Chapter Four
The
Years of Gandhian
Leadership of the National Movement-(1919-1947)
Gandhi’s arrival from South Africa to India steered the new phase
of Indian national movement. Gandhiji’s ideologies were mainly on passive
resistance, Satyagraha, non-violence, and civil disobedience. He had used his
idea of passive resistance first in South Africa against the autocratic rule of
general Smuts and then in Indian National Movement.
HIS EARLY LIFE
o
M.K
Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 A.D in a trading family of Porbandar,
Gujarat, and a small town in Kathiawar. His father was the Dewani of the Rajkot
state. He was married to Kasturba at the age of 13. As a boy at school he was
shy and lonely.
o
After
passing his matriculation examination he was sent to England to study law.
After ansuccessful career in India as a lawyer, he accepted the offer of Dada
Abdulah an Indian firm doing trade in South Africa, to act as their lawyer. He
remained in South Africa from 1893 to 1914- during which he fought against the
racial discrimination of the white community against black.
o
There
the Indians were treated as sub-human (Coolies). Many restrictions had been
imposed on them. They could not travel with the Europeans in the railways. They
could not enter the hotels and clubs meant for the Europeans. They could not
vote even. They had to pay unjust taxes. As such, the Indians who lived in
South Africa were subjected to all kinds of insults and indignities.
o
Gandhi
started his Passive resistance against the South African government on
different issues. Gandhi originally described his movement in South Africa as
‘Passive Resistance’. Hence with the advent of Philosophy of action, Gandhi
began the third and last phase of the national movement beginning from 1919
onwards.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PASSIVE RESISTANCE AND SATYAGRAHA ACCORDING TO GANDHIJI
v According to Gandhi, Passive Resistance was
the weapon of the weak and this include the use of physical force or violence
for the purpose of gaining one’s end.
v Satyagraha was the weapon of the strongest and
excludes the use of physical force and violence in any form. Gandhi got his
idea of Satyagraha from the study of Emerson, Thoreau, and Tolstoy. In short,
Satyagraha meant the “triumph of the
soul force over the brute force”. Thus the followers of Satyagraha would
always try to convert the wrong doers to honest path. The different forms of
Satyagraha were; observing hartal, non-cooperation, fasting, picketing,
non-violent raids, marches, etc. Gandhi had followed Passive Resistance in
South Africa and launched Satyagraha in India. He mainly used his Satyagraha
idea in;
1.
Champaran
in Bihar against Indigo Planter (1917)
2.
Kheda
in Gujarat to remit the tax of the peasants (1917)
3.
Ahmedabad
against mill owners to raise the wages for the worker. These were some of the
initial movements which started against British authority. (1918)
1. MOVEMENT AT CHAMPARAN AGAINST THE OPPRESSION BY THE INDIGO PLANTERS.
Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He took up the cause of the poor
and the down trodden mainly against Indigo planters. In 1916, he visited
Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad to practice truth and non-violence.
Ø The first cause of the movement took place in
Champaran in north Bihar. The European planters had established a large number
of Indigo farms there. The system was such a way that the peasant had to take
the lease lands from the indigo planters on conditions to grow indigo. As
Germany had produced synthetic indigo, the demand for indigo went down in
European markets. So, the planters forced peasants to sell their crops at a
lesser price to cover their own losses. The peasants were tortured by the
planters and they imposed many illegal taxes upon them.
Ø The plights of peasants were known to Gandhi
at the request of Raj Kumar Shakul (a peasant from Champaran). When Gandhi
reached there, the local administration declared him unwanted and was arrested
on the ground of safety. However, he was released by the government of Bihar
and was allowed to continue with the investigation in to the grievances of the
indigo cultivators. Finally, the Champaran Agrarian committee was formed with
Gandhi as one of the members. This committee forced the government to set up a
commission in favor of the farmers.
THE RESULT OF THE COMMITTEE
Ø Tinkathia system (a system by which peasant
had to cultivate indigo in the best portion of the land) was abolished
Ø Many illegal taxes and reduction of enhanced
results were changed
OUTCOME OF THE COMMITTEE
Ø It was during this movement that Gandhi got
the massive support from the peasants and the local people
Ø Gandhi got popularity among Indian leaders.
