Mahatma Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement

“Co-operation with a just Government is a duty; non-cooperation with an unjust Government is

1. Introduction

The most significant event that unfolded Indian politics in 1919 was the rise of Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, known to the world as Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's emergence on the Indian
political scenario witnessed the launch of a number of nationalist movements. His unique political
ideologies that basically represented an extension of his spiritual doctrines revolutionized Indian
politics and played a major role in awakening the political consciousness of the masses. 1 The
National Movements launched under Gandhi's guidance gave expression to his political ideologies
like Satyagraha and ahimsa, and saw the country unifying to fight the single cause of India's
independence. The three important milestones of India's pre independence history, namely the
Non-Cooperation Movement, the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement, were
launched and gathered momentum under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The first among these
was the Non-Cooperation Movement.

2. Origin of the Non-Cooperation movement

It is very necessary to understand the circumstances that shook Gandhi's confidence in the fairness
of the British Government and transformed him into a non-co-operator. When Gandhi returned to
India in the year 1915, he did not directly enter the political scenario. However, in the period
between 1917 and 18, he rendered leadership to some local disputes and thus rose to prominence.
He supported the cause of the oppressed cultivators of Champaran district of Bihar, associated
himself with the campaign of the peasants of the Kheda district in Gujarat and also backed the
textile workers of Ahmedabad, who were fighting for their wages. During this phase, Gandhi was
loyal to the colonial government and even volunteered for the recruitment of soldiers to fight on
behalf of the English, during the First World War. 2 However, the Gandhi's role as a co-operator of the
British government did not last long. The Rowlatt Act, followed by the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre
and the Khilafat issue embittered Gandhi's feelings towards the British government.

1
Government of India, Non Cooperation Movement. india.gov.in/knowindia/freedom_struggle3.php,para 2.

2
Tara Chand, History of the Freedom Movement in India, V.3 (NewDelhi: Pub Division, Ministry of I&B, 1984),
p.470.
Gandhi urged the Congress to launch a Non-Cooperation Movement on three issues, which were;
redressal of the wrongs committed in Punjab that entailed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the
atrocities related to the marital laws, the Khilafat wrong and accomplishment of Swaraj. In
September 1920, a special session of the Congress, presided by Lala Lajpat Rai was convened at
Calcutta that sought to approve the scheme. Several legislations were passed by the delegates,
wherein the British government was criticized and condemned for its incapability of protecting
innocent lives in Punjab and failing to keep its promise in the Khilafat issue. In one of the resolutions,
it was declared by the Congress that the people of India had no other option but to approve and
endorse the non violent, non-cooperation policy inaugurated by Gandhi, till the wrongs were
rectified and Swaraj established. The Non-Cooperation resolution garnered mixed responses. Pt.
Motilal Nehru and Anil Ali Brothers supported the resolution, whereas Mrs Annie Besant, Pt.
Malaviya and Shri C. R Das vehemently opposed. They feared that large scale mass action against the
British government would lead to violence on wide scale. In December 1920, at the Nagpur
Congress, the resolution on Non-Cooperation was repeated again. This session garnered greater
support in favour of the resolution. The Congress redefined the resolution as the procurement of
Swaraj by the use of peaceful and legitimate means. 3 According to Gandhi, Swaraj meant
establishment of self rule within British Empire with complete freedom to become independent any
time.

When Gandhi realized that there was no prospect of getting any fair treatment from the hands of
British, he planned to withdraw the nation's co-operation from the government. In this initiative, he
expected to garner the support of the Muslims, who were nurturing anti British sentiments, on the
Turkey-issue. Gandhi's main objective was to procure justice for the Muslims, through his method of
passive resistance; Satyagraha. In August 1920, a hartal was organized in the entire country which
formally launched the Non-Cooperation Movement. He returned to the Viceroy, all the medals he
4
had received in recognition of his war services from the British government.

