NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT

S.S. Jain Subodh Law College

Ignorance Of Law

Project Submission as the Non Cooperation Movement

Submission ToSubmitted By:

MR.SAMRAT DATTA
PRAMOD PURBIA
FACULTY OF CONSTITUTION
no:-14

NAMEOFSTUDENT:
Roll
1 Semester
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NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT

S.S. Jain Subodh Law College

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project is incomplete without thanking a few people who have been my pillar of support
thought out this work owe my gratitude to all those people who have made this project possible.
I would like to express my deep sincere gratitude to my teacher Samrat Datta his continuous
support. He has always been there to listen guide and help me out and has been constantly
monitoring to progress of work and has showed me the different ways to approach a research,
problem an also. The need to be persistent to accomplish any goal.
I am also obliged to acknowledge the administration for providing a wonderful library which is
a store house of knowledge an also providing for the invaluable electronic resources without
which no such research is ever possible.
Last but not the least I wish to my heartfelt gratitude towards my parents for their unconditional
support, strength and encouragement.
Finally, I would like to thank everybody who was important to the successful completion of my
dissertation as well as expressing my apology that I could not mention everyone personally.

Name Of The Student

Pramod Purbia
Semester-1

NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT

CERTIFICATE

This is certify that Mr.Pramod Purbia student of BA LLB of Rajasthan Unievrsity,Jaipur has
completed his project on Non Cooperation Movementunder the guidance of Mr.Samrat Datta.
The project is an original independent work to the best of my knowledge and has not been
published anywhere and has been pursued solely for academic interest.

Signature Of The Teacher

NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT

INDEX

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Programme

Significance of Non cooperation Movement

Satyagraha

11

The Non Cooperation Movement

11

Non Cooperation Movement PART-2

13

Conclusion

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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1
2

WIKEPEDIA.COM
NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT.COM

3
4

WWW.GOOGLE.COM
NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT INDIA HISTORY ,Bratannica,com

NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT,1920-1922 HOLISTIC THOUGHT

INTRODUCTION:

NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT

The Erstwhile District Of Darrang Formed An Integral Part Of Assam During The
Colonial Period. It Has A Long History Of Freedom Struggle And Has A Larger Share
To The Success Of Indias National War Of Independence. Following The
British Occupation Of Assam, The District Witnessed The Growth Of Political
Awareness And National Consciousness, Particularly During The Second Half Of The
Nineteenth Century. With The Dawn Of The Twentieth Century The National
Movement Gained Momentum And The People Of The District Started To Join The
Movement By Protesting The British Colonial Rule. In The Subsequent Period The
People Of The District Contributed Significantly Towards Indias Freedom By
Participating In All The Major Movements And Events. However, The
Noncooperation Movement Was Quite Different From All Other Important Events
During The Course Of Indias Struggle For Independence. This Particular Movement
Was The First Organized Mass Movement That The District Had Ever Seen And Thus
Laid The Ground For Strong Mass Agitation In The Subsequent Period. Besides, This
Movement Was Signified By Larger Participation Of People From Various Parts Of
The District.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

