CBSE · Class 10 · Social Science · History: Nationalism in IndiaExamine the significance of the Civil Disobedience Movement. How was it different from the Non-Cooperation Movement, and how did various sections of society participate in it?

The Civil Disobedience Movement: Significance and Participation

\nThe Civil Disobedience Movement, launched under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in 1930, marked another major milestone in India's struggle for independence. It began with the historic Dandi March, where Gandhi and his followers walked 240 miles to break the salt law.

Difference from the Non-Cooperation Movement

• Nature of Action: While the Non-Cooperation Movement urged people to refuse cooperation with the British government, the Civil Disobedience Movement involved not just non-cooperation, but explicitly breaking colonial laws (such as the Salt Tax, forest laws, and land revenue laws).
• Goal: The ultimate goal of the Non-Cooperation Movement was self-government within the British Empire (Swaraj), whereas the Civil Disobedience Movement explicitly demanded Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence), as declared at the Lahore Congress session of 1929.

Participation of Different Social Groups

• Rich Peasant Communities: Communities like the Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active participants. Being producers of commercial crops, they were hard-hit by the trade depression and falling prices. For them, fight for swaraj was a struggle against high revenues.
• Poor Peasants: Small tenants who had rented land from landlords struggled to pay rent during the depression. They joined radical no-rent campaigns, often led by socialists and communists.
• Business Classes: Indian industrialists and merchants, led by figures like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, supported the movement financially and boycotted foreign goods. They opposed colonial policies that restricted business activities and wanted protection against foreign imports.
• Industrial Working Class: Industrial workers did not participate in large numbers, except in Nagpur region, though some workers adopted boycotts of foreign goods as part of their own anti-imperialist stance.
• Women's Participation: A large-scale participation of women was a unique feature of this movement. Thousands of women participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops, marking their emergence in the public sphere.