3. Policies of the Non-Cooperation Movement

The movement had two kinds of objectives: constructive and destructive. In the pursuance of the
former, it was decided to raise a fund of one crore of rupees in the name of Tilak to finance the non

3
M.K.Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (NewYork; Schocken Books, 1974), p.158.

4
Government of India, Non Cooperation Movement. india.gov.in/knowindia/freedom_struggle3.php,para 5.
cooperation activities; to enrol a volunteer corps of one crore members to help in the promotion of
the various boycotts, social, educational, legal and economic and to distribute twenty lakh spinning
wheels to provide work for the unemployed or underemployed and to replace foreign cloth by hand-
made Indian cloth.5

In regard to the latter, the important decisions were;

1. The boycott of the law courts by the lawyers who would set up popular tribunals for administering
justice;

2. The boycott of schools and colleges owned or aided or recognised by Government and the
establishment of national educational institutions;

3. The boycott of elections to the assembly and the provincial councils;

4. The surrender of honours, titles etc. and the boycott of official functions;

5. The boycott of British goods and the encouragement of Swadeshi products, especially Khadhar,
home-woven cloth; and

6. The prohibition of drinking liquor

4. Mahatma Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement

Gandhi played an active role in propagating the policies and programs of the Non-Cooperation
Movement throughout the country. He along with other loyalists toured around the country in a bid
to gather public support and mobilized the masses in favour of the movement. Following the
persuasion of Gandhi to withdraw from state institutions and join national schools, several students
left their schools. This period also witnessed the coming into being of numerous national educational
institutions for the benefit of the students. Noteworthy among them were Jamia Milia University,
Aligarh University and National College, Lahore. In the first month, 9,000 students left schools and
colleges and joined more than 800 national institutions that had sprung up all over the country. The
educational boycott was particularly successful in Bengal under the leadership of Chitta Ranjan Das
and Subhash Chandra Bose. Punjab, too, responded to the educational boycott and Lala Lajpat Rai

5
Tara Chand, History of the Freedom Movement in India, V.3 (New Delhi: Pub Division, Ministry of I&B, 1984),
p.482.
played the leading role. Other areas that were active were Bombay,UP, Bihar, Orissa and Assam;
Madras remained lukewarm. 6

The boycott of law courts by lawyers was not as successful as the educational boycott. Many leading
lawyers, like, CR Das, Motilal Nehru, MR Jayakar, S Kitchlew, V Patel. Asaf Ali Khan and others gave
up lucrative practices, and their sacrifice became a source of inspiration for many. In number again,
Bengal led followed by Andhra, U P, Karnataka and Punjab. 7

But perhaps, the most successful item of the programme was the boycott of foreign cloth. The value
of imports of foreign cloth fell from Rs. 102 crore in 1920-21 to 57 crore in 1921-22. 8

In the non cooperation movement led by Gandhi, there was a wide spread nationalistic spirit that
kindled the hearts of many. As Jawaharlal Nehru pointed out, “a demoralized, backward, and
broken up people suddenly straightened their backs and lifted their heads and took part in
disciplined, joint action on a countrywide scale. This action itself, we felt, would give irresistible
power to the masses.”9 Gandhi and a large band of devoted workers swept throughout the country,
its many towns and villages carrying the banner inscribed with the message of non-cooperation.

Gandhi had generated a way of self recovery through this vital upheaval from within. He generated
the explosive force needed for such an upheaval within the soul of India. “Many of us who worked
for the movement lived in a kind of intoxication during the year 1921.we were full of excitement and
optimism and a buoyant enthusiasm. We sensed the happiness of a person crusading for a cause.
Above all we had a sense of freedom and a pride in that freedom. The old feeling of oppression and
frustration was completely gone.”10

In July 1921, Mohammad Ali along with other leaders was arrested for holding the view that it was
'religiously unlawful for the Muslims to continue in the British army'. Gandhi as well as the Congress
supported Mohammad Ali and issued a manifesto. The next dramatic event was the visit of the
Prince of Wales that began on 17 November 1921. The day the Prince landed in Bombay was
observed as a day of hartal all over India. He was greeted with empty streets and downed shutters

6
Jyotsna Kamat, Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements.
www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/movements.htm, July 17,2005,para 3.

