Today in History | August 1 , 1920
A Satyagraha movement was launched on August 1, 1920 by Gandhiji, against the atrocities of Britishers.
It was the nationwide non-violent movement against the unjust laws and oppressive policies of the British.
With this movement, it was declared that 'Purna Swaraj' (complete independence) is the ultimate aim and people refused to buy British foreign goods to encourage the use of indegineous handcrafted goods.
Factors Leading to Non-Cooperation Moment
Gandhiji believed that Britishers could settle in India only with the cooperation of Indian public. Hence, refusing to cooperate could collapse the British Empire and lead us towards 'Purna Swaraj'
• Khilafat Movement
Gandhiji knew that any mass movement in India needed support from both Hindus and Muslims. At the end of First World War and the defeat of Ottoman Turkey, The Khalifa, spiritual head of the Islamic world, was looked upon by the Muslims as their head. After the rumours of a dictatorial peace treaty to be imposed on Khalifa, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay to defend the powers of Khalifa in March 1919.
The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, started an anti-British movement and discussed the possibility of united mass action with Gandhiji. In September 1920, he convinced other congress leaders in their Calcutta session to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.
• Rowlatt Act - This 1919 Act was passed to curb the fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthen the power of the policez. This act was passed under the Viceroy of Lord Chelmsford and gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities in the country, allowing detention of political prisoners without trial for 2 years. The Act was criticised as “devilish” and tyrannical.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, - On 13 April 1919 the Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place where General Dyer ordered open fire on thousands of people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh killing hundreds of peaceful protestors. His objective, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, on the people.,
• The First World War - The war resulted in huge increase in defence expenditure. Thus, customs duties were raised and income tax was introduced. Inflation through the years, doubled between 1913 and 1918 leading to extreme hardship for the common people. Crop failure in various parts of India, resulted in shortages of food accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Even after the war ended, people continued to suffer as no help was provided by the British.
Gandhiji knew that any mass movement in India needed support from both Hindus and Muslims. At the end of First World War and the defeat of Ottoman Turkey, The Khalifa, spiritual head of the Islamic world, was looked upon by the Muslims as their head. After the rumours of a dictatorial peace treaty to be imposed on Khalifa, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay to defend the powers of Khalifa in March 1919.
The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, started an anti-British movement and discussed the possibility of united mass action with Gandhiji. In September 1920, he convinced other congress leaders in their Calcutta session to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.
• Rowlatt Act - This 1919 Act was passed to curb the fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthen the power of the policez. This act was passed under the Viceroy of Lord Chelmsford and gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities in the country, allowing detention of political prisoners without trial for 2 years. The Act was criticised as “devilish” and tyrannical.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, - On 13 April 1919 the Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place where General Dyer ordered open fire on thousands of people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh killing hundreds of peaceful protestors. His objective, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, on the people.,
• The First World War - The war resulted in huge increase in defence expenditure. Thus, customs duties were raised and income tax was introduced. Inflation through the years, doubled between 1913 and 1918 leading to extreme hardship for the common people. Crop failure in various parts of India, resulted in shortages of food accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Even after the war ended, people continued to suffer as no help was provided by the British.
Attributes of the Movement
• It was a nationwide non-violent moment to fight against the brutalities of the British colonizers
• The movement gained momentum after the surrender of titles awarded by the government, and when the civil services, army, police, courts, schools, and foreign goods were boycotted
• Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign clothes burnt in huge bonfires
• Many prominent lawyers such as Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari and Asaf Ali gave up their practices.
• The foreign cloth imports fell dramatically between 1920 and 1922
• People started discarding all the imported clothes as the moment spread and began wearing only Indian ones, increasing the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms
The eventual slowdown of the Movement
• In various parts of the country, the movement started getting violent as people started interpreting their own meaning of Swaraj
Chauri Chaura Incident: On February 5, 1922, some angry peasants attacked a police station at Chauri Chaura, UP. Twenty-two policemen lost lives in that incident. The peasants response was a reaction to police firing on their peaceful demonstration. Post this incident, Gandhiji called-off the moment.
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