The methodology followed in the preparation of this study is historical and analytical.
Attempt is also made to make the work objective so far as possible. Primary sources
used in this paper are contemporary literature, public and private records,
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biographical works and autobiographies, personal letters and diaries, newspapers,
journals, periodicals, etc. Secondary sources such as published books, journals and
periodicals, newspapers, etc., are also used in this work.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Great unrest prevailed in India during the closing year of World War I. The Rowlat
Act, the Jalianwala Bagh massacre, the Martial Law clamped in the Punjab, failure of
the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms which were announced towards the end of 1918
and the dismemberment of Turkey by the British following the Treaty of Severs in
May 1920, created widespread resentment among all the sections of the people of
India. On the suggestions of Mahatma Gandhi a programme of non-violence noncooperation was unanimously accepted by the all party conference held at Allahabad
on 9 June 1920. As per the decision of this Conference, a resolution supporting the
programme of non-violent noncooperation was passed in the special session the
Congress at Kolkata in September and same was adopted in the plenary session at
Nagpur in December of the same year. 1 While attending the special session of the
Congress at Kolkata, the Assam Association delegation, comprising N. C. Bardoloi,
Chandranath Sarma, Fa iznur Ali and others found themselves divided on the issue of
non-cooperation. After returning to Guwahati, they started a propaganda campaign,
seeking the support of the Assamese intelligentsia for the forth-coming movement.
The moderate leaders like Ghanashyam Baruah, Gangagobinda Phukan, Taraprasad
Chaliha etc. opposed the very idea of participating in mass politics. But they were
outvoted in the special session of the Assam Association held at Guwahati on 11 and
12 October 1920, where the decision to launch the movement was adopted. 2 The
most remarkable feature of the Non-Cooperation Movement in Assam was its intense
mass appeal. Following the decision of the All India Students Conference held at
Nagpur in December, 1920 the students of Assam launched a strong movement for
boycott of educational institutions. As a result, thousands of students struck schools
and colleges and large batches of them enrolled themselves as volunteers to spread
the message of non-cooperation. Boycott of foreign goods, propagation of khaddar
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and swadeshi and picketing of liquor and opium shops, boycott of government and
government aided schools and colleges, and law courts was also successfully carried
out. 3 The people of the Darrang district contributed significantly for the success of
the movement. At the request of Hemchandra Baruah, Chandranath Sarma and Omeo
Kumar Das, a group of students such as Kumudchandra Sarma, Daksharam Barua,
Bagiram Saikia, Joyram Saikia, Kashiram Hazarika, Ramakanta Sarma and
Phatikchandra Sarma, and led by Tilakchandra Sarma, General Secretary of Cotton
College Students Union, decided to go on strike. They put up a notice in the college
notice-board, announcing their decision of boycott classes and left the college.
Following them, another fifty students left the college and joined the movement.4
Lakshmidhar Sarma of Biswanath and some other students of Assam who were then
studying in Kolkata left their college and came back to Assam to start organizational
and propaganda work.5 The boycott agitation of the students indirectly led to the
demand for setting up of national schools and colleges in place of government and
government aided educational institutions at different places of the province. At
Tezpur a Jatiya vidyalaya functioned from the private residence of Chandrakumar
Nath near the Hazara Phukuri. This school was established and run by some
prominent Congress leaders of the district viz. Omeo Kumar Das, Lakshmidhar
Sarma, Hemchandra Barua and others. 6 At Chatia, an attempt was made to start a
national school with one hundred students. The responsibility to manage this school
was given to Tilak Sarma.7 At Mangaldoi town a school was started by a few local
residents namely, Kumudram Bora, Tapeswar Sarma and Loknath Goswami. They
resigned their practice at the bar and started organizational work in the Mangaldoi
area. 8 Under the leadership of the teachers of the school, the students paid visit to the
neighbouring villages to collect information about the prevalence of opium addiction
among the villagers. The students also regularly picketed shops selling excisable
articles. Students and teachers moved from village to village propagating the message
of non - cooperation and explaining to the people the evil effects of opium-eating. In
Darrang district the movement was actually led by Omeo Kumar Das, Chandranath
Sarma and Lakshmidhar Sarma who organized several meetings in places like
Gohpur, Helem, Gamiri, Bedeti, Biswanath, Chatia, Nagsankar, Jamuguri, Dhekiajuli,
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Orang, Mangaldoi etc. One day while Lakshmidhar Sarma and Omeo Kumar Das
were helping some students to picket a shop dealing in liquors, they were by a woman
named Mungri alias Malati Mam of Lalmati tea garden. Initially she was angry for
being prevented from buying liquors, but soon became calm when she came to know
about the harmful effect of liquor, and that the buying of liquor meant perpetuation of
slavery. She instantly threw away the bottles form her hands and gave up the habit of
consumption of liquor forever. The incident had a deep impact on her which inspired
her to participate actively in the movement with the result that she later lost her life at
the hands of police. 9 With the progress of the Non-Cooperation Movement, the
Congress workers and volunteers started extending their activities in the tea garden
areas. Most of the tea gardens had their weekly hats or markets generally controlled
by the local planters. The Congress volunteers frequently visited to these market
places to propagate temperance among the labourers. The planters on the other hand,
unable to stand the very sight of a Gandhi-capped Congress worker in the vicinity of
the gardens, often resisted their entry in the gardens. As a matter of fact, the manger
of Bedeti Tea Estate on one occasion thrown out one Mohanchandra Sarma, a
Congress worker from the garden hat. The local Congress workers took it as a
challenge and in cooperation with the villagers, established a new hat in a nearby
village. In the process the former hat was completely deserted. On another occasion
the manager of the Helem Tea Estate was physically assaulted by the agitated
labourers.10 Under the leadership of Chandranath Sarma the movement gained
further momentum. Nabin Chandra Bardoloi and Tarun Ram Phukan found in him
their ablest lieutenant in the Darrang district. This nationalist young worker roused
the dormant spirit of the Assamese youths and inspired them to dedicate themselves
for the cause of the country.11 Meanwhile the Assam Association met at Tezpur on
26-27 December, 1920, with Prasanna Kumar Baruah in Chair, to discuss the
ratification of the resolution on non-cooperation adopted at the Kolkata Session of the
Congress. The enthusiastic young workers erected a few gates at different places of
the Tezpur town. The Gate of Self Government was built near the steamer ghat. The
