i

UNIT 25 CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

movement —1930-34
Structure

25.0 Objectives
25.1 Introductio
25.2
Background
25.3
Civil Disobedience, 1930—March 193]
Gandhi's Efforts
25.3.2 Beginning of,he Woven,e nt
Movement Spreads
25.3.4 Response of Different Sec,i ons
25.3.5 Regional Variations
25.4
25.5
The Truce Months, March u
25.6
25.7
25.8
Let Us Sum Up
Key Words
25.9
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

25.0 OBJECTTVFg

This Unit seeks to discuss the Civil- disobedience

undertheleadershipofGandhi
to understand:
“Dng 1930-34. i^unched by the Congress
● ‘he circumstances leading to the 'ng this Unit you will be able
how the movement was started 2nd ^"'■1 Disobedi’cnce Mov
Why the movement was tPrrv what ement,
Was its
Programme,
●why it failed to achieve its goaUnd ^^spended,
the .mportance of this movement i ^^dian hist
ory.

25.1
I5I522ucrioN
In Unit 18 of Block 5 ' —
Congress. Though this morementr!
millions of people in the m
Co

years in 1930, the Congres™r"’‘““ aeain° its goak"

^‘■'tish
started by the
in involving
Disobedience Movement Tr'>
withdrawal of the Non r
British Government to P ents ,n the Indian
^‘‘veniem known as the Civil
and th^n the
P'^epared the attitude of the
' the bt
^tiences of tu ^ ^f^^nd, the stagewise
^ ivil Disobedience

25.2 BACKGlRjlifTnt^ijQ
The abrupt withdrawal of the N ——
chaura incident of February iggpf Mn
and led to a sharp decline in the „ °'‘^moralivi„'"«nt by Ganrfh- r , „ri

30 membership went down to 106,00^, in M!,roriT'=Th: a,-; Congress'eaders

 TTie Swarajist programme (you have read about it in Unit 21) of wrecking dyarchy from
CIvO DbobcdicBee ■
Movtment-. 1930-1934

within petered out into council and municipal politicking. The No Changer group
which'emphasised upon Gandhian Constnictive*Work in villages remained scattered
and kept themselves aloof from the political developments. The remarkable Hindu-
MusUm unity of the Non-Cooperation Khilafat days dissolved into widespread
communal riots in the mid-1920s. For example, there was a violent anti-Hindu outburst
at Kohat in the N.W. Frontier Province in September 1924. Three waves of riots in
Calcutta between April and July 1926 kUled about 138 Peo^e In
were communal disturbances in Dacca, Patna, Rawalpindi Delhi and U .P. Comn^unal
organizations proUferated with Hindu Sabhas and Swarajists often
identical memtership in some places. Negotiauons with Jinnah oyer the Nehru Re^rt
plan for an alternative constitution broke down in 1927-28 largely because of Hin u
Mahasabha opposition and Jinnah’s obstinacy in relation to it.
The Hindu-Muslim Unity of 1919-22 was never
many si^s ofthe growth of anti-impenahst movement from 1928 onwards. These g
were visible in*
. demonstration and hartals in towns in the course of the boycott of the Simon
Commission,
in
● militant communist led workers movemenfin Bombay and Calcutta which alarmed
Indian businessmen and British officials and capitalists alike ohno*,t
● the ervival of revolutionary groups in Bengal and Northern India (wi g
Singh’s HSRA introducing a new secular and socialistic tone), ^
● peasant movements in various regions, enhancement of
Ltyagraha led by Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat in 1928 against the enhancement
land revenue.

During thisperiod when the congress Leftwasemergingnnder^^^^^^^^

Subhas Bose slogans of Puma Swaraj rather than o on y j congress creed
(See Unit 26). After much hesitation Gandh. a„^^^^^^^
at the Lahore session in December 1929, setting tne stage lu
countrywide stmggle in 1930-34.
Youwouldliketo know how●’’‘®
of decline and fragmentation of the
p"cedSgyeare. Histories of the
suggesting a direct causal link between
‘Cambridge School' have tried to explam « ^^mg * ^ The appointment
theBritishpoliciesandtheupsanddownso^
of the Simon Commission revived a m
Congress
gauality. But a closer look raises doubts
importanceby talking with Gandhi on a - ersponse to nationalist
about this entire thesis, for British poll all-white Simon Commission had *
pressures rather than ^ice-versa. For exa P framework in respect of the
planned a retreat even from the Mom g forced the British to make a promise
demands of Indians. he centre. Further, it was the pressure from
ofsome sort of responsible governmen a people which again forced Irwin
thenationalmovementandtheheroicself-sacnte P
I. ■
to negotiate with Gandhi in February- arc . k♦ n t ch *