2.MOVEMENTAT KHEDA(Gujarat) FOR REMISSION OF TAXES
Ø Kheda was a fertile land and food grains,
tobacco, cotton were produced in this area. Cotton had a good market at
Ahmedabad. There were many rich and small peasants. Landless labours also lived
in this region. In 1917, crops in Kheda were all damaged due to excessive rain.
In addition to this, even the price of cloth, kerosene, and salt became so high
because of the war situation. Owing to this, the peasants demanded remission of
land revenue as per the ‘revenue code’- it was stated that total remission
might be allowed if the crop produced less than 25% of the normal production.
Ø Two barristers from Bombay V.J Patel and G.K
Parakh, found out that a major portion of the crop had been damaged. But
further investigation was made by authority through a collector and found that
there was no point of remission of the land revenue. The authority felt the
remission movement of the peasants was organized by the outsider or members of
Home League and Gujarat Sabha of which Gandhi was the president.
Ø On the other hand, Gandhi justified that the
authority had over-valued the crops and the peasant had the right to suspend
the payment of revenue. Gandhi started Satyagraha movement and urged the peasants
not to pay land revenue. However, the movement became weak due to good
production of Rabi crop (An agricultural crops sown in winter and harvested in
spring in SouthAsia, Eg-wheat, barley, mustard, peas etc...) The peasants
became poorer and poorer.
RESULT OF THE MOVEMENT
Ø Finally, the movement was called off when the
authority declared that land revenue would be recovered from those who had
capacity to pay and wouldn’t pressurized on those who were not able to pay.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MOVEMENT
Ø Gandhiji was able to prove that non-violent
resistance could be used as a weapon against authorities. During this movement
Gandhi was able to come in close contact with the Indian masses and was able to
train them to resist the oppression without violence.
3.MOVEMENT AT AHMEDABAD AGAINST MILL OWNER
Ø This was the third Satyagraha movement
launched by Gandhi for the good cost of the peasants. The movement was
organized in Ahmadabad regarding the conflict started between Gujarat mill
owners and their workers.
Ø Owing to the outbreak of plague in Ahmadabad,
the mill owners faced a crisis of shortage of workers. When the workers started
leaving their work in the mill, the owner decided to pay plague bonus, which
was high as 75% of their normal wages of the workers.
Ø However, the mill owners discontinued the
plague bonus. So, this led to the opposition by the workers. They demanded 50%
wage hike in lieu of the plague bonus. But the mill owners are ready to pay
only 20% increase in the wage. As a result of this, under the leadership of
Gandhi, the Ahmadabad mill strike was launched on March 1918. Gandhi started
Satyagraha movement and the workers were made to demand 35% instead of 50%.
However, the mill owners were not ready to pay the amount and thus Gandhi had
to take part in daily mass meeting of the workers. It was only when Gandhi
declared that he would undergo fasting and then mill owners agreed to pay the
demanded amount. Final settlement was made on 18 March, 1918.
Montagu Chelmsford Reforms 1919
Ø The 1919 Constitutional Act introduced into
India by Edwin Montagu, who served as secretary of state for India from 1917 to
1922, and Lord Chelmsford, who served as viceroy in India from 1916 to 1921,
was popularly known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. These reforms were part of a due process of a constitutional revision
instituted ten years after the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909. However, they
were rendered more urgent by India's unprecedented support for England during
World War I and the growing demands for political reform being made by Indian
nationalists.
Ø One of Montagu's first acts as secretary of state was to make a clear statement of the
government's position on increasing the presence of Indians in every branch of
the administration and gradually developing India toward self-government within
the British Empire, a position that had broad cross-party support and that had
been drafted by the former viceroy, Lord Curzon. In the winter of
1917–1918, Montagu undertook an extensive tour of India to ascertain public
opinion at first hand and to formulate with Chelmsford a concrete scheme for
constitutional reform. The resulting Montagu-Chelmsford Report of 1918 formed
the basis of the Government of India Act of 1919.
Ø This introduced a system known as diarchy, or
dual government, under which there was to be devolution of power and
responsibility in the executive and legislative spheres to Indian
administrators elected on a restricted franchise at the provincial level. Subjects "transferred" to Indian
ministers included education, agriculture, and local self-government, although
a series of "reserved" subjects, such as irrigation, police, the
press, finance, and justice, were retained under British control. Reserve
powers were also vested in the governors and the viceroy, and the central
government retained its overriding powers.