Gandhi Gate was erected near Padum Pukhuri and the Shaukat Ali Gate was erected
near the main pandal of the Association. Each of these gates carried certain messages
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which reminded the people not to forget the agonies of Jalianwala Massacre, the
wrongs done to the Khilafat Movement and the insult heaped on Mr. Phanidhar
Chaliha on the floor of the Council. 12 The enthusiastic Congress workers, through
some soul-stirring slogans called upon the people to participate in the NonCooperation Movement and asked them to be in readiness to sacrifice their blood for
the attainment of self-government. These slogans also pointed out that co-operation
with the British was equivalent to slavery contending that the British Governments
motto of maintaining peace at any cost and of resorting to firing on unarmed people
could not be accepted as a symbol of civilization. No doubt, these slogans went a long
way to motivate the masses towards participation in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
13 A resolution was adopted in this meeting which stated that the object of the
Association, in the present situation, would be to work for the attainment of Swaraj
by all legitimate means and to motivate the people towards this goal.14 Thus, the
Tezpur Session of the Assam Association was virtually converted into a Congress
forum and its politicisation was complete by the year 1920. The Association held its
last session at Jorhat on 18 April, 1921, with Chabilal Upadhyay, a resident of
Darrang district, in the chair where almost all the leaders of Assam valley were
present. Besides condemning the recent eviction of Nepali graziers from Kaziranga
Forest Reserves15 and police atrocities on them, the meeting discussed the noncooperation programme and organizational matters. Chandranath Sarma continued his
organizational work by visiting a number of towns of Assam valley. Due to his
untiring efforts, District Congress Committees were established at Dibrugarh on 12
February, 1921, and at Jorhat on 16 February. 16 The foundation of the Darrang
District Congress Committee was laid in a meeting held at the Tezpur Town Hall on
11 April, 1921. Chandranath Sarma was elected its President, Omeo Kumar Das, the
Secretary and Lakshmidhar Sarma, the Assistant Secretary. An executive body of the
committee was also formed in the same meeting. Some of the prominent members
who attended the meeting were Lakhikanta Barkakati, Loknath Goswami, Mahabir
Tiwari, Nagen Ganguly, Mahendranath Daw, Maheswar Goswami and others.17 The
Bombay Session of the All India Congress Committee held on July, 1921, was
attended by few Congress leaders of Assam who invited Gandhiji to visit Assam to
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boost the non-cooperation activities. The latter arrived along with the Ali Brothers, at
Guwahati on 18 August, 1921 on a ten-day provincial tour. His visit inspired the
people in both the valleys of Assam. He visited several places and in the meetings
held at Guwahati, Tezpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Silchar, bonfires of foreign
cloths were made in presence of thousands of supporters and onlookers.18 Tezpur
was preparing to give a rousing reception to Gandhiji where he arrived at 9 a.m. of 21
August, 1921. A large crowd gathered at the Tezpur Steamer ghat to have a darshan of
this great man. On the way to the residence of Haribilas Agarwala where he stayed,
he was given a warm welcome by the people of the town. On that very day there was
a Mahila Sabha, specially arranged for women which was attended by hundreds of
ladies. At 4 oclock in the afternoon he attended a public meeting at the Polo Field. A
large crowd of about twenty thousand people coming from distant places like
Kalabari, Gohpur, Gamiri, Biswanath, Chatia, Jamuguri, Haleswar, Balipara etc.
assembled meeting. The two Congress leaders Muhammad Ali and Azad Sobhani,
who accompanied Gandhiji in his Assam tour, made stirring speeches in the meeting.
At the end of the meeting the people who were wearing foreign clothes threw them to
a heap and bonfire was made by igniting them. This episode instilled patriotic fervour
and sacrificing spirit in the hearts of all those who were present in the meeting.
Gandhiji also observed a twenty four hour fast at Tezpur. 19 This meeting of 22
August was attended by many tea garden labourers who came from Rangapara circle
by a special train. On his advice, hundreds of youngmen took the pledge of
temperance and vowed to preach against opium, ganja and other drug habit. The
movement gathered further momentum during the three months after Gandhijis
departure.20 His visit of Tezpur had tremendous impact on the tea-garden workers.
During September-October 1921, further troubles erupted in Kacharigaon, Sonajuli
and Dhendai Tea Estates of Darrang district. In these gardens, the labourers assaulted
the managers of the supervisory staff. At Dhendai Tea Estate, they even assaulted the
intervening Superintendent of Police on 14 October, 1921. As a reprisal to this act, the
ring leaders were arrested and sent off to Tezpur for trial. The agitated labourers,
demanding the release of the arrested persons, marched to Tezpur town. Realizing the
gravity of the situation, the Tezpur District Congress Committee decided to intervene
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in the matter with a view of averting a serious situation. At their int ervention, the
labourers dispersed peacefully. 21 In the district of Darrang, some leading women
activists such as Chandraprabha Saikiani, Kiranmoyee Agarwala, Kiranbala
Barkakati, Sarala Das etc. had already established the Tezpur Mahila Samiti (1919),
with a view to carry out organizational work among the women of the district.
Chandraprabha Saikiani resigned her service in the school and motivated a lot of
women to participate in the movement. Gandhijis soul stirring speeches, particularly
his appreciation of the Assamese women for their outstanding work in weaving and
spinning encouraged the women folk of the district in a big way thereby helping them
to engage themselves in the constructive work of the Congress. During the course of
the movement a meeting of the women was held on 4 October, 1921 at the Garahabi
Village of Biswanath which was attended by Omeo Kumar Das, Lakshmidhar Sarma
and others. In that meeting the women were urged to boycott the foreign clothes and
undertake weaving and spinning for promotion of swadeshi. 22 When the movement
was on its height, there occurred a tragic incident at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur
district of Uttar Pradesh on 5 February, 1922. A peaceful procession of several
hundred processionists was attacked by the police. In retaliation, the agitated crowd
chased the police party which hid itself inside a police station at Chauri Chaura.
Unable to control their anger, the crowd set fire on the building. All the twenty two
policemen were thus burnt alive. On hearing this incident, Gandhiji suspended the
movement with immediate effect. This decision of Gandhiji was ratified by the
Congress Working Committee on 12 February, 1922.23 The sudden suspension of the
movement was a bolt from the blue for the Congressmen of Assam. Young leaders
like Chandranath Sarma, who was ailing, was terribly upset and died soon after in
July, 1923. Although the other freedom fighters, in general, were demoralized at this
abrupt suspension, the movement expedited certain reforms in Assam. It forced the
government to modify its opium policy which eventually led to the gradual decline of
opium consumption in the province.24

Programmes
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The programmes of the Non-Cooperation Movement were:
Surrender of titles and honorary positions.
Resignation of membership from the local bodies.
Boycott of elections held under the provisions of the 1919 Act.
Boycott of government functions.
Boycott of courts, government schools and colleges.
Boycott of foreign goods.
Establishment of national schools, colleges and private panchayat courts.
Popularizing swadeshi goods and khadi (Home spun cloth).
The movement began with Mahatma Gandhi renouncing the titles, which were given by
the British. Other leaders and influential persons also followed him by surrendering their
honorary posts and titles. Students came out of the government educational institution.
National schools such as the Kashi Vidyapeeth, the Bihar Vidyapeeth and the Jamia
Millia Islamia were set up. All the prominent leaders of the country gave up their lucrative
legal practice. Legislatures were boycotted. No leader of the Congress came forward to
contest the elections for the Legislatures.
In 1921, mass demonstrations were held against the Prince of Wales during his tour of India.
The government resorted to strong measures of repression. Many leaders were arrested. The
Congress and the Khilafat Committees were proclaimed as illegal. At several places, bonfires
of foreign clothes were organised.
The message of Swadeshi spread everywhere. Most of the households took to weaving cloths
with the help of charkhas. But the whole movement was abruptly called off on 11th February
1922 by Gandhi following the Churi Chaura incident in the Gorakpur district of U.P.
Earlier on 5th February an angry mob set fire to the police station at Churi Chaura and
twenty two police men were burnt to death. Many top leaders of the country were stunned at
this sudden suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested on
10 March 1922

