Topic 2: Changing Political Relationships (1920-1930) Flashcards
Outline the details of Gandhi’s life before returning to India
Mohandas Gandhi trained as a lawyer in London then returned to India after finishing his studies to begin his career; however, he lost cases due to his meek, passive demeanour. He was then offered a year long contract to practise law in South Africa in 1893, but stayed there for twenty one years because of the treatment of Indians, particularly Muslims, in the country at the time. It was here where he developed both his principles that would influence his political movements in the 1900s and confidence as a spokesperson for the rights of Indians.
Why did Gandhi appeal so much to the masses?
Gandhi helped to make nationalism something that could be accessed by the everyday man as opposed to just the educated, high caste members of society. He also fought for all Indian people rather than just the religion he aligned with (Hinduism). In addition, upon returning to India, he spent time engaging with the local community between 1917 and 1918, forging links with local nationalist leaders and helping to resolve disputes with his legal expertise before officially becoming the leader of the INC.
What were Gandhi’s aims and beliefs?
Gandhi was a firm believer that the caste system should be undermined because all Indian citizens were suffering the same treatment under the British Raj, and to achieve swaraj, everyone needed to cooperate. He also pushed for ahimsa, meaning non-violence, and encouraged others to live a swadeshi lifestyle, referring to self-sufficiency. In pushing for this, Gandhi led by example and abandoned Western clothing, spinning his own garments even during his speeches. Gandhi also lived in an ashram, a collective living group that valued religion and spirituality as one of the most important aspects of life.
Why was Gandhi elected leader of the INC?
The INC had little choice but to make Gandhi their leader. Whilst in South Africa, Gandhi corresponded with the organisations former leader Gokhale and was advised by him to stray from public life for a year after returning to India in 1914 in order to fully acquaint himself with the changes in politics in the 21 years he had been away. Gandhi’s philosophies, including ahimsa and living a swadeshi lifestyle, won the Indian people over, as well as the introduction of the satyagrahas which involved the masses and also stumped the British who did not know how to justify ending a peaceful protest.
How did Gandhi hope to achieve Swaraj?
The concept of a satyagraha, meaning ‘a force of truth’ was formed by Gandhi whilst in South Africa. Despite being passive, satyagrahas were forceful and required a lot of commitment from the people of India. As well as this, protestors had to prepare to suffer to achieve swaraj when participating in hunger strikes or if met with violence by British soldiers who wanted to provoke a violent reaction. However, Gandhi’s hope was that the satyagrahas would expose the British and their oppressive nature towards India and barbaric treatment of individuals who were not posing a threat to the Empire, but were simply protesting in a non-violent manner.
Explain the concepts of swadeshi and ashram, and how these can be used to understand Gandhi’s vision for India
Living a swadeshi lifestyle in essence means to be self-sufficient. Gandhi feared that the modernisation of India as a result of British rule meant that people had lost traditional, manual skills such as spinning clothes and growing food. Therefore, Gandhi preached swadeshi and led by example by abandoning Western culture, dressing in traditional clothing and spinning his own clothes during speeches to encourage others to do the same.
An ashram serves as a communal living space for spiritual or religious individuals like Gandhi, who believed that people should live in smaller, self-sufficient communities to improve their happiness. Vows were made to live in an ashram, which included truth, non-violence, chastity, physical labour and eradication of untouchability (the lowest segment of the traditional Indian caste system).
What strategies did Gandhi use in his second non-cooperation campaign?
Gandhis satyagrahas were designed to be non-violent but also non-cooperative, which attracted attention across the globe, in order to expose the British’s brutality towards Indian citizens. He did this using hartals, which were popular mass protests where workers walked out of offices, shops, schools, courts of law and other places of work to reduce profits made by the British from India goods. They also participated in boycotts, hunger strikes, submission to physical violence and protest marches, the most famous being Gandhi’s Salt March in March 1930 in his third satyagraha.
What made Gandhi’s satyagrahas campaigns so powerful?
