for purpose of establishing purna swaraj.
To carry forward the mandate given by the Lahore Congress, Gandhi presented eleven demands to the government and gave an ultimatum of January 31, 1930, to accept or reject these demands. The demands were?
- Issues of General Interest
1. Reduce expenditure on Army and civil services by 50 per cent.
2. Introduce total prohibition.
3. Carry out reforms in Criminal Investigation Department(CID)
4. Change Arms Act allowing popular control of issue of firearms licences.
5. Release political prisoners.
6. Accept Postal Reservation Bill - Specific Bourgeois Demands
7. Reduce rupee-sterling exchange ratio to 1s 4d.
8. Introduce textile protection.
9. Reserve coastal shipping for Indians. - Specific Peasant Demands
10. Reduce land revenue by 50 per cent.
11. Abolish salt tax and government’s salt monopoly.
With no positive response forthcoming from the government on these demands, the Congress Working Committee invested Gandhi with full powers to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement at a time and place of his choice. By February-end, Gandhi had decided to make salt the central formula for the movement.
Dandi March began in?
March 12 Gandhi along with a band of 78 members of Sabarmati Ashram, was to march from his headquarters in Ahmedabad through the villages of Gujarat for 240 miles.
Ended on April 6, 1930.
Arrest of Nehru and Gandhi during salt satyagraha?
- Nehru’s arrest in April 1930 for defiance of the salt law evoked huge demonstrations in Madras, Calcutta and Karachi.
- Gandhi’s arrest came on May 4, 1930 when he had announced that he would lead a raid on Dharansana Salt Works on the west coast.
- After the Gandhi’s arrest CWC sanctioned:
○ non payment of revenue in ryotwari areas.
○ no chowkidara tax in zamidari areas.
○ violation of forest laws in the central provinces.
Salt Satyagraha in Tamil Nadu was under?
- In April 1930, C. Rajagopalachari organised a march from Tiruchirapalli to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore (or Thanjavur) coast to break the salt law.
- Violent eruptions of masses and the violent repressions of the police began. To break the Choolai mills strike, police force was used.
Salt Satyagraha in Malabar was carried under?
- Malabar– K. Kelappan, a Nair Congress leader famed for the Vaikom Satyagraha, organised salt marches.
- P. Krishna Pillai, the future founder of the Kerela Communist Movement, heroically defended the national flag in the face of police lathi charge on Calicut beach in November 1930.
Salt Satyagraha in Andhra region?
A number of sibirams (military style camps) were set up to serve as the headquarters of the Salt Satyagraha.
Salt Satyagraha in Orissa was carried under?
Gopalbandhu Chaudhuri.
Salt Satyagraha in Assam?
- The civil disobedience failed to regain the heights attained in 1921-22 due to divisive issues. However, a successful student strike against the Cunningham Circular, which banned students’ participation in politics, was seen in May 1930.
- Chandraprabha Saikiani, in December 1930, incited the aboriginal Kachari villages to break forest laws, which was, however denied by the Assam Congress leadership.
Salt Satyagraha in Bengal?
- The Bengal Congress, divided into two factions led by Subhash Bose and J.M. Sengupta.
- There was little participation of Muslims in the movements. Despite this, Bengal provided the largest number of arrests as well as the highest amount of violence.
Salt Satyagraha in Bihar?
Champaran and Saran were the first two districts to start salt satyagraha.
In Patna, Nakhas Pond was chosen as a site to make salt and break the salt law under Ambika Kant Sinha.
Salt Satyagraha in Peshawar?
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan also called Badsha Khan and Frontier Gandhi, had started the first Pushto political monthly Pukhtoon and had organized a volunteer brigade ‘Khudai khidmatgars’, popularly known as the Red shirts.
It was here in NWFP, that a section of Garhwal Rifles soldiers refused to fire on unarmed crowd.
Salt Satyagraha in Dharasana?
Dharasana on May 21, 1930, Sarojini Naidu, Imam Sahib and Manilal (Gandhi’s son) took up the unfinished task of leading a raid on the Dharasana Salt Works.
This new form of salt satyagraha was eagerly adopted by the people in Wadla (Bombay), Karnataka (Sanikatta Salt Works), Andhra, Midnapore, Balasore, Puri and Cuttack.
Salt Satyagraha in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Provinces?
These areas saw the defiance of forest laws.
Salt Satyagraha in Manipur and Nagaland?
- Rani Gaidinliu, a Naga Spiritual leader, who followed her cousin Haipou Jadonang, raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule.
- As the reformist religious movement steadily turned political, the British authorities caught Haipou Jadonang and hanged him on charges of treason in 1931.
- In October 1932 when Rani Gaidinliu was finally captured. She was later sentenced to life imprisonment.
- It was the interim government of India set up in 1946 that finally ordered her release from Tura jail.
Impact of Salt Satyagraha agitation?
- Imports of foreign cloth and other items fell.
- Government suffered a loss of income from liquor, excise and land revenue.
- Elections to Legislative Assembly were largely boycotted.
When did Lord Irwin suggested a round table conference?
In July 1930 the viceroy, Lord Irwin, suggested a round table Conference and reiterated the goal of dominion status.
He also suggested that Tej Bahadur Sapru and M.R. Jayakar be allowed to explore the possibility of peace between the Congress and the government.
Gandhi Irwin Pact?
- On January 25, 1931, Gandhi and all other members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) were released unconditionally.
- On February 14, 1931, Delhi Pact, also known as the Gandhi Irwin Pact, placed the Congress on an equal footing with the government.
Terms on which Irwin agreed on behalf of the government?
Gandhi Irwin Pact?
- Immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted of violence.
- Remission of all fines not yet collected.
- Return of all lands not yet sold to third parties.
- Lenient treatment to those government servants who had resigned.
- Right to make salt in coastal villages for personal consumption (not for sale).
- Right to peaceful and non aggressive picketing.
- Withdrawal of emergency ordinances.
Irwin turned down demands of Gandhi. What were they?
- Public inquiry into police excesses.
- Commutation of Bhagat Singh and his comrades’ death sentence to life sentence.
Gandhi agreed on behalf of the Congress?
(Gandhi Irwin Pact)
- To suspend the civil disobedience movement.
- To participate in the next Round Table Conference on the constitutional question around the three lynch pins of federation, Indian responsibility, and reservations and safeguards that may be necessary that in India’s interests.
Was Gandhi Irwin pact a retreat?
Gandhi-Irwin Pact was not a retreat, because:
1. Mass movements are necessarily short-lived.
2. Capacity of the masses to make sacrifices, unlike that of the activists, is limited.
3. There were signs of exhaustion after September 1930, especially among shopkeepers and merchants, who had participated so enthusiastically.
Comparison of Civil Disobedience Movement and Non Cooperation Movement?
- The stated objective this time was complete independence and not just remedying two specific wrongs and vaguely worded swaraj.
- The methods involved violation of law from the very beginning and not just non-cooperation with foreign rule.
- There was a decline in forms of protests involving the intelligentsia, such as lawyers giving up practice, students giving up government schools to join national schools and colleges.
- Muslim participation was nowhere near that in the Non-Cooperation Movement level.
- No major labour upsurge coincided with the movement.
- The massive participation of peasants and business groups compensated for decline of other features.
- The number of those imprisoned was about three times more this time.
- The Congress was organisationally stronger.
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed after the Karachi Session of INC.
True/False?
False, In March 1931, a special session of the Congress was held at Karachi to endorse the Gandhi Irwin Pact. Six days before the session (which has held on March 29) Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed.
