Why, And With With What Success, Did Congress Adopt Gandhi's Policy Civil Disobedience? Flashcards
What did Gandhi’s idea of ‘Satyagraha’ mean?
Non-violent resistance to injustice
What did Gandhi’s idea of ‘Ahimsa’ mean?
Unnaceptable to use any sort of violence and instead methods like: withdrawal, hartals, boycotts or even silence
What did Gandhi’s idea of ‘Swadesh’ mean?
Emerged as a response to the 1905 partition of Bengal to abstain from the purchase of British goods.
- Home-made cloth became a sign of political commitment (Khadi)
How was Gandhi able to gain the support from many Indians? (4)
- Discarded his western clothing and began wearing a dhoti
- Vegetarian
- Started spinning a chakra everyday
- Lived in Ashrams (not engaging in a sexual manner)
How did Gandhis new peasant lifestyle help him gain support?
Indian masses began to identify with Gandhi and also enhanced the dignity of labour in the minds of intellectuals, leading to Gandhi being referred to as ‘Mahatma’
Where did Gandhi propose the non-cooperation campaign?
Congress’ 25th annual meeting in Nagpur
What was the aim of the non-cooperation campaigns?
To make the British Raj ungovernable
How much did Gandhi win the vote by in Nagpur?
over two votes for one
What did non-cooperation entail? (4)
- Boycott elections, law courts
- Remove children from government schools
- withhold taxes
- refuse to buy imported goods
Why were some of the non-cooperation campaigns unrealistic? (3)
- Lawyers were unwilling to leave their lucrative practices
- Parents unlikely to deprive their kids of an education
- People didn’t understand Satyagraha
What was Gandhis greatest fear during the non-cooperation campaigns?
Breaking into violence
Successes of non-cooperation campaigns: (3)
- Students boycotted examinations
- Taxes not paid
- 200 lawyers stopped work
Failures of non-cooperation campaigns: (4)
- Millions of Indians were unable to understand the morality of satyagraha, so they followed their own agendas
- In Bombay, a hartal designed to coincide with the Prince of Wales turned into 4 days of looting and rioting leaving 53 dead
- Jihad
- Hindus forced Muslims to purify themselves by total immersion in water tanks or rivers, resulting in many drownings
What was ‘Jihad’?
- Arabic word meaning Resisting
What was the Moplah Rebellion?
A rebellion had already broken out in early 1921 in the Malabar region and agitation from non-cooperation movement caused Moplahs to turn against Hindu’s
How many Hindus were killed by Moplahs?
Over 600
How many Hindus were forced to convert to Islam by the Moplahs?
2,500
What was occurred in Chauri Chaura during the non-cooperation campaign?
Congress supporters torched a police station
How many policemen died during the fire at Chauri Chaura?
22
What did Gandhi do as a result of the Chauri Chaura fire?
Called an end to the campaign and withdrew to his ashram to fast and meditate
What happened to Gandhi less than a month after calling off the campaign?
Gandhi was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment
When was Gandhi released?
January 1924 - serving only 2 years of his prison sentence
The significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment: (2)
- Congress became more involved in peasant communities
- in 1923 members of Congress were allowed to stand for election, boosting their popularity and presence
