The first world war, Khilafat, and Non-Cooperation
- The war led to the creation of a new economic and political situation .
- It led to a huge increase in defense expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes.
- Custom duties were raised and income tax was introduced.
- During the war years the prices increased - doubling between 1913 and 1918.
- It led to extreme hardship for the poor people .
- Villages were called upon to supply soldiers.
- Forced recruitment of soldiers in rural areas caused widespread anger.
- In 1918-19 and 1920-21 crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of food .
- Country was also hit by the Influenza epidemic.
- According to the census of 1921 , 12 to 13 million people perished as a result of famines and the epidemic.
The Idea of Satyagraha
- Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 .
- He had come from South Africa where he had successfully fought racist regime with a novel method of mass agitation , which he called Satyagraha.
- The idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth.
- The idea of satyagraha suggested that if the cause was true , if the struggle was against injustice , then there is no need for physical force to be used to fight the oppressor.
- Without seeking vengeance or being aggressive , a satyagrahi could win the battle through non-violence .
- This could be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor.
- People - including the oppressors - had to be persuaded to see the truth, instead of being forced to accept the truth through the violence.
- By this struggle , truth was bound to ultimately triumph.
- Mahatma Gandhi believed that this dharma of non-violence could unite all Indians.
- After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised satyagraha movements in various places.
- In 1917 he traveled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
- In 1917 , he organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
- Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic , the peasants of Kheda could not pay the revenue , and were demanding that revenue collection be relaxed .
- In 1918 , Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.
The Rowlatt Act
- Gandhiji in 1919 decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).
- This Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members.
- It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities , and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
- Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws , which would start with a hartal on 6 April.
- Rallies were organised in various cities.
- Workers went on strike in railway workshops , and shops closed down.
- Alarmed by the popular upsurge, and scared that the lines of communication such as railways and telegraph would be disrupted , the British administration decided to clamp down on nationalist.
- Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar, and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
- On 10 April , the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession, provoking widespread attacks on banks , post offices and railway stations.
- Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.
Jallianwala Bagh Incident
- On 13 April the infamous Jallianwala Bagh incident took place.
- On that day a large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh .
- Some people came to protest against the government’s repressive measures and some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair .
- Many villagers from outside the city were unaware about the imposed martial law.
- General Dyer entered the area, blocked all exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds of people.
- His object as he declared after the incident was to ‘produce a moral effect’ , to create a feeling of terror and awe in the minds of satyagrahis.
- Crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns as the news of Jallianwala Bagh spread.
- Strikes were organised, clashes took place with the police and government buildings were attacked.
- Government responded with brutal repression , seeking to humiliate and terrorise people.
- Satyagrahis were forced to rub their nose on the grounds, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs .
- People were flogged and villagers (around Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed.
- Seeing the magnitude of violence Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the movement.
Khilafat Movement
- Rowlatt satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns .
- Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
- However, Mahatma Gandhi was certain that no such movement could be organised without bringing the Hindus and Muslims together .
- One way of bringing both the communities together was to take up the Khilafat issue .
- The First world wa r ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey .
- Rumours were spread that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor - the spiritua l head of the Islamic world (the khalifa).
- To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers , a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919.
- Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action.
- Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a united national movement.
- In S eptember 1920 , at the Calcutta session of the Congress , Gandhi convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khalifa as well as Swaraj.
Why Non-cooperation?
- In Gandhiji’s famous book Hind Swaraj (1909 ) Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule was established in India with the c ooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation.
- If Indians would have refused to cooperate , British rule in India would have collapsed within a year, and swaraj would come.
- Gandhi proposed that movement should unfold in stages.
- The movement should begin with surrendering of titles that the government has awarded .
- Boycott of civil services , army, police , courts and legislative councils , schools and foreign goods.
- Then, in case the government used repression , a full civil disobedience campaign would be launched.
- Mahatma Gandhi and Shaukat Al i through the summer of 1920, toured extensively, mobilising popular support for the movement.
- Many within congress were reluctant to boycott the council elections scheduled for November 1920 , they feared that movement might lead to popular violence .
- Congress session at Nagpur in December 1920 , a compromise was worked out and the Non-cooperation programme was adopted.