Ø Although the reforms received only a lukewarm
reception and fell short of Indian nationalist demands, they did represent a
major landmark on the road to the complete devolution of constitutional power by
the British in India.
Agitation against Rowlatt Act of 1919
Ø The Rowlatt Act was a law passed by the
British Raj in India in March 1919, indefinitely extending "emergency measures" enacted during the First World War in
order to control public unrest and root out conspiracy and also to recommend
legislation for its suppression. This act effectively authorized the
government to imprison, without trial, any person suspected of terrorism living
in the Raj.
Ø The Rowlatt Acts gave British imperial
authorities power to deal with revolutionary activities. Mahatma Gandhi, among
other Indian leaders, was extremely critical of the Act and argued that not
everyone should be punished in response to isolated political crimes.
Ø The Act led to indignation from Indian leaders
and the public, which caused the government to implement repressive measures.
Gandhi and others found that constitutional opposition to the measure was
fruitless; so, on April 6th, a "hartal" was organized where Indians
would suspend all business and fast as a sign of their hatred for the
legislation.
Ø However, the success of the hartal in Delhi,
on 30th March, was overshadowed by tensions running high, which resulted in
rioting in the Punjab and other provinces. Gandhi saw that Indians were not
ready for such a stand, in consistence with the principle of Ahimsa
(non-violence), an integral part of Satyagraha, and suspended the hartal.
Ø The Rowlatt Act came into effect in March
1919. In the Punjab the protest movement was very strong, and on April 10th,
two outstanding leaders of the congress Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin
Kitchlew, were arrested and taken to an unknown place. A protest was held in
Amritsar, which led to the Amritsar Massacre of 1919.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13th April 1919)
Ø On 10 April 1919, two nationalist leaders- Dr
Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal were arrested in Punjab along with Gandhi.
On 13 April 1919, people gathered in a small park in Amritsar which was called
the Jalllianwala Bagh, to protest against these arrests. The peaceful gathering
was attended by men, women and children. General Dyer, a British military
officer, stationed a regiment of soldiers at the only entrance of the park,
declared the meeting illegal and without warning, ordered his soldiers to fire.
The firing lasted for ten minutes, till all the ammunition was exhausted. More
than a thousand people were killed and over twice that number wounded.
Ø The massacre inflamed the anger of the
Indians. After the massacre, General Dyer said that he had ordered his troops to
fire to teach the Indians a lesson. This added fuel to the fire. There were
widespread protests. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood as protest
against this inhuman act. All nationalist leaders condemned this shameful act.
The government leaders’ martial law in Punjab and resorted to inhuman cruelties
to stem the rising tide of protests. People were tortured and newspapers were
banned. However, all this strengthened people’s determination to fight against
oppression.
Causes of the Failure of the movement
ü The whole agitation was not popularly
organized
ü The whole of India was not affected and the
movement was more effective in the cities than the rural areas
ü Gandhiji confessed himself that he committed a
Himalayan miscalculation by proposing civil disobedience to people who were
insufficiently prepared for the discipline of Satyagraha.
Khilafat Movement
Ø Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) was a significant Islamic movement
in India during the British rule. This was an attempt by the Indian Muslim
community to unite together in support of the Turkish Empire ruled by the
Khalifa, which was attacked by European powers. The Muslims considered the
Khalifa as the custodian of Islam (spiritual leader). They simply could not
digest his dethronement. Under the leadership of prominent Muslim leaders,
notable one being Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, they launched the Khilafat Movement
in most parts of North India.
Ø The Khilafat Movement, aimed against the British government,
received the support of Mahatma Gandhi, who related his Non Cooperation
Movement with it. The main objective behind this move was to enlist the support
of the Muslim community into his movement, which addressed the issue of
‘Swaraj’ (Self-Government). By mid-1920 the Khilafat leaders assured full support
to the non-violent methods of Gandhi, which facilitated the establishment of a
united front of Hindus and Muslims against the British government. This
combined force formed a major threat to the British rule.
Ø The Khilafat Movement however did not last long. Owing to some
violent incidents in the country which resulted in the deaths of many Indian
and British people, Mahatma Gandhi called off his Non Cooperation Movement.
