Gandhiji, Rowlatt Act & Non-Cooperation Movement

Emergence of Nationalism

• Developments led people to wonder what the country of India is and who it is for
• The answer was that India included all people irrespective of class, colour, caste, creed, language, or gender
• The country and its resources were meant for all of them
• The British exercised control over India's resources and the lives of its people
• India could not be for Indians until this control ended
• Political associations formed after 1850, especially in the 1870s and 1880s, started stating this consciousness
• Most associations were led by English-educated professionals like lawyers
• Key associations included the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Indian Association, the Madras Mahajan Sabha, the Bombay Presidency Association, and the Indian National Congress

“Poona Sarvajanik Sabha"

• "Sarvajanik" means "of or for all the people”
• Associations worked in specific parts of the country
• The goals were stated as the goals of all Indian people, not just a region, community or class
• People should be sovereign, a key feature of nationalism
• The Indian people should be empowered to make decisions regarding their affairs

Dissatisfaction Intensified

• Dissatisfaction with British rule intensified in the 1870s and 1880s
• The Arms Act in 1878 disallowed Indians from possessing arms
• The Vernacular Press Act was enacted the same year to silence critics
• The Act allowed the government to seize newspaper assets if the newspapers published anything “objectionable”
• There was also an uproar over the Ilbert Bill in 1883, which sought equality between British and Indian judges, and allowed for the trial of British/European persons by Indians
• White opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill, highlighting the racial attitudes of the British in India

The Indian National Congress

• A need for an all-India organisation of educated Indians had been felt since 1880
• The Ilbert Bill controversy deepened this desire
• The Indian National Congress was established when 72 delegates met in Bombay in December 1885
• Early leaders included Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, W.C. Bonnerji, Surendranath Banerji, Romesh Chandra Dutt, and S. Subramania Iyer, largely from Bombay and Calcutta
• Naoroji was settled in London as a businessman and publicist
• A.O. Hume, a retired British official, helped bring Indians from various regions together

Congress Demands

• Congress wanted a greater voice for Indians in the government and in administration during its first 20 years
• Legislative Councils should be more representative and introduced in all provinces
• Demand that Indians be placed in high positions in the government
• Called for civil service examinations to be held in India, not just in London.
• The demand for Indianisation of the administration was a movement against racism, since most important jobs were monopolised by white officials
• British assumed Indians couldn't be given positions of responsibility
• Indianisation would reduce the drain of wealth to England, since British officers sent their large salaries home
• Other demands included separation of the judiciary from the executive, repeal of the Arms Act, and freedom of speech and expression
• The Congress declared British rule led to poverty and famines: increase in land revenue impoverished peasants/zamindars, and exports of grains to Europe created food shortages.
• Demanded reduction of revenue, cut in military expenditure, and more funds for irrigation
• It passed many resolutions on the salt tax, treatment of Indian labourers abroad, and the sufferings of forest dwellers who were affected by an interfering forest administration
• Despite being a body of the educated elite, the Congress talked for professional groups, zamindars and industrialists

Moderate Leaders

• They wanted to develop public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule
• Published newspapers, wrote articles, and showed how British rule led to the economic ruin of the country
• Criticised British rule in speeches, sent representatives to different parts of the country to mobilise public opinion
• Believed the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice, so would accept the just demands of Indians

“Freedom is our birthright"

• By the 1890s, many Indians questioned the Congress' political style
• Leaders such as Bepin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai began exploring more radical objectives/methods in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab
• Criticised Moderates for their "politics of prayers" and emphasised self-reliance and constructive work
• Argued that people must rely on their own strength, not on the “good” intentions of the government and must fight for swaraj
• Tilak raised the slogan, “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it!”

Partition of Bengal

• In 1905, Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal, the biggest province of British India (included Bihar and parts of Orissa)
• British argued for dividing Bengal for administrative convenience
• Instead of removing the non-Bengali areas, the government separated East Bengal and merged it with Assam
• British motives were to curtail the influence of Bengali politicians and to split the Bengali people

Swadeshi Movement

• The partition of Bengal infuriated people all over India
• The struggle became known as the Swadeshi movement, strongest in Bengal
• Had echoes elsewhere too; In deltaic Andhra it was known as the Vandemataram Movement
• Sought to oppose British rule and encourage self-help, swadeshi enterprise, national education, use of Indian languages
• Radicals advocated mass mobilisation/boycott of British institutions and goods
• Some suggested revolutionary violence to overthrow British rule

The Muslim League & the Congress Split

• A group of Muslim landlords/nawabs formed the All India Muslim League at Dacca in 1906
• The League supported the partition of Bengal and desired separate electorates for Muslims
• Government conceded in 1909 and reserved some seats in the councils for Muslims elected by Muslim voters
• Politicians gathered a following by distributing favours to their own religious groups due to this
• The Congress split in 1907 and the Moderates were opposed to the use of boycott as they thought it involved use of force
• Moderates dominated the Congress after the split, with Tilak's followers functioning from outside
• The two groups reunited in December 1915
• The Congress and the Muslim League signed the historic Lucknow Pact the next year and decided to work together for representative government