Significance of the Non-Cooperation Movement

It was the real mass movement with the participation of different sections of Indian society
such as peasants, workers, students, teachers and women.
It witnessed the spread of nationalism to the remote corners of India.
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It also marked the height of Hindu-Muslim unity as a result of the merger of Khilafat
movement.
It demonstrated the willingness and ability of the masses to endure hardships and make
sacrifices.

Factors that led to the movement

Among the significant causes of this movement was resentment to actions considered
oppressive such as the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre
A meeting of civilians was being held at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden temple in
Amritsar. The people were fired upon by 90 soldiers under the command of BrigadierGeneral Reginald Dyer. He also ordered the only exit to be blocked. Some 370 protestors
were killed and over 1000 others injured. The outcry in Punjab led to thousands of unrests,
and more deaths at the hands of the police during protests. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
became the most infamous event of British rule in India. Gandhi was horrified. He lost all
faith in the goodness of the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to
cooperate with the "satanic" government.
Other cause include economic hardships to the common man which the nationalists attributed
to the flow of Indian wealth to Britain, ruin of Indian artisans due to British factory-made
goods replacing handmade goods, and resentment with the British government over Indian
soldiers dying in World War I while fighting as part of the British Army.
The calls of early political leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah (who later became communal
and hardened his stand), Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress Extremists) for
home rule were accompanied only by petitions and major public meetings. They never
resulted in disorder or obstruction of government services. Partly due to that, the British did
not take them very seriously. The non-cooperation movement aimed to challenge the colonial
economic and power structure, and British authorities would be forced to take notice of the
demands of the independence movement.
Non-cooperation was recommended by Gandhi to Babu Muhammad Ali and Babu Shaukat
Ali for the Khilafat Movement. After the failure of Khilafat Movement, the Congress decided
that Non Cooperation was the only way out for India. The movement was undertaken to
(a)restore the status of the ruler of Turkey (b) to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and
other violence in Punjab and (c) to secure Swaraj (independence) for India. Gandhi promised
Swaraj in one year if his Non Cooperation Programme was fully implemented. The another
reason to start the non-cooperation movement was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional
methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator.