This was a major jolt to the Khilafat Movement. The movement received its final
blow in March 1924, when the original Khilafat movement in Turkey was abolished
following the Islamic country’s conversion from a Sultanate empire to a
Republic.
Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922)
Causes
1.
Indians offered a lot of help to the British
Government in its war efforts with the hope to regain their freedom but the
Punjab government recruited soldiers for the army by brutal repression. This
made the Punjabi’s unhappy and further the Mont-Ford Act of 1919 disappointed
the Indians because true autonomy was denied to them.
2.
The common people had to bear the excessive
price rise due to world war besides were also made to pay cess and extra rent.
The collection of rent in cash forced the peasants to make a distress sale of
the crop to collect cash for payment of rent. The poor class knew nothing about
the war in Europe had to face increased misery due to inflation. They had to
pay more for cloth, salt and kerosene. Thus, the living standard fell down
drastically.
3.
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 had created a
great impact on the Indian’s. The people now realized that if a great autocrat
like the czar could be overthrown, the British government could be also
overthrown in this way.
4.
The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was extremely
repressive and anti-democratic. By the act any person could be arrested without
showing any cause and sentenced to two year’s imprisonment.
5. The
Muslim discontentment due to Khilafat issue was volcanic. The Khilafatists
tried to strengthen the movement with congress support. Gandhiji responded to the
call of them. Thus the background was created for a strong movement against the
British Government.
The congress support was essential for the success of
non-cooperation movement. But there was stiff resistance from some of the
congress leaders like; C.R Das, Annie Besant, etc. In a special session in
Calcutta the congress adopted the resolution on non-cooperation moved by Gandhi
himself. The Non-Cooperation program included surrender of titles, the boycott
of schools, courts, foreign goods and councils and encouragement of national
schools, arbitration courts and khadi.
The most important event was the Nagpur session held at Calcutta
in 1920. In this session the Congress endorsed the Non-Cooperation resolution.
They also introduced revolutionary changes in the congress organization. The
congress decided to form;
A working committee of 15 members
All India committee of 350 members|
PHASES
|
ACTIVITIES
|
|
PHASE I (January-March
1921)
v
RESULTS
|
It gave more importance on
the boycott of;
Schools,
Colleges
Law
courts
And
encourage the use of Charkha
Ø
The
students took active part and top lawyers like C.R Das, Motilal Nehru,
Rajendra Prasad, Sadar Balabhai Patel, Saifudin Kitchlew and others gave up
their legal practices.
|
|
PHASE II (April 1921)
v
RESULTS
|
It mainly focused on the;
Collection
of Rs. One Crore for Tilak Swaraj Fund.
Ø
Enrolled
one Crore Congress members
Ø
Installed
20 lakh charkhas
|
|
PHASE III (July 1921)
v
RESULT
|
It gave more importance on
the boycott of;
British
goods
Forth
coming visit of Prince of Wales in November
Ø
Popularized
charkha, khadi and jail bharo
|
|
PHASE IV (November 1921)
|
The
congress leaders led the masses and the country on the verge of revolt
The
people actively took part in the movement enthusiastically.
Gandhi
decided to start a no tax campaign in Bardoli (Gujarat) |
Formation of Congress committee in towns and
villages
Hence the national congress unlike early movement, they became a
real mass based party and changed their character. The campaign of
Non-cooperation and boycott started with great enthusiasm all over India from
early 1921. The movement began with many phases.
o
However,
before Gandhi could start his movement at Bardoli, there took mob violence at
Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh. In this incident, the angry mobs set fire on
police station and killed 22 policemen on 5th February, 1922.
IMPACTS
o
This
incident greatly affected the National movement i.e. Khilafat Non-Cooperation
movement. When Gandhi came to know about this Chauri Chaura incident, he was
greatly shocked and the movement which was supposed to start at Bardoli was
called off. He summoned a working committee to Bardoli and Gandhi insisted on
the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement by the working committee on 12th
Feb, 1922. He also started his five days fasting as a penance.
o
Thus
the Non-Cooperation movement virtually came to an end. As a result, Gandhi was
arrested on 10th March, 1922 and was given six years imprisonment.
