Tag: non-cooperation movement

The movement was in full swing when in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, the police fired upon a procession of 3,300 peasants. The angry crowd set the police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. Gandhiji had always emphasised that the entire movement should be non-violent and peaceful. After this incident, he called off the movement unilaterally in 1922.

In 1920, Gandhiji started the Non-Cooperation Movement. He advised the people not to cooperate with the British, with a view to bring the administration to a standstill.

The Rowlatt Act legislation was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India in February 1919. It was passed despite opposition from the Indian members. It provided for stricter control of the press, arrests without warrant, indefinite detention without trial, etc. Gandhiji launched the Non-cooperation movement in reaction to the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

In the Non-Cooperation movement, in response to Gandhiji’s call for the boycott of foreign goods, Jayarao Nargund gave up his legal practice to actively participate in the movement. He launched the Boycott and Swadeshi movement at Bagalkot in 1905. This movement consisted of the boycott of the use of the foreign goods like sugar, kerosene and bangles. Eventually, he was arrested for his speeches urging non-cooperation, burning of foreign goods, and articles published in pamphlets, newspapers and magazines.

The Chauri Chaura incident occurred in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province on 5th Feb, 1922. A large group of protesters clashed with the police and in retaliation to the firing by police, set fire to a police station killing all the policemen inside. Upset with the incident due to violence involved, Gandhiji called a halt to the Non-Cooperation movement.

This movement marked the first major anti-British reaction and its new political order initiated in 1849 among the people in Punjab in 1857. The Namdhari Movement, the aftermath of the Kuka Movement was the most important phase as it aimed at overthrowing the British rule and played important role in freedom struggle. This movement actively propagated the principles of boycott and non-co-operation given by Sant Guru Ram Singh (founded the Namdhari sect) for the Namdharis. Guru’s Non-co-operation Movement actively propagated few things such as the boycott of education institutions of British and laws established by them.

Congress held a special session in Calcutta in September 1920 under the presidentship of Lala Lajpat Rai. It met to pass the resolution of the Non-Cooperation Movement. Mahatma Gandhi wrongly predicted that if the Non-cooperation movement gets successful, Swaraj could be attained in One year. 

Rowlatt Act allowed certain political cases to be tried without juries and permitted imprisonment of suspects without trial. It was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in February 1919. Gandhi organized a hartal, a form of protest through non-violence by the stoppage of work on 6th Aprill,1919.