Tag: non-cooperation movement

Khilafat movement was originally in support of Caliph who was the religious head of the Muslims. Gandhiji saw an opportunity for a Hindu-Muslim mass movement and hence joined his non-cooperation with the khilafat issue. It was started in the year 1919. The non-cooperation movement started to spread in different parts of the country.

In September 1921, the Ali brothers (Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali) were arrested who had started the movement. Moreover, Gandhiji suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident. He was arrested in 1922. A few months after his arrest, the Caliph or the Sultan of Turkey was deposed of his power due to a revolution led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha.

Congress supported Gandhiji in Non-cooperation movement. Initially, they were not enthusiastic to boycott the council elections. This election was scheduled to be held in November 1920. Congress feared that the movement might lead to popular violence. In the months between September & December there was an intense tussle within the Congress. For a while there seemed no meeting point between the  supporters & opponents of the movement.

Khilafat movement was originally in support of the Caliph who was also the religious leader of the Muslims. It was led by Mohammad Ali & Shaukat Ali to support the Caliph.

In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ram Chandra - a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer. The movement here was against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasants exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses.

Rowlatt Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. The bills passed by the Rowlatt committee were the violation of freedom and justice. The law was unfair and Indians called it the 'Black Act'.

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.

 In 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of food. This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. According to the census of 1921, 12 to 13 million people perished as a result of famines and the epidemic.

Its value dropped from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. People also began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones.

In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru began going around the villages in Awadh, talking to the villagers, and trying to understand their grievances. By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba Ramchandra and a few others. Within a month, over 300 branches had been set up in the villages around the region.

At many places, merchants and traders refused to trade foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread, and people began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.