Similarly Khilafat movement also lost the relevance as Kamal Pesha captured the
power in Turkey and he abolished the Caliphate and introduced number of
reforms. There was no point for Khilafat movement to continue as Turkey was
made to form republic government.
OUTCOME AND RESULT OF THE MOVEMENT.
This
movement gave a new dimension to the national movement in the political field.
People from all walks of life, both Hindus and Muslims took active part in the
movement.
It
became an integral part of the national movement for the first time especially
for the common people.
The
economic boycott of British goods had more effect than Swadeshi movement. The
Indian textile had benefitted owing to the boycott of British goods. With the
popularization of the Khadi and Charkha the production of handloom has went up.SUSPENSION OF NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT AND FORMATION OF SWARAJYA PARTY
o
Major
developments in Indian politics occurred during 1922-1928. The immediate
suspension of the non-cooperation and Gandhiji’s arrest led to the
demoralization in the nationalists rank and created political vacuum. The
Congress leaders were in dilemma how to start and continue the national
struggle. At this stage, a new school of thought led by C.R. Das (Deshbandu)
and Mohtilal Nehru advocated a new line of political activity under changed
condition known as “Pro-changers”. Their idea was that the nationalist should
end the boycott of the legislative councils and to contest the election to the
legislative councils with the object of wrecking the reforms within by
consistent and obstruction.
o
However,
there were some of the leaders like Rajagopalacharya, Rajendra Prasad and Sadar
Ballabhai Patel who opposed the idea on the plea that this would go against
Gandhian ideology. They were known as “No-changers”. In Gaya session (December
1922) Rajagopalacharya opposed the new idea of C.R Das, he tendered his
resignation from the presidentship of the congress.
o
On
being outvoted, the pro-changers under the leadership of C.R. Das announced the
formation of the Swarajya Party on 1st
January, 1923 with C.R. Das as President and Mohtilal Nehru as secretary.
The Swarajist and the no-changers were now engaged in fierce of political
controversy. However, the victory of the no-changers was short lived; an
especial conference was organized in Delhi on September 1923 under the
President ship of Maulana Azad. This conference was held mainly to
reconciliation between the two parties. The
result was that the congress members were allowed to contest in the forthcoming
elections. The split between the two parties were united in 1924. The
swarajya party now proclaimed to follow non-violent non-cooperation inside the
councils with a view to wrecking the constitution of 1919. On the advice of
Gandhi, the two parties agreed to remain in the congress though they work in
their separate ways.
BENGAL PACT OF 1923
From 1923 onwards there was communalism in India and to bring
Hindu-Muslim unity, C.R Das prepared a draft Hindu-Muslim Unity known as Bengal Pact of 1923. The main
provisions of the pacts were;
Representative
in the legislative council will be based on the size of the population
Representative
in the local bodies will be 60-40 in every district which means 60 to the
majority and 40 to the minority.
55% of
the government posts should be given to Muslims
No
music should be played in front of the Mosque
Cow can
be killed for religious sacrifice but it should be killed in a way not to hurt
the sentiment of Hindus SUCCESS OF THE SWARAJIST PARTY
The
congress boycotted the 1920 election for Non-cooperation movement
The
Das-Nehru group under the banner of Swarajya party fought 1923 election for
council entry. They won a majority in a province and did well in Bengal where
its’ candidate B.C Roy defeated Surrendranath Banerjee.
In the
central legislative Assembly, they captured 42 out of the 101 seats.
In
March 1925, they succeeded in getting Vithalbhai Patel elected as president of
the Central Legislative assembly.
Thus they filled the political void a time when the national
movement was reoccupying its strength. They also exposed the hollowness of the
Reform Act of 1919. However, they failed to change the policies of the
authoritarian government of India. I.e. the government repeatedly used the
certificate power to push through all legislation. So they found it necessary
to walk out of the central legislative assembly first in March 1926 and then in
January1930.
CAUSES OF DECLINE OF THE SWARAJYA PARTY.
1)
Succession
Dispute:
After the death of C. R. Das, succession
dispute started for the post of President. For example, J.M.Sengupta
removed Birendranath Sasmal and J. M. Sengupta
was challenged by Subhas Chandra Bose.