7
Ibid., para4.

8
Ibid., para5.

9
Jawaharlal Nehru, An Autobiography,p.76 cited by Tara Chand, History of the Freedom Movement in India,
V.3 (New Delhi: Pub Division, Ministry of I&B, 1984), p.490

10
Ibid.,p.491
wherever he went. Emboldened by their successful defiance of the government, Non-Cooperators
became more and more aggressive.

As the Non-Cooperation Movement continued it became clear that the women of Bengal were
willing to play an active role in the protest movement. The women nationalists here organised
themselves under the Mahila Karma Samaj or the Ladies Organisation Board of the Bengal Pradesh
Congress Committee. Women of the Samaj organised meetings and propagated the spirit of Non-
Cooperation. Women volunteers were enlisted. Basanti Devi and Urmila Devi, wife and sister
respectively of CR Das, Nellie Sengupta, and wife of JM Sengupta, along with others like Mohini Devi,
Labanya Prabha Chanda played a prominent role in this movement. 11Picketing of foreign wine and
cloth shops and selling of Khaddar on the streets happened to be the main areas of their activities.

The whole country was united as never before under Gandhi's leadership. He was a shrewd judge of
men and events. All the lieutenants he chose became national leaders: C.R. Das, the Bose brothers,
Abdul Kalam Azad, the Nehrus, Patel brothers, Rajendra Prasad, Acharya Kriplani, Dr. Ansari, C.
Rajagopalachari, T. Prakashan, V.O. Chidambaram and a score of others. 12

5. End of Non-Cooperation Movement

In contradiction to the approach of non violence championed by Mahatma Gandhi, the Non-
Cooperation Movement sparked off an incident of mob violence in Chauri Chaura in the United
Provinces. A few police constables were killed, following an attack of a police outpost on February
5th, 1922. Disillusioned by this incident, Gandhi called for the suspension of the movement in 1922.
This sudden suspension of the movement was not welcomed by the radical section of the Congress,
like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. Against the background of widespread
dissatisfaction that was generated by Gandhi's decision to withdraw the movement, Motilal Nehru
and Chitta Ranjan Das formed the Swaraj Party. The motif of the Swaraj Party was to enter the
Council and then destroying the constitution from inside. Although, Gandhi initially opposed the
policy of the Swaraj Party, he later gave the Congressmen the choice to affiliate or not with the
British institutions. It is argued by many historians that if Gandhi had not called off the Non-
Cooperation movement, India would have attained Independence much earlier than 1947. However,
it is to be understood that it is Gandhi’s belief in ahimsa and Satyagraha, strengthened him to lead
the nation to become independent rather attaining freedom through violence and shortcuts.

6. Conclusion

11
M.K.Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (NewYork: Schocken Books, 1974), p.162.

12
Ibid.,p.164
 It can be said without any doubt that The Non Cooperation Movement and the role played by
Gandhi in it took the Indian freedom movement to new heights. It ushered in a new political fervour
among the people and taught the Indians fearlessness. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,
Swaraj found popular expression and a patriotic zeal gripped the entire nation. The weapon of
passive resistance or Satyagraha, which Gandhi gave to the nation, emerged as the greatest asset of
the Indians. An important program of The Non-Cooperation Movement was the promotion of khadi.
Under the guidance of Gandhi, charkha and Indian handloom products gained back their glory. Many
weavers were employed. The contribution of Gandhi to this movement and eventually to Indian
Nationalism was that for the very first time he coasted the entire country bound by a single ethos.
The freedom struggle assumed an all India character under his impeccable leadership.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chand, Tara. History of the Freedom Movement in India, V.3.NewDelhi: Pub Division, Ministry of I&B, 1984.

Gandhi, M.K. Non-Violent Resistance. New York: Schocken Books, 1974.

Government of India, Non Cooperation Movement. india.gov.in/knowindia/freedom_struggle3.php.

Kamat, Jyotsna. Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements.