CBSE · Class 10 · Social Science · History: Nationalism in IndiaExplain the circumstances under which the Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. How did different social groups participate in the movement, and what were the reasons for their varying aspirations?

Introduction

महात्मा गांधी के नेतृत्व में 1920 में शुरू किया गया असहयोग आंदोलन भारतीय राष्ट्रीय आंदोलन का एक महत्वपूर्ण मोड़ था। इस आंदोलन ने ब्रिटिश औपनिवेशिक शासन के खिलाफ बड़े पैमाने पर जन प्रतिरोध को संगठित किया।

Circumstances Leading to the Non-Cooperation Movement

1. Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: The passage of the Rowlatt Act in 1919 gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. Public outrage against this led to widespread protests, culminating in the brutal Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, which deeply alienated Indians.
2. Khilafat Issue: The defeat of Ottoman Turkey in World War I created deep apprehension among Indian Muslims regarding the safety of the Khalifa. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Sevres angered Muslims. Mahatma Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to bring Hindus and Muslims together, merging the Khilafat issue with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
3. Post-War Economic Hardships: World War I created severe economic distress in India. Increased defense expenditure financed by war loans and taxes led to extreme price rises, hardship for common people, crop failures, and devastating influenza epidemics, which caused widespread discontent.

Participation of Different Social Groups

• In the Towns: The movement started with middle-class participation. Students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices. Council elections were boycotted in most provinces. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth was burnt in huge bonfires.
• Rebellion in the Countryside: In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra against talukdars and landlords who demanded exorbitantly high rents and cesses. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, a militant guerrilla movement spread against the colonial forest laws that prevented people from entering forests for grazing cattle or collecting firewood.
• Swaraj in the Plantations: For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined spaces in which they were enclosed, and retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission.

Conclusion

Thus, while the Non-Cooperation Movement united various sections of Indian society under a single banner, each group interpreted the term 'Swaraj' in its own way, reflecting their specific grievances and aspirations.