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Satyagraha
Main article: Satyagraha
Gandhi's call was for a nationwide protest against the Rowlatt Act. All offices and factories
would be closed. Indians would be encouraged to withdraw from Raj-sponsored schools,
police services, the military and the civil service, and lawyers were asked to leave the Raj's
courts. Public transportation and English-manufactured goods, especially clothing, was
boycotted.
Veterans like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant
and Sammed Akiwate opposed the idea outright. The All India Muslim League also criticized
the idea. But the younger generation of Indian nationalists were thrilled, and backed Gandhi.
The Congress Party adopted his plans, and he received extensive support from Muslim
leaders like Maulana Azad, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Abbas Tyabji,
Maulana Muhammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali.
The eminent Hindi writer, poet, play-wright, journalist and nationalist Rambriksh Benipuri,
who spent more than eight years in prison fighting for India's independence, wrote:
When I recall Non-Cooperation era of 1921, the image of a storm confronts my eyes. From
the time I became aware, I have witnessed numerous movements, however, I can assert that
no other movement upturned the foundations of Indian society to the extent that the NonCooperation movement did. From the most humble huts to the high places, from villages to
cities, everywhere there was a ferment, a loud echo.[1]

Success and suspension

The success of the revolt was a total shock to British authorities and a massive
encouragement to millions of Indian nationalists. Then on February 5, 1922, in the Chauri
Chaura, after violent clashes between the local police and the protesters in which three
protesters were killed by police firing, the police chowki (pron.-chau key) (station) was set on
fire by the mob, killing 22 of the police occupants.
Mahatma Gandhi felt that the revolt was veering off-course, and was disappointed that the
revolt had lost its non-violent nature. He did not want the movement to degenerate into a
contest of violence, with police and angry mobs attacking each other back and forth,
victimizing civilians in between. Gandhi appealed to the Indian public for all resistance to
end, went on a fast lasting 3 weeks, and called off the non-cooperation movement.

Aftermath
The non-cooperation movement was withdrawn because of the Chauri Chaura incident.
Although he had stopped the national revolt single-handedly, on March 10, 1922, Gandhi was
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arrested. On March 18, 1922, he was imprisoned for six years for publishing seditious
materials. This led to suppression of movements and was followed by arrestment of other
leaders.
Although most Congress leaders remained firmly behind Gandhi, the determined broke away.
The Ali brothers would soon become fierce critics. Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das
formed the Swaraj Party, rejecting Gandhi's leadership. Many nationalists had felt that the
non-cooperation movement should not have been stopped due to isolated incidents of
violence, and most nationalists, while retaining confidence in Gandhi, were discouraged.
Contemporary historians and critics suggest that the movement was successful enough to
break the back of British rule, and possibly even the catalyst for the movement that lead to
independence in 1947.
But many historians and Indian leaders of the time also defended Gandhi's judgment.
However, there have been claims that Gandhi called off the movement in an attempt to
salvage his own personal image, which would have been tarnished had he been blamed for
the Chauri Chaura incident, although a similar type of movement was introduced in 1930, the
civil disobedience movement. This was the first instance of Gandhi's glory hunting methods
were put in the limelight. The main difference was the introduction of a policy of violating
the law.

The Non-Cooperation Movement On March 20 Gandhi recommended to the

Congress that Non-Cooperation be adopted as the method to get the demands of the
Khilafatists granted. He had also promised to get Swaraj in one year. In December 1920 the
Congress at its Nagpur session unanimously accepted it. It must however be noted that from
the outset Gandhi made it clear that the Khilafat question was in his view more important and
urgent than that of Swaraj. He wrote: To the Musalmans, Swaraj means, as it must, India's
ability to deal effectively with the Khilafat question.... It is impossible not to sympathise with
this attitude.... I would gladly ask for postponement of Swaraj activity if thereby we could
advance the interest of the Khilafat.
Thus was launched the Non-cooperation campaign and Gandhi emerged as the partys
undisputed leader. Gandhi described this movement as a state of peaceful rebellion and
called for defiance of every single state made law. The objective was two-fold: first, to raise
a fund of Rs 1 crore to finance the countrys non-cooperation movement and secondly to
enroll a volunteer corps of one crore members to help promote various boycotts social,
educational, legal and economic. There was to be boycott of law courts and lawyers; of
schools and colleges owned by the Government; of elections to the Central Legislative
Assemblies and Provincial Councils; of honours, titles and official functions. At the same
time Swadeshi was to be encouraged. The use of khaddar was to be encouraged and drinking
of liquor was prohibited.

