Gandhi, Satyagraha and the Rowlatt Act
Imagine a classmate who refuses an unfair rule without shouting or hitting anyone, and simply stays firm and calm. Many people in the school start to respect that. This was the idea of satyagraha that Gandhi brought to India's politics.
Satyagraha is a method of fighting injustice through truth, non-violence and appeal to the conscience of the oppressor. Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and tried it in Champaran, Kheda and with Ahmedabad mill workers. In 1919 the Rowlatt Act allowed detention without trial, and Gandhi called for a nationwide hartal (a day of strike and mourning).
In the figure : Gandhi's local satyagrahas led to the nation-wide protest of 1919.
Rule 1 : Satyagraha begins with local struggles — Before Gandhi led the whole nation, he supported peasants and workers in particular places, which taught him how ordinary people could be organised.
- Easy : In Champaran in Bihar he inspired peasants against the oppressive plantation system.
- Medium : In Kheda in Gujarat peasants hit by crop failure and plague could not pay revenue, and Gandhi backed them.
- Exam-type : In Ahmedabad he organised a satyagraha among cotton mill workers.
Rule 2 : The Rowlatt Act and the hartal of 1919 — The Act, passed in March 1919 in spite of Indian opposition, let the government jail people without trial. Gandhi called for a hartal on 6 April; protests spread, and the government answered with firing and martial law.
- Easy : The Rowlatt Act allowed detention of people without trial.
- Medium : A nationwide hartal was called for 6 April 1919.
- Exam-type : On 13 April 1919 troops under General Dyer fired on a large crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.
Satyagraha means firm, peaceful resistance based on truth, not passive weakness.
Mixing up the Rowlatt Act (March 1919, the cause of protest) with Jallianwala Bagh (13 April 1919, the shooting that followed).
Memory clue : Act first, then the Bagh — March the Act, April the Bagh.
What happened before? (Jallianwala Bagh, 13 April 1919) In April 1919 two popular Amritsar leaders, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested for opposing the Rowlatt Act. On Baisakhi day, 13 April, thousands gathered in the walled Jallianwala Bagh, some for the festival and many to protest, and many did not know that public meetings had been banned.
What happened next? (Jallianwala Bagh, 13 April 1919) At the end of May 1919 the poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, giving up the knighthood he had received in 1915, and released the letter to the press. In October the government set up the Hunter Committee to inquire into the disorders in Punjab.
Spot the difference
| Place | Who was helped | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Champaran (Bihar) | Peasants | Oppressive plantation system |
| Kheda (Gujarat) | Peasants | Revenue demanded after crop failure and plague |
| Ahmedabad | Cotton mill workers | Workers' demands in the mills |
Practice questions
- 1What is satyagraha?
- 2In which year did Gandhi return to India?
- 3What did the Rowlatt Act allow?
- 4Name two places where Gandhi supported peasants before 1919.
- 5Why did Gandhi choose a hartal against the Rowlatt Act?
- 6Why were so many people in Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919?
- 7Explain how the Rowlatt Act moved India from local protests to a national movement.
- 8Give a chain: Rowlatt Act, then? What did Tagore do after Jallianwala Bagh?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Fighting injustice through truth, non-violence and appeal to conscience.
- 21915.
- 3Detention of people without trial.
- 4Champaran and Kheda.
- 5It was a peaceful way to show that people from all over the country opposed an unjust law.
- 6It was Baisakhi, and many had come to the festival and to a peaceful protest; many did not know of the ban on meetings.
- 7The Act affected everyone, so Gandhi's call for a hartal drew people in many regions and classes together for the first time.
- 8Protests against the Act, then the shooting at Jallianwala Bagh, after which Tagore renounced his knighthood in a letter to the Viceroy.
Khilafat and Non-Cooperation (1919-1922)
If everyone in a class refuses to copy from the unfair monitor's list, the monitor's power ends, because it depended on their cooperation. Gandhi believed British rule also stood on Indian cooperation.
Non-cooperation means refusing to help the government: giving up titles, leaving government schools, courts and councils, and boycotting foreign cloth. Gandhi joined it with the Khilafat cause, which Indian Muslims had taken up to defend the Caliph's position, so that Hindus and Muslims could stand together. The movement began in January 1921.
In the figure : The non-cooperation movement lasted from 1920 to early 1922.
Rule 1 : The programme: refuse, boycott and build swadeshi — The movement spread from towns to the countryside. In towns, lawyers gave up practice, students left schools and foreign cloth was burnt; the import of foreign cloth fell sharply.
- Easy : Titles were returned and councils were boycotted in the elections of 1920.
- Medium : Khadi, the hand-spun cloth, became a symbol of the movement.
- Exam-type : The import of foreign cloth about halved between 1921 and 1922.
Rule 2 : Different groups, different hopes — Peasants, tribals and plantation workers joined with their own ideas of swaraj. Often they went beyond Gandhi's plan and moved away from the Congress line.
- Easy : In Awadh, peasants led by the sanyasi Baba Ramchandra protested against high rents and forced labour by talukdars.