2) Opposition of Mahatma Gandhi:
Gandhiji
advised the no changes Swarajist to keep themselves neutral.
3)
Lure of
Office:
Responsive
Swarajists were very keen to have different post. E.g. U.J. Patel accepted the post
of President, Motilal Nehru accepted Membership of Skeen Commission.
4)
Rising
Communal tempo:
Swarajist
fought 1926 Elections as Muslims and
not as Swarajist. Therefore, there was a communal disturbance.
5)
Class
Character:
When
the Tenancy Bill of 1928 was passed in the Assembly, the members voted for the
Zamindars. So this class character was also responsible for the decline. (Supported higher classes like Zamindars
without understand the powers invested in the lower class sections).
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SWARAJIST PARTY
The
legislative Assembly became a true National Assembly and the national
grievances were raised, national aims and aspirations were expressed without
any reservation.
The
Swarajist was able to expose the British Autocracy and Indian Bureaucracy in
their naked form as agencies of tyranny and repression.
Swarajya
party inflicted many defeat upon the government on many issues and thus exposed
the weakness of the Dyarchy.
Many
leaders earned the reputation as successful parliamentarians.
The overthrow
of Dyarchy at C.P and Bengal was able to create enthusiasm among the public.
Simon Commission-1927
AGITATION AGAINST SIMON COMMISSIOn
As we have already seen earlier that the programs of Swarajists
party especially in wrecking the diarchy from within gradually fizzled out. The
‘No Changer’ group remained scattered and kept themselves aloof from the
political development. Even the Hindu-Muslim unity of Khilafat days also
dissolved into widespread communal riots. On the other side, in Punjab, U.P, and
Bengal there was a revival of terrorist activities. In this kind of situation
with the appointment of Simon Commission in 1927, the drooping spirit of the
National Movement received a fillip stimulus. In other words, the National
Spirit or movement which was on the verge of disappearance, were able to revive
once again with the appointment of Simon Commission.
The British Government appointed the Indian
statutory commission, known popularly after the name of its chairman as the
Simon commission to go into the question of further constitutional reforms.
Sir John Simon was appointed as its chairman
with seven members and all those seven members were ‘WHITE MEN’. Thus the Simon
Commission became popularly known as ‘WHITE
COMMISSION’.
The commission was boycotted by almost all
the political parties in India. They felt that, the British action was seen as
violation of the principles of self-determination and a deliberate insult to
the self-respect of the Indians.
As its
Madras Session (1927) presided over by Dr. Ansari, the national congress
decided to boycott the commission, ‘at every stage and in every form’.
The
Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha decided to support the congress decision.
The congress organization made the boycott a great success.
On
February 3, 1928, the day of the arrival of the Simon commission in Bombay, the
complete hartal was observed in all important towns in India. The Commission
met with black flags and hostile demonstrations and shouts of ‘Simon go back’.IMPACT OF THE SIMON COMMISSION
The all
abused Simon Commission at least induced the Indian leaders to think about
formulating a scheme of Indian constitution acceptable to all parties. Thus, an
All-Parties conference was formed to prepare a draft constitution. This report
became popular as ‘Nehru Report’. The end result was the Nehru Report named
after its chief architect, Motilal Nehru and it was finalized in August, 1928
at Lucknow. The Report demanded “DOMINION
STATUS” for India and this was an effective and fitting answer to Lord
Birkenhead, the secretary of State for India’s challenge.The essential features of the Nehru Report were;
The
form of government should be responsible, that is to say, a government in which
the Executive should be responsible to an elected Legislature possessing all
powers.
The
Parliament should have a Senate and a House of Representatives.
For the
communal representation in the Legislatures, there shall be joint mixed
electorate throughout India for the House of Representatives and the provincial
Legislatures and also there shall be no reservation of seats for the House of
Representatives except for Muslims in Province.
In the
province, there shall be no reservation of seats for any community in Punjab
and Bengal.
In
other Provinces, there shall be reservation of seats for the minorities on the
basis of population with right to contest additional seats.IMPACTS OF NEHRU REPORT
It
became the dividing factor with the Congress
Jinnah
demanded separate electorates and put forward the 14 points and became the text
for communal demand
The
breach between Jinnah and other leaders increased
During
the annual Congress meeting at Calcutta in 1928, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash
Chandra Bose demanded complete independence, not Dominion Status
According
to Gandhiji, Dominion status will be accepted if it was granted before 1929.
