Swaraj Party

1.  Some leaders within Congress were tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in elections of provincial councils

2.  Provincial councils was set up by government of India Act 1919

3.  They felt that it is important to:

• Oppose British policies within council's

•  Agree for reforms

• Demonstration that these councils are undemocratic

4.  C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed Swaraj Party within Congress

5.  They argued return to Council politics 

6. However the younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose pressed for more radical mass agitation and for full independence

Simon Commission

•  It was a statutory Commission setup under Sir John Simon in response to the Nationalist movement.

•  Objective 

i) look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India

ii) suggest any changes if there were necessary

•  Reason of opposition

i) The commission did not have a single Indian member they were all British

ii) It did not provide any hope  Swaraj to Indians

•  When the Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928 it was greeted with slogan go back Simon

•  All parties including the Congress and the Muslim League participated in the demonstration

Lord Irwin offer

1. Irwin announced in October 1929 a vague offer of Dominion status for India.

2. Dominion status to be given in an unspecified future.

3. The future constitution to be discussed in the Round table conference

4. This did not satisfy the Congress leaders

5. The radicals within the Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose became more assertive.

Lahore congress session

1.  It was held at Lahore in December 1929 under the  presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru

2.  Poorna Swaraj or complete Independence for India was accepted as  the goal of Congress

3.  It was declared that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as a Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for complete Independence.

4. The celebrations attracted a very little attention.

5.  This session shifted the goal from Swaraj to 'Purna Swaraj'. 

Eleven demands

1. On 31st January 1930 Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy stating 11 demands

2. Some of these were of general interest and others were specific demands of different classes from industrialists to presents

3. The Idea was to bring together everyone  in a United campaign

4. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax

5. Gandhiji letter was an ultimatum that the demands were not fulfilled by 11th March Congress would launch a civil disobedience campaign

 Events leading to the Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement

•  Simon Commission

•  Announcement of Lord Irwin in October 1929

•  Lahore Congress of  December 1929

•  Worldwide economic depression

•  Eleven demands

 Events of Civil Disobedience Movement

• Began breaking of salt law Dandi March

• Large scale boycott of foreign cloud and 

• Picketing of liquor shops

• Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari Taxes 

• Violation of forest laws

Repression of Civil Disobedience Movement

•  Arrest of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Lead to violent clashes

•  Angry crowds demonstrated in the streets of Peshawar

•  Arrest of Gandhiji 

• Peaceful satyagrahis attacked

•  Women and children were beaten and about hundred thousand people were arrested

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

• Due to brutal repression and violence, Mahatma Gandhi called off the civil disobedience movement and entered into a pact with Lord Irwin on 5th March 1931.

• This pact is known as Gandhi Irwin pact

• Gandhiji agreed to participate in a Round table conference in London and the government agreed to release the political Prisoners.

Second Round Table Conference and Relaunch of Civil Disobedience Movement

1. In December 1931, Gandhiji went to London for the conference but the negotiations broke down and he returned disappointed.

2. When he returned  a new cycle of depression was going on in India.

3. Jawaharlal Nehru and Ghaffar Khan were both in  Jail.

4. Congress was declared illegal

5. Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the civil disobedience movement however at my 19348 lost momentum.

Difference between Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement

Non-Cooperation Movement

• Started in January 1921

• Goal of NCM was Swaraj or Self rule by demanding dominion status

• Large scale participation of Muslims

• Women participation was less

• Withdrawn after Chauri Chaura incident(1.5 years approx.)

• Non-Cooperation

Civil Disobedience Movement

• Started on 6th April 1930 at Dandi

• Goal moved further from Swaraj to Complete Independence

• Limited participation of Muslims

• Marked the presence of women

• Longer duration-two phases

• Breaking colonial laws

How Participants saw the Movement

Rich Peasant Communities

1. The rich peasant communities like the Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

2. Their notion of Swaraj was struggle against high revenues.

3. These rich peasants became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

4. They organised their communities and at times forced reluctant members to participate in the boycott programmes.

5. However they were deeply disappointed when the movement was called off in 1931 without the revenue rates being revised.

6. Hence when the movement restarted in 1932, many of them refused to participate. 

Poor Peasant Communities

1. The poorer peasantry wanted reduction in the revenue demand and also exemption in rent because many of them were small tenants cultivating land rented from landlords.

2. They joined a variety of radical movements, often led by Socialists and Communists.

3. However Congress did not support their 'No Rent Campaigns' because of their association with the rich peasants and landlords.

4. The relationship between poor peasants and Congress was uncertain.

5. The participation of poor peasants was limited in the movement.

Business Classes/Industrialists

1. The industrialists were keen on expanding business activities and hence participated in the movement against the colonial policies that restricted business.

2. Their participation was for following demands:

• Protection against imports of foreign goods

• Rupee-Sterling foreign exchange ratio

3. The Business Classes formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries(FICCI) in 1927 for their business interests.

4. They were led by prominent industrialists like Purushottam Das Thakurdas and G.D. Birla.

5. They attacked colonial control over the Indian Economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was first launched.

6. They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.

7. For them the meaning of Swaraj was when colonial restrictions on business would end and trade & industry would flourish without constraints.

8. After the failure of Round Table Conference, business groups were not enthusiastic.

9. They were also apprehensive of the spread of militant activities and worried about prolonged disruption of business.

10. They were also cautious due to the growing influence of socialism amongst the younger members of Congress.

Industrial Working Classes

Industrial working classes participated in the movement demanding better wages and better working conditions in the factories.

Some workers joined the movement adopting Gandhian programme like boycott of foreign goods as part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.

There were railway workers' strike in 1930 and dock workers' strike in 1932.

In 1930, thousands of workers in Chhotanagpur tin mines wore Gandhi caps and participated in protest rallies and boycott campaigns.

But the congress did not include their demands as part of its, programme due to fear of alienation of the industrialists and division of the anti-imperialists forces.

Women

1. There was large scale participation of women in CDM.

2. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops.

3. Many went to jails. In urban area, these women were from high caste families.

4. In rural areas, women were from rich peasant households.

5. Women participated as a service to the nation and as a sacred duty of women.

Participation Of Dalits(Untouchables)

1. Dalit means broken or downtrodden. 

2. These were the oppressed communities.

3. Congress ignored Dalits for a long time due to their association with Sanatanis, the conservative high caste Hindus.

4. Mahatma Gandhi worked for the upliftment of the Dalits.

5. He declared that swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated.

6. He opposed all forms of untouchability.

7. He called them 'Harijan' , or the children of God.

8. He himself cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the Bhangi(the sweepers) and persuaded upper castes to change their heart and give up the sin of untouchability. 

9. He organised Satyagraha for their entry into temples,  and access to public wells , tanks, roads and schools.

10. B.R. Ambedkar sought Political solution and endowment.

11. He made 'Depressed Classes Association' in 1930.

12. B.R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorate for the Dalits which British government agreed.

13. Mahatma Gandhi opposed it as it will slowdown integration of society.

14. This created a conflict and tussle between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar.

15. Poona Pact of September 1932

• It was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar.

• Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji's position after mahatma Gandhi's fast unto death.

• It gave depressed classes reserved seats but through general electorate.

Participation of Muslims in the Civil Disobedience Movement

1. A large section of Muslims felt alienated from the Congress after the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement.

2. Some of the Muslim political organisations in India were lukewarm in their response to the Civil Disobedience Movement.

3. Lukewarm response of Muslim organisations:

• Association of Congress with Hindu Mahasabha

• Communal clashes and riots

• Issue of demand for separate electorate

• Concern of status of Muslims in a Hindu majority state

• Issue of reserved seats in the Central assembly

• No compromise due to strong opposition of M.R. Jayakar of Hindu Mahasabha at the All Parties Conference in 1928.

4. CDM started in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust between communities.

5. Alienated from the Congress, large sections of Muslims could not respond to the call for a united struggle.