- Medium : In the Gudem hills of Andhra, Alluri Sitaram Raju led tribal fighters who wanted freedom from forest laws.
- Exam-type : In Assam, plantation workers left the tea estates, thinking Gandhi's raj would give them land, although the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 bound them.
Non-cooperation was a movement of refusal: titles, courts, schools, councils and foreign cloth.
Thinking every group followed Gandhi exactly. Peasants, tribals and workers gave swaraj their own meaning.
Memory clue : Quit, Boycott, Spin — leave posts and schools, boycott foreign goods, spin khadi.
What happened before? (Non-cooperation suspended, February 1922) On 4 February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, police fired on a procession of non-cooperation volunteers. The angry crowd set the police station on fire and 22 policemen died. The news reached Gandhi the next day.
What happened next? (Non-cooperation suspended, February 1922) On 12 February 1922 the Congress Working Committee suspended the movement, because Gandhi believed it was turning violent. On 10 March Gandhi was arrested and was sentenced to six years in jail, but he was released early in 1924 because of illness.
Spot the difference
| Group | Leader / place | What they wanted |
|---|---|---|
| Awadh peasants | Baba Ramchandra | Lower rent, end to forced labour |
| Tribals of Gudem hills | Alluri Sitaram Raju | Freedom from forest laws |
| Assam plantation workers | Left the tea estates | Freedom to move and land of their own |
Practice questions
- 1In which month and year did the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement begin?
- 2Name one thing that non-cooperators boycotted.
- 3Who led the peasants of Awadh?
- 4Why did Gandhi join the Khilafat issue with non-cooperation?
- 5What did Alluri Sitaram Raju's followers want?
- 6Why did plantation workers in Assam leave the tea estates?
- 7Why did Gandhi suspend the movement in 1922, though it was so strong?
- 8Write the cause and result for Chauri Chaura.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1January 1921.
- 2Foreign cloth (also government schools, courts, councils).
- 3Baba Ramchandra.
- 4To bring Hindus and Muslims together in one national movement.
- 5Freedom from forest laws that limited their use of the forest.
- 6They thought Gandhi's swaraj would give them freedom and land in their own villages.
- 7After Chauri Chaura he felt the movement was turning violent and wanted people trained in non-violence first.
- 8Cause: police fired on a procession and the crowd burned the police station (22 policemen died). Result: Gandhi suspended the movement on 12 February and was arrested in March 1922.
Civil Disobedience and the Salt March
Salt is in every kitchen, rich or poor. A tax on something everyone needs touches everyone. That is why a handful of salt in Gandhi's hand became a symbol that people across India understood at once.
Civil disobedience means breaking unjust laws peacefully and accepting the punishment. The Simon Commission of 1928 had no Indian member and was met with 'Go back, Simon'. In December 1929 the Lahore Congress demanded Purna Swaraj (complete independence). In March 1930 Gandhi began the Salt March against the government's salt tax and monopoly.
In the figure : From the Simon Commission to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the demand moved to complete freedom.
Rule 1 : The build-up to 1930 — Economic depression, rising anger and the all-white Simon Commission pushed the Congress to demand more than dominion status; the Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru accepted Purna Swaraj.
- Easy : The Simon Commission came in 1928 and every member was British.
- Medium : The Lahore session of December 1929 demanded Purna Swaraj.
- Exam-type : 26 January 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day across the country.
Rule 2 : The Salt March and its aftermath — Gandhi walked about 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi with 78 volunteers and broke the salt law on 6 April 1930. People then made salt, boycotted foreign cloth and liquor and refused to pay taxes. In March 1931 the Gandhi-Irwin Pact stopped the movement for a while.
- Easy : The march began on 12 March 1930 and ended at Dandi on 6 April.
- Medium : Peasants refused revenue, village officials resigned, and forest laws were broken in many places.
- Exam-type : In 1931 Gandhi signed the pact with Irwin and went to the Second Round Table Conference in London.
Gandhi chose salt because everybody uses it and the salt tax hurt everybody.
Thinking the Salt March began in 1931. It was 12 March to 6 April 1930; 1931 is the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
Memory clue : 28, 29, 30, 31 in a row — Simon 1928, Lahore 1929, Dandi 1930, Pact 1931.
What happened before? (Salt March, 1930) On 2 March 1930 Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin saying that he would begin breaking the salt laws within ten days. The letter was carried to the Viceroy by a young Englishman from his ashram, Reginald Reynolds, to show that the quarrel was with the system of rule and not with the English people. The march began on 12 March.
What happened next? (Salt March, 1930) Gandhi was arrested on 5 May 1930. On 21 May the poet Sarojini Naidu led about 2,500 satyagrahis towards the Dharasana salt works; policemen beat the marchers, and the American reporter Webb Miller's report of what he saw reached newspapers across the world.
Spot the difference
| Year | Event | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Simon Commission | No Indian member, so it was boycotted |
| 1929 | Lahore Congress | Demand of Purna Swaraj |
| 1930 | Salt March | Breaking the salt law at Dandi |
Practice questions
- 1What was the Simon Commission boycotted for?