The Growth of Mass Nationalism

• The struggle against British rule gradually became a mass movement after 1919
• Involved peasants, tribals, students and women, and factory workers as well
• Certain business groups began to actively supported the Congress

The First World War

• Altered the economic and political situation in India
• Led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the Government of India
• The government increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits in turn
• Increased military expenditure and war supply demands led to a sharp rise in prices, creating difficulties for common people
• Business reaped fabulous profits
• Created a demand for industrial goods and caused a decline of imports from other countries into India

Other Impacts

• Indian industries expanded and business groups demanded opportunities for development
• War led the British to expand their army so Villages were pressurised to supply soldiers for an alien cause
• Many soldiers returned with an understanding of the ways in which imperialist powers were exploiting the peoples of Asia and Africa and with a desire to oppose colonial rule in India.
• The news about peasants' and workers' struggles and ideas of socialism circulated widely, inspiring Indian nationalists after the revolution in Russia in 1917

Advent of Mahatma Gandhi

• Mahatma Gandhi emerged as a mass leader during these circumstances
• He arrived in India in 1915 from South Africa; aged 46
• Having led Indians in non-violent marches against racist restrictions, he was a respected leader
• His South African campaigns brought him in contact with Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Christians; Gujaratis, Tamils and north Indians; and upper-class merchants, lawyers and workers.
• Spent his first year in India travelling throughout the country, understanding the people, their needs and the overall situation.

Early Interventions

• Early interventions were in local movements in Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad
• Came into contact with Rajendra Prasad and Vallabhbhai Patel
• Led a successful millworkers' strike in Ahmedabad in 1918
• Became involved in detailed movements between 1919 and 1922

Rowlatt Satyagraha

• In 1919, Gandhiji called for satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act
• The Act curbed fundamental rights (freedom of expression) and strengthened police powers
• Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and others felt the government had no right to restrict people's basic freedoms and criticised the Act as "devilish” and tyrannical
• Gandhiji asked people observed 6 April 1919 as a day of non-violent opposition, as a day of “humiliation and prayer" and hartal
• Satyagraha Sabhas were set up to launch the movement.
• Turned out to be the first all-India struggle against the British government, though largely restricted to cities

April 1919

• Government used brutal measures during demonstrations and hartals
• The Jallianwala Bagh atrocities, inflicted by General Dyer in Amritsar on Baisakhi day (13 April), were a part of this repression
• Rabindranath Tagore expressed the pain and anger of the country by renouncing his knighthood after learning about the massacre
• Participants tried to ensure that Hindus and Muslims were united in the Rowlatt Satyagraha
• Mahatma Gandhi always saw India as a land of all the people in the country (Hindus, Muslims and those of other religions) and wanted Hindus and Muslims to support each other

Khilafat Agitation

• In 1920, the British imposed a harsh treaty on the Turkish Sultan or Khalifa
• People were furious about this, and Indian Muslims were keen that the Khalifa be allowed to retain control over Muslim sacred places.
• Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali wished to initiate a full-fledged Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Gandhiji supported their call and urged the Congress to campaign against “Punjab wrongs", the Khilafat wrong and demand swaraj.
• Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges
• Lawyers such as Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari and Asaf Ali gave up their practices and People lit public bonfires of foreign cloth and British titles were surrendered and legislatures boycotted
• Imports of foreign cloth fell drastically but large parts of the country were on the brink of a formidable revolt.

People's Initiatives

• Many resisted non-violently
• Others interpreted Gandhiji's call in their own way and protested in ways that weren't according to his ideas
• People linked their movements to local grievances
• Patidar peasants organised non-violent campaigns against the high land revenue demand in Kheda, Gujarat
• Liquor shops were picketed in coastal Andhra and interior Tamil Nadu
• Tribals/poor peasants staged “forest satyagrahas” in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and sent cattle into forests without paying grazing fee
• People believed that Gandhiji would get their taxes reduced and have the forest regulations abolished after the colonial state restricted their use of forest resources

Belief in Gandhi Raj

Peasants proclaimed swaraj and believed that “Gandhi Raj” was about to be established in many forest villages

• Muslim traders and peasants were very enthusiastic about the Khilafat call in Sind (now Pakistan)
• The Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance gave enormous communal unity and strength to Bengal
• The Akali agitation of the Sikhs sought to remove corrupt mahants (supported by the British) from their gurdwaras and was closely identified with the Non-Cooperation Movement in Punjab
• Tea garden labourers in Assam demanded a big increase in their wages, shouting “Gandhi Maharaj ki Jai”
• They left British-owned plantations amidst declarations that they were following Gandhiji's wish

Gandhi as Messiah

• People thought of Gandhiji as a kind of messiah who could help them overcome their misery and poverty
• Gandhiji wanted to build class unity, not class conflict
• Peasants could imagine he would help them in their fight against zamindars, and agricultural labourers believed he would provide them land.
• Ordinary people credited Gandhiji with their own achievements
• Peasants of Pratapgarh in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) managed to stop illegal eviction of tenants
• They felt Gandhiji had won this for them