The
Viceroy Lord Irwin declared on 31st October, 1929 that the Dominion
status was the natural issue of India’s constitutional progress
On 31st
December, 1929 Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the tri-color National flag and
declared 26th January 1930 as the First Independent day.Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934)
Indians
were not happy with the Simon Commission and wanted to disobey the government
and thus, the Congress working committee has authorized Gandhiji to launched
Civil Disobedience movement as and when he thought it is necessary.
Gandhiji
placed eleven points of administrative reforms but Lord Irwin didn’t full fill
any of his demands and therefore, he decided to start the Civil Disobedience
movement.
The
historic movement known as Dandi March was started on 12th March
1930 along with his selected 78 followers by walking 375 km from Sabarmati
Ashram to Dandi to break the salt law.The programs of the movement were;
Ø Salt Law should be violated
Ø Students should leave the schools and colleges
Ø Civil servants should resign from the service
Ø Foreign goods should be burnt
Ø Non-payment of the taxes to the government
Ø Woman should start Dharna in front of shops
selling liquor
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT
On 6th
April, 1930, Gandhiji has reach Dandi and broke the Salt Law as a symbol of
Indian people don’t want to be under British rule
Violation
of laws, boycott of foreign goods, mass strike and demonstration shook the
whole country.
There
was a mass participation in all most all the state with Gandhian Satyagraha
In the NWFP, the movement was led under the
leadership of Khan Abdul Gaffer Khan who was known to be Frontier Gandhi
For the
first time in the history of India woman actively took part in the National
Movement and marched shoulder to shoulder with men folk.SUSPENSION OF THE MOVEMENT
The Civil Disobedience movement was suspended because of the
following reasons;
The
government followed a policy of ruthless repression like lathi charge, firing
on unarmed crowds of both men and women.
Gandhiji
and other important leaders were arrested.
Strict
censorship was enforced on the nationalists press and securities were demanded
The
government passed ordinances and authority was empowered to arrest any person
without any reason and confiscate the property of the people.
The
urban traders has not cooperated with nationalist and also broken the national
pledge.THE FIRST ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE IN LONDON
Soon after the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the
First Round Table Conference started and the Congress didn’t take part in it.
But other parties took part in it. It was agreed that British India and Indian
states should form a Federal Union. But the conference was inconclusive due to
following issues raised by BR Ambedkar and Muslim League;
1.
Reserved
seats for the Depressed class and
2.
Adequate
Safeguard for Muslims
Thus, the conference was stopped since it ends on 19 January,
1931. However, British Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald appealed to the people of
India to end the movement and extend their cooperation in working out a
constitutional settlement.
GANDHI-IRWIN PACT OF MARCH, 1931
The British knew that it was impossible for them to settle any
issues without the cooperation of Congress and the Congress too wanted to
cooperate with the British because the movements couldn’t bring any successful
results.
Thus, the Congress has authorized Gandhi to negotiate with the
Viceroy Lord Irwin and the outcome was known as the famous Gandhi-Irwin Pact of
March 1931.
SALIENT FEATURES OF GANDHI-IRWIN PACT
The
Congress agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference
The
Congress would stop the Civil Disobedience Movement immediately
The
government would withdraw the ordinances passed during the movement
The
boycott of British goods would also stop
Compensation
would be paid to those suffered in the movement
The
government allows Indians to make salt for consumption only
The pact was approved by the Congress at Karachi Session of March
1931 but many Congress leaders opposed because the government has not accepted
most of the national demands.
RESULTS OF THE PACT
The
Viceroy had to treat the Indian leaders on an equal footing
The
prestige of the Congress has increased as Gandhi and Viceroy had signed the
‘Treaty of Peace’.
The
government accepted Congress as authority to speak for political India
The
rural Congress were given reception while going back to their village after
they are released from the jail
After
the Bardoli session in 1931, party activities considerably increased and
extension of party machinery was marked in many areas
Gandhian policy of non-violent satyagraha became the political
weapon of the people against the British government. An apostle of peace and
non-violence, Gandhiji’s message had a universal appeal and profound influence
on the freedom struggle of India.
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