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The Movement evoked a tremendous public response. CR Das, Motilal Nehru, Rajendra
Prasad, Rajagopalchari and Jawaharlal Nehru all left their lucrative practice as lawyers.
Subhas Bose quit his career in the Indian Civil Service. A large number of students left
schools and colleges and politicians refused to contest elections. The boycott of foreign cloth
adversely affected the import of British goods and there was a fall in the excise revenues. By
mid-July, the Non-Cooperation Movement had roused the people to fever heat and there was
tremendous enthusiasm and expectation all over the country. This was accentuated by the
promise of Gandhi to bring Swaraj within one year. When the Prince of Wales visited India in
November 1921, there were huge popular demonstrations against him and over 30,000
people were imprisoned. The campaign against the use of foreign cloth provided Gandhi with
the opportunity to develop the mystique of the spinning wheel. This became a cardinal tenet
in his ideology, in fact almost an obsession. This was to be at once a manual exercise, a
spiritual exercise and the means of freeing India from the capitalist exploitation. Gandhi,
however, decided to confine the movement to Bardoli, a small district of 87,000 people. But
even this was suspended on account of an outbreak of mob violence at Chauri Chaura, a
small village near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. In this incident a police station was burnt and
twenty-two policemen killed. The decision to suspend the movement was received with
feelings of dismay all over the country; senior Congressmen were totally taken aback but
despite that, the Congress Working Committee endorsed it on 12th February 1922. As a result,
the whole movement collapsed and was revived later only after several years.
What was the secret of Gandhis popularity? Indian politics in the year 1915 was at a
standstill. Neither the moderates nor the extremists were making any real impact on the
people. But at the same time as a result of the Swadeshi movement of 1905 and Home Rule
League activities later, politics was moving into ever widening outer rings. Newspapers and
pamphlets were carrying the nationalist message beyond the metropolitan cities and active
groups were being formed in the districts. Gandhi himself utilized the network laid out by the
Home Rule League. However, outside the closed ring of gentlemens politics, there were a
large section of half-educated and illiterate people with no one to lead them. Various groups
in the backward regions felt threatened by the changes occurring under Western impact.
Gandhi stepped in to bridge the gap between the English-educated politicians and the less
educated mass of common men and women. The people of the outer orbit were attracted to
Gandhi because he was so different from the English-educated leaders. His simple attire,
preference for swadeshi goods and his overt religiosity made him more acceptable to the
common people. But the leaders found it difficult to accept him. Why then did the established
leaders despite their earlier misgivings about him accept Gandhi in 1921?
As already seen, Gandhi first began his experiments in local areas like Champaran, Kheda
and Ahmedabad. Those activities brought him countrywide fame as a powerful leader. It was
through the Rowlatt Satyagraha that he made his entry into national
politics. Gandhi effectively utilized the Khilafat issue and the Punjab wrong to advance his
political standing.
The acceptance of Gandhi into mainstream politics was not complete and unquestioned. The
national leaders were keenly aware of the fact that Non-cooperation would jeopardize council
entry. Yet they finally yielded to Gandhi and accepted his plan of action because
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circumstances forced their hands. Gandhis intervention in Indian politics since the Rowlatt
Satyagraha emerged as the all-important factor. Since then it seemed to determine the course
of mainstream politics. How does one explain the events of 1919-22?Perhaps it was because
of expectation. There was expectation in the air. The public expected from him a miracle. In
1920-21, all eyes were fixed on Gandhi. The promise of swaraj in one year cast a spell. Even
the revolutionaries were willing to suspend activity for a year. Gandhis immense popularity
had made him almost irresistible. The government did not know what to do with him. At the
same time he was an embarrassment to some of the Indian leaders. He was not planning to
capture the Congress and turn it to his will but his attitude changed sharply after the release
of the Hunter Commission report in May 1920 on the Punjab incidents. This was something,
which Gandhi could not bear. He came out openly against council entry. The die was cast.
Gandhi made up his mind to launch Satyagraha. Gandhi knew that he had to take the
Congress along with him. To get the Congress to pass the right resolutions was a practical
problem. Gandhi overcame this by using the Khilafat plank and the Punjab atrocities. He thus
became the supreme leader.
But at the same time it must be admitted that Gandhis calculations went wrong. Satyagraha
did not bring about swaraj in one year. People did not remain non-violent. The HinduMuslim entente did not take place. When violence erupted, Gandhi suspended the movement
and finally called it off to the great dismay of his followers and onlookers. Gandhis action
came in for attack from all sides. It seemed that the Gandhian style of politics was discredited
though not altogether discarded. After the collapse of the Non-cooperation movement, the
unity of mainstream politics was broken. Non-cooperation failed, but it broke the spell of fear
of British authority among the common people. The British in India had lost the mandate of
history.