Drawbacks

• Tribals/peasants used Gandhiji's name and undertook actions that did not conform to Gandhian ideals at times
• Mahatma Gandhi was against violent movements
• He abruptly called off the Non-Cooperation Movement when a crowd of peasants set fire to a police station in Chauri Chaura in February 1922, killing twenty- two policemen

Political impacts

• Gandhiji's followers stressed that the Congress must undertake constructive work in the rural areas after the Non-Cooperation movement was over
• Other leaders such as Chitta Ranjan Das and Motilal Nehru argued that the party should fight elections to the councils and enter them and Gandhians were able to extend their support base through social work and proved helpful during the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930
• The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the Communist Party of India formed- these parties had different ideas about what the country of India should be and Bhagat Singh was active in this period

Simon Commission

• The British government decided to send a commission headed by Lord Simon in 1927 to decide India's political future
• It had no Indian representative and all political groups boycotted
• The Commission was met with demonstrations with banners saying “Simon Go Back"

The Congress

• The Congress resolved to fight for Purna Swaraj (complete independence) in 1929 under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru
• “Independence Day” was observed on 26 January 1930

Revolutionary Nationalists

• Nationalists (Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and Sukhdev) wanted to fight the colonial rule and the rich exploiting classes through a worker/peasant revolution and founded the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928 at Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi
• Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated Saunders in December 1928, a police officer who was involved in the lathi-charge causing the death of Lala Lajpat Rai
• Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly in April 1929 to "make the deaf hear", and to remind the foreign government of its callous exploitation
• Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed in March 1931

The March to Dandi

• Purna Swaraj had to be fought for instead of coming on its own
• Gandhiji declared in 1930 he would lead a march to break the salt law, which gave the state a monopoly on salt manufacture/sale
• Mahatma Gandhi reasoned it was sinful to tax salt and other nationalists also agreed
• The Salt March related the general desire of freedom to a common grievance shared by all
• Gandhiji and his followers marched over 240 miles from Sabarmati to the coast where they broke the law by gathering natural salt or boiling sea water
• It gave the national struggle an immense force and brought women out of their homes and the professions

Women's Role

• Allowed a place In the governance of India paving the way for equality with men
• Women had to fight for their right to participate in the movement.
• Sarojini Naidu persuaded Gandhiji to allow women to join the movement
• Peasants, tribals and women participated in large numbers as well as a business federation
• Government sent thousands to jail and crushed the movement

India Act

• The Indian people were successful in that the Government of India Act of 1935 prescribed provincial autonomy
• The government announced elections to the provincial legislatures in 1937 and Congress formed governments in 7 out of 11 provinces

World War

• After two years of Congress rule in the provinces, the Second World War broke out in September 1939
• Congress leaders were ready to support the British war effort as they were critical of Hitler
• The British refused to grant India independence after the war so The Congress ministries resigned
• Nineteen people died on the spot after police fired at Paparandi in Nabarangpur
• Veer Lakhan Nayak (a legendary tribal leader who defied the British) was hanged.
• The capacity of the provinces were limited to make relatively independent decisions while remaining within a federation

Quit India

• Mahatma Gandhi decided to initiate a new phase of movement against the British
• The British must quit India immediately
• To the people he said, “do or die” in your effort to fight the British - but you must fight non-violently
• Gandhiji was jailed and the movement spread with peasants/youth joining
• Communications/symbols of state authority were attacked and people set up their own governments in many areas
• By the end of 1943, over 90,000 people were arrested, and around 1,000 killed in police firing
• Orders were given to machine-gun crowds from airplanes

The Muslim League & Pakistan

• The Muslim League moved a resolution in 1940 demanding "Independent States" for Muslims and the resolution did not mention partition or Pakistan in the north-western and eastern areas
• From the late 1930s, the League began viewing the Muslims as a separate “nation” from the Hindus.
• Elections of 1937 was seeming to convince that most Muslims were a minority and would always have to play second fiddle in any democratic structure
• the Congress's failure to mobilise the Muslim masses in the 1930s allowed the League to widen its social support

British Involvement

• The British opened negotiations between the Congress, the League and themselves for India's independence
• The League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of India's Muslims so The talks failed
• Congress again did well in “General” constituencies and The League's success in the seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular in 1946
• In March 1946, the British cabinet sent a three-member mission to Delhi to create a framework for the transition so Partition became inevitable

Mass Agitation

• The Muslim League decided on mass agitation for winning its Pakistan demand after the failure of the Cabinet Mission
• It announced 16 August 1946 as “Direct Action Day”
• Riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several days and causing deaths as well as violence spreading to other territories

Post Partition

• Many hundred thousand individuals had to face brutalities during Partition and People were forced to flee their homes to become refugees
• The India Partition meant that the nation changed and a new country, Pakistan was born
• The nation's independence from British rule was mixed with pain and violence of Partition