Noncooperation movement
Najma K
It was a massive movement under the leadership of Gandhi to oppose the British government in India. He declared that British rule survived in India only due to the cooperation of Indians. so if Indians refused to co-operate then British rule will collapse and swaraj would achieve. Therefore non cooperation movement launched in September 1920. Here questions will arise likes…
How does this become a national movement? How did people respond to it? Who participated in it? How does movement come to an end? Let’s know it…
The Rowlatt Act-as per this act, any person could be arrested and imprisoned without trial. Gandhi organised a mass protest against this act. and the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre in Amritsar on 13 th April 1919 exposed the brutal and uncivilised face of the foreign rule. Meanwhile, the first world war ended with the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. The Khalifa ( Caliph) from turkey was an untouchable matter to the Muslim community but after the world war, khalifa was removed from power. To protest against this Khalifa movement started in India. All these incidents and the inconsistency of British policy shook the foundation of British rule in India. Therefore people who felt resentful towards British rule started satyagraha and strikes in different parts of India. Gandhi felt this would not make any changes in British attitude towards Indian people. there is a need to organise a large scale national movement,this is only possible through Hindu-Muslim unity. Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement. At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
The movement promoted “self-reliance,” his planning of the non-cooperation movement included persuading all Indians to boycott foreign products, elections, courts, British educational institutions and industries and the public should return the British awards and prizes. The people positively respond to this movement by refusing to pay taxes, workers struck work, lawyers boycotted courts and public burnt foreign clothes on the streets along with students and teachers quitted from British schools. To gain self reliance many Indian educational institutions and factories were formed and people started to wear khadi clothes.
The notable person likes Motilal Nehru C Rajgopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, Gopabandhu Das, Ajmal Khan, Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru joined the movement. Gandhi got support from Indian Muslim leaders like Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali.
The movement was based on ahimsa and non-violence. But in response to police firing at the mob angry villagers murdered police officers in the village of Chauri Chaura (now in Uttar Pradesh state) in February 1922, which shocked Gandhiji. then he called off the movement the next month he was arrested without incident.
Read more : Jallianwala bagh Massacre
Check your knowledge
September 1920
Mahatma Gandhi
Chauri-Chaura incident.
[…] Read more: Noncooperation movement […]