Satyagrahas made participating in nationalist movements more accessible as everybody, be they educated and high caste or otherwise, could join in, strengthening the movement and making them harder to ignore. For example, Gandhi’s Salt March attracted 80,000 people which made the protest all the more powerful and brought international attention directed at the brutality of the British Raj. Britain were at a loss of how to mitigate these protests as they could not arrest and punish every protester, and they were not breaking any laws. With the world watching them, imprisoning nationalists would paint the Empire in a poor light and disgrace the British.
What was the primary reason for Gandhi’s disappointment in his non-violent non-cooperation campaign?
The second satyagrahas became increasingly violent as small-scale riots began during 1921, operating under the satyagraha movement. In 1922, after martial law was imposed in some areas to combat the nationalist action, rebels began to attack other non-violent protestors and the town of Chauri Chaura descended into chaos as a police stations was burnt down and 22 policemen were killed.
What happened at Chauri Chaura, and how does it link to the end of the second satyagraha?
Following the death of 600 people over the course of 1921 from small-scale riots, troops from the Provincial Government were called in to restore order. In addition, martial law was put in place once again, which darkened the thoughts of many protestors and set them on a violent path, ignoring Gandhi’s rule of ahimsa. In 1922, 22 policemen were burnt and beaten to death in Chauri Chaura after a police station was set on fire. In an attempt to end the satyagraha, Gandhi fasted for five days in February 1922, making himself ill, until the violence halted and the second satyagraha was ended.
How and why did Gandhi end his second satyagraha?
Gandhi was horrified by the events in Chauri Chaura and pleads with the INC to call off the second satyagraha. When the violence continued despite his rejection of the violence, Gandhi began a fast and refused to eat until the fighting ended. After five days, the people eventually stopped in fear of Gandhi dying and he was already weak prior to the fast, which ended the second satyagraha. Despite avoiding an outright revolution thanks to Gandhi’s intervention, the British arrested him on 10 March 1922 for sedition and sentenced him to 6 years in prison after Gandhi pleaded guilty.
How was Britain affected by the ‘back to basics’ campaign?
Britain did not know how to react after Gandhi’s second satyagraha as there was no violence at first, meaning they were unable to arrest anyone without appearing brutalistic and oppressive. They also lost a great deal of money after the boycotting of British businesses and goods as Gandhi preached a swadeshi lifestyle, which encouraged spinning clothes as opposed to buying clothes. The British were unable to forcefully stop this without appearing oppressive, which became more prevalent as the world were becoming more aware of the situation in India as a result of the second satyagraha.
What positives did Gandhi take from his campaign?
The ‘back to basics’ campaign, otherwise known as the second satyagraha, may not have been successful in gaining India self-governance, but it offered a solution to combatting the Raj as the British did not know how to contend with the non-violent yet non-cooperative movement. By involving the masses, Gandhi created a campaign that could not be ignored by the British as their profits were significantly impacted by Gandhi’s encouragement of a swadeshi lifestyle in an attempt to harm them economically as India was a large source of income for the British. This demonstrated the persistent nature of Indian nationalism and their determination to obtain dominion status and have a say in the governance of their own country.
What happens to the INC while Gandhi was in prison?
In the two years that Gandhi served of his six year prison sentence, the INC consolidated their successes with the ‘back to basics’ campaign and expanded their organisation to prove that they were capable of becoming an official governing body. Instead of replacing Gandhi, who significantly advanced their agenda to gain greater governing autonomy, two moderates were elected to take his place temporarily who would voice the concerns of the majority of the party: C.R Das and Molital Nehru. Whilst Gandhi never returned to his former role as official leader of the INC, he remained an integral member of the INC and upon being released from prison, established the Congress Workibg Committee (CWC), who signed off on key decisions made by elected leaders and formulated the INC’s policies. Gandhi, shook by the violence during the ‘back to basics’ campaign, took a step back from leadership in order to be the driving force behind the direction of the INC, during which time he gained the title of ‘the Mahatma’, meaning spiritual leader.
Why did Gandhi avoid further civil disobedience from 1924?
What did the INC focus its attentions on instead of civil disobedience?
Explain the significance of the Congress Working Committee
Outline what Gandhi meant by his ‘back to basics’ strategy
Why did membership of the INC grow so significantly during the 1920s?
How did the ‘Young Hooligans’ alter the dynamics of the INC?
What was the Nehru Report and how did Britain react to it?