The Non-Cooperation Movement

Part 2
As we have seen in the previous chapter, Gandhi introduced a completely new style of
politics. It is necessary to analyze this in some detail for it has in a big way influenced the
later history of the Freedom Movement as well as independent India. The Non-Cooperation
Movement led by Gandhi was based on three planks.
The total boycott of the British by the method of Satyagraha
The movement was to be totally non-violent
The plank of Hindu-Muslim unity.
In order to bring about Hindu-Muslim unity, Gandhi supported the Khilafat movement, a
movement that had nothing to do with Indian Nationalism. It thus encouraged the PanIslamic sentiment and went against the very grain of Indian Nationalism.The Pan-Islamic
sentiment behind the Khilafat movement was clearly indicated by the mass migration of
Muslims from India to Afghanistan. This planned movement known as hijrat started in Sindh
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and gradually spread to NWFP. It was estimated that in the month of August 1920, nearly
18,000 people were on their way to Afghanistan. But unfortunately for the Khilafat
movement the Afghan Government which was inspired more by national than Pan-Islamic
sentiment forbade the admission of the Indian Muhajirs to Afghanistan. This was a severe
blow to the Khilafat Movement. Soon, the British Government arrested the Ali brothers. The
Hindu-Muslim alliance, founded as it was on a momentary hostility towards the British,
could not long endure. As already seen, after the arrest of the Ali brothers, Gandhi, seized
upon an incident at Chauri Chaura, a remote village in the U.P., to call off the movement.
Then, Turkey herself took the fateful decision to abolish the institution of Khilafat in March
1924. Mustapha Kemal, whose Nationalist forces deposed the Sultan in November 1922,
proclaimed Turkey a republic a year later and finally abolished the office of the Caliph early
March 1924. The Khilafat movement in India thus died a natural death; but it had encouraged
and succeeded in strengthening the Indian Muslims sense of separateness. This Turkish
decision robbed the movement of its raison d'etre and the Khilafat movement came to an end
with the Muslims sinking to a state of utter despondency and helplessness. But the movement
mobilized the Muslims politically at the grass root level for the first time, and this experience
came in handy later during the subsequent Pakistan movement. Since the Khilafat movement
was launched for the advancement of an Islamic cause, it helped strengthen their Islamic
sensibilities and orientation and quickened their communal consciousness. This sense of
separateness finally led to the formation of Pakistan.
It will be of interest to note the role of the Ali brothers in the Khilafat movement. The Ali
brothers in their speeches emphasized the interests of the Indian Muslims with the Muslims
everywhere in the world whether in Tripoli or Algeria in preference to those of the Hindus.
When there were rumours that the Amir of Afghanistan might invade India, Mohamed Ali
said: If the Afghans invade India to wage holy war, the Indian Muslms are not only bound to
join them but also to fight the Hindus if they refuse to cooperate with them. Gandhi also
said: I claim that with us both the Khilafat is the central fact; with Maulana Mohamed Ali
because it is his religion, with me, because in laying down my life for the Khilafat, I ensure
the safety of the cow, that is my religion, from the knife of the Muslim. It is thus evident
that the Hindu-Muslim split had been fostered and encouraged by the policies of the
Congress. It also signaled the beginning of the policy of appeasement of the Muslims by the
Congress party.
Let us see what Sri Aurobindo has to say: What has created the Hindu-Muslim split was not
Swadeshi, but the acceptance of the communal principle by the Congress, (here Tilak made
his great blunder), and the further attempt by the Khilafat movement to conciliate them and
bring them in on wrong lines. The recognition of that communal principle at Lucknow made
them permanently a separate political entity in India, which ought never to have happened;
the Khilafat affair made that separate political entity an organised separate political power. It
was not Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education, Swaraj (our platform) which made this
tremendous division, how could it? Tilak was responsible for it not by that, but by his
support of the Lucknow affair - for the rest, Gandhi did it with the help of his Ali brothers.
During the height of the Khilafat agitation, which had for its aim the Hindu-Muslim
rapprochement, the country was rocked by some of the worst communal riots in Kerala.
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These riots known as the Moplah Riots took place in August 1921 and sent shock waves
throughout India. The Hindus were butchered and the expected harmony between the Hindus
and Muslims did not materialize. But neither Gandhi nor the Congress party made any
critical reference to the killing of Hindus; the faade of Hindu-Muslim unity had to be
maintained and anything that would displease the Muslims had to be avoided. This is another
instance of appeasement of the Muslims.
It will be worthwhile noting what Sri Aurobindo had written as early as in 1909 regarding the
Hindu-Muslim problem:
Of one thing we may be certain, that Hindu-Muslim unity cannot be effected by political
adjustments or Congress flatteries. It must be sought deeper down in the heart and in the
mind, for where the causes of disunion are there the remedies must be sought. We shall do
well in trying to solve the problem to remember that misunderstanding is the most fruitful
cause of our differences, that love compels love and that strength conciliates the strong. We
must strive to remove the causes of misunderstanding by a better mutual knowledge and
sympathy; we must extend the unfaltering love of the patriot to our Mussulman brother,
remembering always that in him too Narayana dwells and to him too our Mother has given a
permanent place in her bosom; but we must cease to approach him falsely or flatter out of a
selfish weakness and cowardice. We believe this to be the only practical way of dealing with
the difficulty. As a political question the Hindu-Muslim problem does not interest us at all, as
a national problem it is of supreme importance. We shall make it a main part of our work to
place Mohammed and Islam in a new light before our readers to spread juster views of
Mohammedan history and civilization, to appreciate the Musulman's place in our national
development and the means of harmonizing his communal life with our own, not ignoring the
difficulties that stand in the way of the possibilities of brotherhood and mutual
understanding. Intellectual sympathy can only draw together, the sympathy of the heart can
alone unite. But the one is a good preparation for the other.
Another striking feature of the Gandhian politics was the erection of non-violence to a creed.
In 1906, when Passive resistance was started in Bengal, non-violence was a tactic to be
adopted in the then prevailing conditions. The conditions were not ready for any kind of
violence. But it was never turned into a creed and dogma to be followed in all circumstances.
It was this approach that led to the calling off of the Non-Cooperation Movement. The
leaders of the Congress Party resented it. Here is Jawaharlal Nehrus comment on the
suspension of the movement by Gandhi:
We were angry when we learned of this stoppage of our struggle at a time when we seemed
to be consolidating our position and advancing on all fronts The sudden suspension of our
movement after the Chauri Chaura incident was resented, I think, by almost all the Congress
leaders other than Gandhiji, of course. My father (who was in jail at the time) was much
upset by it. The younger people were even more agitated. Our mounting hopes tumbled to the
ground and this mental reaction was to be expected. What troubled us even more were the
reasons given for this suspension and the consequences that seemed to flow from them.
Chauri Chaura may have been and was a deplorable occurrence and wholly opposed to the
spirit of the non-violent movement, but were a remote village and a mob of excited peasants
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in an out-of-way place going to put an end, for some time at least, to our national struggle
for freedom? If this was the inevitable consequence of a sporadic act of violence, then surely
there was something lacking in the philosophy and technique of a non-violent struggle? For
it seemed to us to be impossible to guarantee against the occurrence of some such untoward
incident. Must we train the three hundred odd millions of India in the theory of non-violent
action before we could go forward? And even so how many of us could say that under
extreme provocation from the police we would be able to remain perfect peaceful. But even if
we succeeded, what of the numerous agents provocateurs, stool pigeons and the like who
crept into our movement and indulged in violence themselves or induced others to do so? If
this was the sole condition of its function, then the non-violent method of resistance would
always fail.
And yet, most unfortunately, the Congress accepted Gandhis decision. This trend was to
continue right through the Freedom Movement.
It will be quite relevant to note some remarks regarding the method of Satyagraha applied by
Gandhi. Here is what Sri Aurobindo has to say about the method of Satyagraha. I believe
Gandhi does not know what actually happens to the man's nature when he takes to
Satyagraha or non-violence. He thinks that men get purified by it. But when men suffer, or
subject themselves to voluntary suffering, what happens is that their vital being gets
strengthened. These movements affect the vital being only and not any other part. Now, when
you cannot oppose the force that oppresses, you say that you will suffer. That suffering is
vital and it gives strength. When the man who has thus suffered gets power he becomes a
worse oppressor....
What one can do is to transform the spirit of violence. But in this practice of Satyagraha it is
not transformed. When you insist on such a one-sided principle, what happens is that cant,
hypocrisy and dishonesty get in and there is no purification at all. Purification can come by
the transformation of the impulse of violence, as I said. In that respect the old system in India
was much better: the man who had the fighting spirit became the Kshatriya and then the
fighting spirit was raised above the ordinary vital influence. The attempt was to spiritualise
it. It succeeded in doing what passive resistance cannot and will not achieve. The Kshatriya
was the man who would not allow any oppression, who would fight it out and he was the man
who would not oppress anybody. That was the ideal.
Another point to note regarding the leadership of Gandhi, was that the Congress party despite
not agreeing with him, still followed him without any serious discussion. The democratic
process was the casualty; unfortunately this seems to have been one of the shortcomings of
the Congress till recent times.
Despite these serious shortcomings, the Non-Cooperation Movement had the following
positive effects:
There was a general awakening of the masses to their political rights and privileges.
The total loss of faith in the existing system of government
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The belief that only through our own efforts could India hope to be free
The faith in the Congress as the organization, which could direct the national effort to
gain freedom.
The utter failure of repression to cow down the people.
The most outstanding feature of the movement was the willingness of people to endure to a
remarkable degree the hardships and punishments inflicted by the Government. In addition
two other undeniable facts emerge: The first was that the Congress had really become a mass
movement and secondly the Congress party was almost overnight turned into a revolutionary
party. It was no longer a merely deliberative organisation; it had become an organised
fighting party pledged to action and revolution even though a kind of non-violent
revolution. Unfortunately as we shall see in the later chapters, the revolution was directed
neither on sound political lines nor on a deep understanding of Indian culture.

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4. CONCLUSION:
The spirit of the Non-Cooperation movement worked even in the later phases of the
Indias struggle for freedom. Following the suspension of the movement, some leaders of
the Congress directed their entire attention towards organizational activities in the village
areas. In the district of Darrang, leaders like Omeo Kumar Das, Mahadev Sarma,
Lakshmidhar Sarma, etc., traveled widely in the remote areas popularizing the ideas of
swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods. These activities popularized the movement in
every nook and corner of the district attracting thousands of people in the subsequ ent
period. Moreover, the Non-Cooperation movement prepared the ground for protesting
against the British rule in an organized way in Darrang district under the Tezpur District
Congress Committee. Peasants, laborers, women and all other sections of the society
started to express their agony through this common platform since this time. The strategy
of not to cooperate the Brish Government, which was the main principle of the NonCooperation Movement, continued to be adopted by the people of the district in the
ensuing movements.

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