TOPIC-1 The First World War; Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement, Differing Strands within the

Movement
Concepts Covered:
 The Effect of the First World War on India  The Idea of Satyagraha  The Rowlatt Act  Non-cooperation Movement
 The notion of Swaraj

zzPeasants’ Movement in Champaran (Bihar) in 1917.

Revision Notes zzPeasants’ Movement in Kheda district (Gujarat) in
Effects of First World War 1918.
zzThe First World War led to a huge increase in defence zzMill Workers’ Movement in Ahmedabad in 1918.
expenditure. This was financed by war loans and  The Rowlatt Act (1919):
by increasing taxes. Custom duties were raised and
zzThe Rowlatt Act was passed by the Imperial Legislative
income tax was introduced to raise extra revenue.
Prices of items increased during the war years. The Council in 1919. The Indian members did not support
prices doubled between 1914 and 1918. The common the Act, but it was passed nevertheless. The Act gave
people were the worst sufferers because of the price enormous powers to the British Government to repress
rise. Forced recruitment of rural people in the army was political activities. It allowed the detention of political
another cause of widespread anger amongst people. prisoners without trial for two years.
 Crop failure in many parts of India resulted in an zzOn 6th April 1919 Gandhiji launched a nationwide
acute shortage of foods. Influenza epidemic further satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act. The call for
aggravated the problem. According to the 1921 census, a strike on 6th April got a huge response. People came
about 12 to 13 million people died because of famines out in support in various cities, shops were shut down
and epidemic. and workers in railway workshops went on strike.
The Idea of Satyagraha The British administration decided to clamp down on
zzMahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915. the nationalists. Several local leaders were arrested.
His heroic fight for the Indians in South Africa was Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
well-known. His noble method of mass agitation  Jallianwala Bagh Incident:
known as satyagraha had yielded good results. zzOn 10th April, 1919, two nationalist leaders-Dr Saifuddin
zzThe idea of satyagraha emphasised the power of truth Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal were arrested in Punjab
and the need to search for truth. In April 1917, Gandhi under the infamous Rowlatt Act. Martial Law was
travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants
imposed in Amritsar and the command of the area was
to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
given to General Dyer.
 The method of satyagraha was based on the idea that
zzThe infamous (shocking) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
if someone is fighting for a true cause, there is no
need to use any physical force to fight the oppressor. took place on 13thApril 1919 when the peaceful
Gandhiji believed that a satyagrahi could win a battle gathering was attended by men, women and children
through non-violence, i.e., without being aggressive or to protest against these arrests. It was enclosed from all
revengeful. sides with narrow entry points.
 Some early satyagraha movements organised by zzGeneral Dyer blocked the exit points and opened fire
Gandhiji: on the crowd. Hundreds of people were killed in that
 incident. Public reaction to the incident took a violent their homes. But they got stranded on the way because
turn in many north Indian towns. [Delhi Set–2 2023] of a railway and steamer strike. They were caught by
 Khilafat Movement: The Khilafat issue allowed the Police and brutally beaten up.
Mahatma Gandhi to bring the Hindus Scan this
and Muslims on a common platform.
Ottoman Turkey was badly defeated
in the First World War. There were
rumours about a harsh peace treaty
likely to be in the Ottoman Emperor; Khilafat
Movement and
who was the spirit of the Islamic Non-Cooperation
world (the Khalifa). A Khilafat Movement
comiittee was formed in Bombay in
March 1919 to defend the Khalifa. This committee had
leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat
Ali. They also wanted Mahatma Gandhi to take up the
cause to build a united mass action. At the Calcutta
session of the Congress in September 1920, the
resolution was passed to launch a Non-Cooperation
Movement in support of Khilafat and also for swaraj.
[Board, 2020], [SQP, 2020-21]
 Non-Cooperation Movement: In his famous book Hind
Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi declared that British
rule was established in India with the cooperation
of Indians and had survived only because of this
cooperation. If Indians refused to cooperate, British
rule in India would collapse within a year and swaraj
would be established. Gandhiji believed that if Indians
begin to refuse to cooperate, the British rulers will have
no other way than to leave India.
