CBSE · Class 10 · Social Science · History: Nationalism in IndiaDiscuss the circumstances and events that led to the launching of the Non-Cooperation Movement by Mahatma Gandhi. How did different social groups participate in it?

The Non-Cooperation Movement: Circumstances and Participation

\nThe Non-Cooperation Movement, launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920-1922, marked a turning point in the Indian national movement. It transitioned from constitutional agitation to mass resistance.

Circumstances Leading to the Movement

1. Post-War Economic Hardship: The First World War (1914-1918) caused severe economic distress. Increased defense expenditure was financed through war loans and taxes, leading to extreme price rises, hardship for common people, and crop failures combined with an influenza epidemic.
2. Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: The repressive Rowlatt Act (1919) gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and detain political prisoners without trial. Protests against this led to the brutal Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar, where General Dyer fired on a peaceful gathering, outraging the entire nation.
3. Khilafat Issue: The defeat of Ottoman Turkey in World War I and harsh terms of the Treaty of Sèvres threatened the temporal powers of the Khalifa (the spiritual head of the Islamic world). Indian Muslims, led by the Ali brothers (Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali), launched the Khilafat Movement. Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to unite Hindus and Muslims in a unified national struggle.

Participation of Different Social Groups

• In Towns: Middle-class participation was prominent. Students left government schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up legal practices. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth was burnt in bonfires.
• In the Countryside (Peasants and Tribals): Peasants in Awadh, led by Baba Ramchandra, fought against high rents and begar (forced labor) demanded by talukdars. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, tribals led by Alluri Sitaram Raju launched a militant guerrilla movement against forest laws that restricted their entry into reserved forests.
• Plantation Workers: For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined spaces of tea gardens. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, they were not permitted to leave tea gardens without permission. Inspired by Gandhi, thousands defied authorities and headed home.