Non-co-operation Movement

He had moved there to study further and complete his education. Over there he had learned about Satyagraha where the people organized peaceful marches and protests and did not use any violent way of fighting against the law. He also influenced the Civil rights movement organized by the Africans in that country. Finally, he came to India in 1947 to fight for freedom against the Britishers.

The people of Kheda were unable to pay the high amount of taxes imposed by the Britishers due to crop failure and a plague epidemic. Gandhiji was the leader of the struggle accompanied by many other devotees. All the communities of Kheda came together to fight against the increase in taxes imposed by the Britishers. The Britishers warned that if the peasants do not pay the tax, their properties and land would be confiscated and many would be arrested. Yet the farmers did not resist. They were arrested but never retaliated to the forces with violence. The used their cash and valuables to donate to the Gujarat Sabha which had officially organized the protest. Although a vast portion of their land and personal property was seized still the farmers of Kheda remained united with the protests. The government finally agreed and said that the tax would be continued for the year in question and would become completely suspended in the next year. They also returned the confiscated property.

This title was given to him by the British government from King George V in 1915 for his contribution to the literature field. Later in 1919, he returned this title as a protest for the inhuman act of British in the Jallianwala Bagh which has killed thousands of people. For the same reason, Gandhiji had returned the Kaiser-i-Hind gold medal which was given to him by the British government for his work during the Boer War.

The Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance was signed into the law in the Transvaal. It a discriminating law forcing racial segregation in South Africa which was known as Apartheid in the later years. It forced a number of acts and other laws which humiliated the blacks. It became mandatory for the blacks of Africa to carry an identity card, and their freedom was curtailed. This was the restriction put on the blacks of South Africa according to the declaration of 1906.

Gandhiji launched his first Satyagraha Movement in the district of Champaran in 1917. Champaran is a district in Bihar. Under British law, farmers were forced to grow Indigo on a portion of their land as a condition of their tenancy. Indigo was then used to make dye. The Germans had invented a cheaper artificial die, so the demand for Indigo fell. The farmers then had to pay more rent in return, if they did not want to grow Indigo. During the first World War, the German dye ceased, and Indigo became profitable again. Again the Indian farmers were forced to grow it. Gandhiji then organized protests and strikes and formed his first satyagraha for the same. It was also called Champaran Satyagraha.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre also called the Amritsar massacre took place on 13 April 1919. The people had assembled there to condemn the arrest of two national leaders. Colonel Reginal Dyer ordered to block the entrance of the garden. Huge troops of the British army entered and openly rifled the Indians. It was a brutal and horrifying scene where 100 died and wounded. It later led to a series of protests and strikes all over the country.

Satyagraha is a Sanskrit word means holding onto the truth. It was used in the early 20th Century by Mahatma Gandhi as a form to resist evil in the nonviolent method. Satyagraha became a major role in the Indian struggle against the Britishers and was also adopted by many groups in other countries as well. According to this philosophy satyagrahis observe a nonviolence method in their mind, with peace and love in the spirit and follow the process of self-scrutiny. They never submit to the wrong and co-operate with them through the use of truth. They do not wish to use any violent method which can hurt the opposite party. They do not wish to defeat the opposition or win over them but rather focus only on a new harmony. This is drawn from the ancient philosophy of ahimsa introduced by the Jains in Gujarat.

The Swaraj Party was founded by CR Das and Motilal Nehru in January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922 of the National Congress. There were some Congress leaders who advocated the idea of using violent methods to fight the Britishers. They wanted to pressurize the government for various reforms. Keeping in mind these objectives this party was formed. They felt that the method of peaceful protest was not adequate enough for freedom. It was also called as the Congress-Khilafat party.