 Some of the proposals of the Non-Cooperation:
zzSurrender the titles which were awarded by the British
Government.
zzBoycott of Civil Services, Army, Police, Courts,
Legislative Councils and Schools.
zzBoycott of foreign goods.
zzLaunch a full civil disobedience campaign, if the
government persisted with repressive measures.
 Differing Strands within the Movement: The Non-
Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921.
Various social groups participated in this movement,
each with its own specific aspiration. All of them
responded to the call of swaraj, but the term meant
different things to different people.
 Awadh: The Peasants’ movement in Awadh was led by
Baba Ramchandra. He was a Sanyasi who had earlier
worked in Fiji as an indentured labourer. The peasants
were against the high rents and many other cesses,
which were demanded by talukdars and landlords. The
peasants demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of
the and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
 Tribal Peasants: Tribal peasants gave their own
interpretation of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of
swaraj. The tribals were prevented from entering the
forests to graze cattle or to collect fruits and firewood.
The new forest laws were a threat to their livelihoods.
The government forced them to do the begar on road
construction.
zzMany rebels from the tribal areas became violent
and often carried guerrilla warfare against the British
Officials.
 Swaraj in the Plantations: The plantation workers
were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without
permission; as per the Inland Emigration Act of 1859.
When the news of Non-Cooperation Movement spread
to the plantations, many workers began to defy the
authorities. They left plantations and headed towards
 TOPIC-2 Towards Civil Disobedience; The Sense of Collective Belonging
Concepts Covered:
 The advent of the Simon Commission  Features of the Civil Disobedience Movement  The famous Dandi March
Farmers: For the farmers, the fight for Swaraj was a
Revision Notes 
struggle against high revenues. When the Movement
 Simon Commission
was called off in 1931; without the revenue rates being
zzThe British Government constituted a Statutory revised; the farmers were highly disappointed.
Commission under Sir John Simon. The Commission  Businessmen: The Indian merchants and industrialists
was made to look into the functioning of the could grow their Business during the First World
constitutional system in India and suggest changes. War. They were against those colonial policies which
But since all the members in the Commission were restricted their business activities. They wanted
British, the Indian leaders opposed the Commission. protection against imports and a Rupee-Sterling
zzThe Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. It Foreign Exchange ratio which would discourage
was greeted with the slogan ‘Go back, Simon’. All imports. The Indian Industrial and Commercial
parties joined the protest. In October 1929, Lord Irwin Congress was formed in 1920 and the Federation of
announced a vague offer of ‘Dominion Status’ for India the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries
but its timing was not specified. He also offered to (FICCI) was formed in 1927. These were the results of
hold a Round Table Conference to discuss the future attempts to bring the common business interests on a
Constitution. common platform. For the Businessmen, Swaraj meant
 Salt March (Beginning of Civil Disobedience an end to oppressive colonial policies. They wanted
Movement) an environment which could allow the Business to
zzMahatma Gandhi believed that salt could be a powerful flourish. They were apprehensive of militant activities
symbol to unite the whole nation. Most of the people; and of growing influence of Socialism among the
including the British scoffed at the idea. Abolition of younger members of the Congress.
the Salt Tax was among many demands which were  Industrial Workers: The Industrial workers showed
raised by Gandhiji through a letter to Viceroy Irwin. a lukewarm response to the Civil Disobedience
zzThe Salt March or Dandi March was started by Gandhiji Movement. Since, industrialists were closer to the
on 12th March, 1930. He was accompanied by 78 Congress, workers kept a distance from the Movement.
volunteers. They walked for 24 days to cover a distance But some workers selectively participated in the
of 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi. Many more Movement. Congress did not want to alienate the
joined them on the way. On 6th April, 1930, Gandhiji Industrialists and hence, preferred to keep the workers’
ceremonially violated the law by taking a fistful of salt. demands at bay.