- 2Which Congress session demanded Purna Swaraj?
- 3Where did the Salt March end?
- 4Why did Gandhi choose salt as a symbol?
- 5How was the civil disobedience movement different from non-cooperation?
- 6What did the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931 do?
- 7Why did the Congress ask for Purna Swaraj in 1929 instead of earlier demands?
- 8Link cause and result: Gandhi's letter of 2 March 1930, then? What happened at Dharasana?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1It had no Indian member.
- 2The Lahore session (December 1929).
- 3At Dandi.
- 4Everyone uses salt, so the tax and monopoly affected rich and poor alike.
- 5People now broke colonial laws, such as the salt law, and not only refused to cooperate.
- 6The movement was paused and Gandhi agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference.
- 7The all-white Simon Commission, economic hardship and growing anger made partial reform seem too little.
- 8The letter was followed by the Salt March from 12 March; after Gandhi's arrest, Sarojini Naidu led satyagrahis to Dharasana on 21 May and the police beat them, which was reported to the world.
Who Joined, Who Stayed Away, and the Idea of the Nation
A school function succeeds when many groups help, but each group asks for something different: the seniors want a stage, the juniors a game and the teachers silence. A national movement is like that: everyone wanted 'swaraj' but meant something different by it.
In the civil disobedience movement rich peasants, business groups, workers and women joined for different reasons, while many Dalits and Muslims kept away or were uneasy. Leaders also used symbols such as Bharat Mata, the song Vande Mataram and the swaraj flag to give people a sense of belonging to one nation.
In the figure : Business, Dalit and Muslim leaders each shaped the movement in their own way.
Rule 1 : Each group had its own hopes — Rich peasants such as the Patidars hoped for a cut in revenue; business groups wanted protection from imports; workers and women took part but not everyone joined fully.
- Easy : The Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress (1920) and FICCI (1927) were formed by business groups.
- Medium : Rich peasants hit by falling prices supported the movement but left when revenue was not reduced.
- Exam-type : Many women joined marches and picketing, though the Congress was slow to give them leadership posts.
Rule 2 : The limits of the movement and the Poona Pact — Dalits wanted their own political rights and many Muslims felt the Congress spoke for the Hindu majority. Ambedkar's demand for separate electorates led to a clash with Gandhi and finally to the Poona Pact of 1932.
- Easy : Dr Ambedkar founded the Depressed Classes Association in 1930.
- Medium : After the Khilafat movement faded, relations between Hindus and Muslims weakened and many Muslims stayed away from civil disobedience.
- Exam-type : Images like Bharat Mata, the song Vande Mataram and the 1921 swaraj flag with a spinning wheel gave the nation a face, but not everyone felt included.
A national movement unites many groups, but each may mean something different by 'swaraj'.
Thinking the whole country joined civil disobedience in the same way. Dalits, many Muslims and some workers stayed away or joined late.
Memory clue : Who, Why, Which? — for each group ask: who joined, why, and which demand they had.
What happened before? (Poona Pact, 1932) In August 1932 the British government's Communal Award gave separate electorates to several communities, including the Depressed Classes. Gandhi, who was in Yerwada jail in Poona, opposed the arrangement for the Depressed Classes and began a fast unto death on 20 September.
What happened next? (Poona Pact, 1932) On 24 September 1932 an agreement was signed in Yerwada jail between Dr Ambedkar and leaders on Gandhi's side. It replaced separate electorates with reserved seats in the joint electorate, with more reserved seats than the Award had offered, and Gandhi ended his fast on 26 September.
Spot the difference
| Group | Why they joined or stayed away | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Rich peasants | Wanted lower revenue | Patidars of Gujarat |
| Business groups | Wanted protection from imports | FICCI (1927) |
| Dalits | Wanted their own political rights | Ambedkar and the Poona Pact |
Practice questions
- 1Who founded the Depressed Classes Association in 1930?
- 2What does FICCI stand for?
- 3Who wrote the hymn Vande Mataram?
- 4Why did business groups support civil disobedience?
- 5Why did many Dalit leaders hold back from the Congress movement?
- 6How did symbols like Bharat Mata help the national movement?
- 7Explain why 'swaraj' did not mean the same thing to all groups.
- 8Describe the cause and result of the Poona Pact.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Dr B. R. Ambedkar.
- 2Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
- 3Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
- 4They wanted protection from foreign imports and freedom to trade.
- 5They felt the Congress had not given enough attention to their problems and wanted political safeguards of their own.
- 6They gave people something to love and identify with, like the figures of Marianne and Germania in Europe.
- 7Peasants thought of lower rent, tribals of forest rights, business groups of trade freedom and Dalits of their own rights, so each group read its own hopes into swaraj.
- 8Cause: separate electorates for the Depressed Classes in the Communal Award and Gandhi's fast. Result: reserved seats in a joint electorate, and Gandhi ended his fast.
Who Joined, Who Stayed Away, and the Idea of the Nation
In the app you can move this figure with your finger.
Open in the app