The Rowlatt Act or The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, was an act imposed by the Britishers passed by the Imperial legislative council in Delhi. The recommendation of this act was put forward by the Rowlatt committee under Sir Rowlatt, a British judge. According to this act, the British Government had the right to imprison any person suspected of terrorism for up to 2 years without a trial. This also gave the government huge powers to repress any political activities that may hurt its own government. Indians disapproved and opposed this act in various ways. Protests were organised in many cities. People went on strike in railways. Many workshops and offices were closed. A peaceful protest was organized in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The British army had killed thousands of people here which outraged the Indians. However, with the public support against this act, it was discontinued in March 1922.

Gandhiji had called off the non-cooperation movement cause of the Chauri Chaura incident. This incident occurred in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. A large number of protesters were participating in the non-cooperation movement were attacked by the police. In retaliation, the police station was set on fire killing approximately 22 policemen. Gandhiji was strictly against violence, so he halted the movement on a national level.

Simon Commission was a group of seven Britishers who were sent to India in 1928 to study constitutional reform and make recommendations to the government. This was known as Simon Commission after its Chairman Sir John Simon. This was an all-white Commission with no representation of any Indian. This non representation of Indians was an insult for the dominant nationalists. The real power was not passed onto the Indian but was held with the Britishers itself. This led to the boycott of the Simon Commission. When this Commission came to India, they were greeted with black flags. The Britishers challenged the Indians to come up with a blueprint for their own government which resulted in the Nehru report. Although it was rejected by the British, the Congress leaders got some experience of writing a constitution.

The first World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman Empire - The Spiritual leader of the world- the Khalifa. A committee was set up in March 1919 in Bombay. It consisted of many Muslim leaders that worked for the same cause. It was led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali who along with Gandhiji discussed the possibility of a united nation. Gandhiji thought this as a perfect opportunity to bring Muslims in a unified movement called Khilafat movement.

We believe that it is the incredible right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom to enjoy the fruits of their soil and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunities of growth. We believe also that if any government deprives a people of these and oppress them, the people have a further right to alter or abolish it. The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India must server the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj or complete independence.
India has been ruined economically. The revenue derived from our people is out of all proportion to our income. Our average income is seven pice per day, and of the heavy taxes we pay 20% are raised from the land revenue derived from the peasantry and 3% from the salt tax, which falls most heavily on the poor.
Village industries, such as hand spinning, have been destroyed, leaving the peasantry idle for at least four months in the year, and dulling their intellect for want of handicrafts, and nothing has been substituted, as in other countries, for the crafts thus destroyed.
Customs and currency have been so manipulated as to beep further burdens on the peasantry. British manufactured goods constitute the bulk of our imports. Customs duties betray partiality for British manufacturers, and revenue from them is not used to lessen the burden on the masses but for sustaining a highly extravagant administration. Still more arbitrary has been the manipulation of the exchange which has resulted in millions being drained away from the country.
Politically, India’s status has never been so reduced as under the British regime. No reforms have given real political power to the people. The tallest of us have to bend before the foreign authority. The rights of free expression of opinion and free association have been denied to us and many of our countrymen are compelled to live in exile abroad and cannot return to their homes. All administrative talent is killed and the masses have to be satisfied petty village offices and clerkships.
Currently, the system of education has torn us from our moorings and our training has made us bug the very chains that bind us.
Spiritually, compulsory disarmament has made us unmanly and the presence of an alien army of occupation, employed with deadly effect to crush in us the spirit of resistance, has made us think that we cannot look after ourselves or put up a defence against foreign aggression, or even defend our brothers and families from the attacks of thieves, robbers and miscreants.
We hold it to be a crime against man and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this fourfold disaster to our country. We recognise, however, that the most effective way of getting our freedom is not through violence. We will, therefore, prepare ourselves by withdrawing, so far as we can, all voluntary association from British Government, and will prepare for civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes. We are convinced that if we can but withdraw our voluntary help and stop payment of taxes without doing violence, even under provocation; the need for his inhuman rule is assured. We therefore hereby solemnly resolve to carry out the Congress instructions issued from time to time for the purpose of establishing Purna Swaraj.