Gandhi's 1920-22 civil disobedience campaign (13) Flashcards
What was decided at Congress’ annual meeting at Nagpur in 1920?
Gandi dominated proceedings and was able to bind Hindus and Muslims and persuade delegates to vote for his policy of non-cooperation with the Raj. Gandhi’s aim was simply to make the Raj ungovernable, if successful the Raj would wither and die within a year and swaraj would follow.
What did non-cooperation entail?
Boycott elections to the new legislative assemblies
Hand back all titles and decorations awarded by Raj
Remove their children from government schools
Refuse invitations to Raj social events
Boycott law courts
Withhold taxes
Refuse to buy imported goods
Leave all government posts
Why were some of the aspects of non-cooperation unrealistic?
Lawyers were unlikely to want to abandon their lucrative practices and parents wouldn’t want to deny their children of education indefinitely.
How did Gandhi run this campaign differently from the Rowlatt campaign?
He was worried it would descend into the hands of the mob, so he targeted areas of government where non-cooperation was unlikely to involve open conflict with police.
What were the early successes?
Students boycotted their exams
Taxes weren’t paid
A large number of qualified voters (up to 90% in some areas) stayed away from 1920 elections
Around 200 lawyers stopped work
During the visit of Duke of Connaught to Calcutta 1921, shops were closed throughout the city and few Indians were present at official welcoming ceremonies.
Why did violence break out?
Millions of Indians were unable or unwilling to understand the morality of satyagraha and followed their own agendas, mostly paying off old scores or attempting to drive forward new initiatives.
Give some examples of violence breaking out
A Bombay hartal scheduled to coincide with the arrival of the Prince of Wales turned into 4 days of looting and burning in which 53 demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured.
In the Punjab and later the Gangetic Plain, Hindus forced Muslims to ‘wash away their pollution’ by total immersion in water tanks and rivers, consequently many drowned amid communal rioting and the fragile Hindu-Muslim alliance was in jeopardy.
What incident caused Gandhi to end the satyagraha?
In February 1922, Congress supporters in Chauri Chaura, a vilage in Gorakhpur, torched a police station and burned to death the 22 policemen inside. Gandhi immediately withdrew to fast and meditate, emerging some days later to end the satyagraha.
What did Gandhi do after turning away from political agitation?
He worked on his ‘constructive programme’ which emphasised social welfare work in villages.
What happened at the end of February 1922?
Gandhi was arrested by British authorities and charged with ‘promoting disaffection towards the government established by law’, to which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
What was Gandhi clear about regarding satyagraha bringing about swaraj?
The concept wasn’t wrong, people merely weren’t ready for the self-discipline required to make it effective.
What was the outstanding feature of Congress’ commitment to satyagraha?
The way members had involved themselves in peasant communities and acquired a deeper understanding of peasants’ needs - peasants had previously been essentially ignored by Congress. Congress exploited local grievances to link them with swaraj.
What effects did non-cooperation have on Congress?
Membership increased from less than 100,000 to more than 2 million by the end of 1921
Became a national movement, gaining support from industrial workers and peasants
Women involved for the first time
Local committees set up all over India