zzThe Salt March marked the beginning of the Civil  Depressed Classes: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar demands for
Disobedience Movement. Thousands of people broke separate electorates for dalits. This made a clash
the salt law in different parts of the country. People between Gandhiji and Ambedkar. When British
demonstrated in front of government salt factories. accepted their demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto
Foreign cloths were boycotted. Peasants refused to death as he believed that it would slow down the
pay revenue. Village officials resigned. Tribal people process of their integration into society. As a result
violated forest laws. Ambedkar and Gandhiji signed an agreement known
 Response of British Rulers: The Colonial Government as Poona pact of September 1932 in which dalits got
began to arrest the Congress leaders. This led to violent reservation in Provincial and Central Legislative
clashes in many places. The Government’s repression councils.
was quite brutal. Even women and children were  Women’s Participation: Women also participated in
beaten up. About 100,000 people were arrested. the Civil Disobedience Movement in large numbers.
 Round Table Conference: When things began to However, most of the women was from High-Caste
take a violent turn, Mahatma Gandhi called-off the families in the urban areas and from rich peasant
movement. He signed a pact with Irwin on 5th March, households in rural areas. But for a long time, the
1931. This was called the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. As per the Congress was reluctant to give any position of authority
Pact, Gandhiji agreed to participate in the Round Table to women within the organisation. The Congress was
Conference in London. In lieu of that, the government just keen on the symbolic presence of women.
agreed to release the political prisoners. Gandhiji went  The Sense of Collective Belonging
to London in December 1931. The negotiations broke zzNationalist Movement spreads when people belonging
down and Gandhiji had to return with disappointment. to different regions and communities begin to develop
When Gandhiji came back to India, he found that most a sense of collective belongingness. The identity of a
of the leaders were put in jail. Congress had been nation is most often symbolized in a figure or an image.
declared illegal. Many measures were taken to prevent zzThis image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim
meetings, demonstrations and boycotts. Mahatma Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote ‘Vande
Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. Mataram’ for our motherland. Indian folk songs and
By 1934, the movement had lost its momentum. folk tales sung by bards played an important role in
 making the idea of nationalism. In Bengal, Rabindranath
Tagore and in Madras, Natesa Sastri Made collection of
folk tales and songs which led the Movement for folk
revival.
zzDuring the Swadeshi Movement, a tri-color (red, green
and yellow) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight
lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent
moon representing Hindus and Muslims.
zzMeans of creating a feeling of nationalism was
through reinterpretation of history. The nationalist
writers urged the readers to take pride in India’s great
achievements in the past and struggle to change the
miserable conditions of life under British rule.
Quit India Movement
zzThe failed Cripps Mission and World War II fuelled
widespread anger and a demand for immediate British
withdrawal. The Congress, led by Gandhi, passed the
revolutionary “Quit India” resolution, igniting a mass
non-violent struggle.
zzThe Congress Working Committee, in its meeting in
Wardha on 14 July 1942, passed the historic ‘Quit India’
resolution demanding the immediate transfer of power
to Indians and quit India.
zzOn 8 August 1942 in Bombay, the All India Congress
Committee endorsed the resolution which called for a
non-violent mass struggle on the widest possible scale
throughout the country. It was on this occasion that
Gandhiji delivered the famous ‘Do or Die’ speech.
zzGandhi’s electrifying speech galvanised the nation,
prompting widespread participation from across social
classes. Strikes, demonstrations, and nationalistic
fervour gripped the country as ordinary people,
students, workers, and women like Matangini Hazra
and Kanaklata Barua joined the fight.
zzDespite fierce British crackdowns, the movement’s
impact spanned over a year, showcasing the
unwavering desire for freedom.
zzIn conclusion, Growing resentment towards British
rule drew diverse groups and classes together in
a shared pursuit of freedom. Led by Gandhi, the
Congress aimed to channel this anger into organised
movements, striving to forge a unified national front.
zzHowever, participants held diverse aspirations for
what an independent India should look like, leading
to internal fissures. The Congress constantly sought
to reconcile these differences, preventing one group’s
goals from alienating others, but unity remained
fragile.