domination and a vanety of Indian of ,he World Depression

● Contradictions J„essgroups were not happy with the British tariff
which set in from late 1^9. B P growing
policy. Lancashire textile >n^P 0:^105 and British Jute interests, and in Bombay
conflicts in Calcutta between the Binas
over coastal shipping.
● The workers facing large scale
retrenchment started agitations with unprecedented
militancy and . b„ stagnation in agrarian production and by British
* ^"iTnXdrevenueinraiyatwariareasinthelate 1^
victory halted such endeavours permanently.
● ..„«inns did not necessarily or automatically take an anti British
But socio-economic ten ^^^^ors would most often be Indian Zamindars,
turn, for the **”*"®°*^, iLg groups which could have nationalist connections, or
moneylenders, or pn their side. Yet a massive country-wide 31
which f® in 1930. Let us see, why and how it happened,
upsurge did take place n
h
 Nathmalism:
The Inter War Years - II Check Your Progress 1 *

stage for «he'’citirD°sXX'nce °k

nt. Answer m about hundred words.

The resolution ft mitia'ive°"®'“^ )

■ ^"^'"'“"“‘‘““"-LahoreSessionofthe
Deprestn "°"’"‘^'«i°ns '^*='■6 sharpened by the (
The socio- impact of the world
‘'“nomic tensions ( ■
automatically led to anti-British agitation. ( )

25.3
«yiL
March 1931

declared iL '^is date"j- *●1”''®'' ^"d'a byT^^ ^ Manifesto or pledge of

Independence Day '“^obedience Pd°P>e as possible on
supposed to commence. It was
^

25.3.1
Gandhi’s Efforts
Gandhi
^gain trierfor**^°^^'^''^ofhispl-
need for "
of

S:tre:^>fo. -st'h t tbfrnt Id be""

oi>
contt
V AU n 7’> d be7 ^houla b?,"7‘ ^nlt monopt,
’ P°'"'=nl prisot"'®«des and t®®d by SQo/ ^alf, /

7etlli‘';®P“fottt“jCapV;f"fod
fUj'
^ t^iimb-down from Purna
Of
The Gove
hesitant. He
tnment re^,^ did ^ence, Oin social reforms
'^^te ,0”°"^^ tOQ *^id We mean the same th
But if you °"’^Vi "ndhi’s
'^^Posai 'vas different language ■
appeal to ®“nnotser^ Oy;
can take, ^“dtear ?°dr '‘'ay to negative. Still Gandhi wa®
mo.st ubi■''“disre„.: *bal| Pro dealu,:
'''ithth iiO
32
■quium,,®;!;d.he fr '^'dt such"'' "'y
jces
t>*I

uf the sal. “f ‘be Ashra/"

‘ Han's o, *"'*■ ‘ regard this tax to
®fondpoint.
 The Viceroy gave a brief reply in which he regretted that Gandhi was “contemplating a Civil Disobedience
Movement—1930- J934
course of action which was clearly bound to involve violation of law and danger to the
public peace”.
Gandhi in his rejoinder said, “on bended knees I asked for bread and received a stone
instead. The English nation responds only to force and I am not surprised by the
Viceregal reply”.

25.3.2 Beginning of the Movement

Gandhi took the decision to start the movement. On 12 March 1930 Gandhi started the
Historic March from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi beach accompanied by his 78
selected followers. There Gandhi and his followers broke the law by manufacturing salt
from the sea. The Programme of the movement was as follows:
a) Salt law should be violated everywhere,
b) Students should leave colleges and government servants should resign from service,
c) Foreign clothes should be burnt,
d) No taxes should be paid to the government,
e) Women should stage a Dharna at liquor shops, etc.
The choice of salt as the central issue appeared puzzling initially. Events quickly
revealed the enormous potentialities of this choice. “You planned a fine strategy round
the issue of salt”. Irwin later admitted to Gandhi. Salt was a^concrete and a universal
grievance of the rural poor, which was almost unique in having no socially divisive
implications. With regard to food habits salt was a daily necessity of the people. It also
carried with it the implications of trust, hospitality, mutual obligations. In this sense it
' had a far-reaching emotional content. Moreover the-breaking of the salt law meant a
rejection of the Government’s claims on the allegiance of the people. In coast^ areas
where over the previous century indigenous salt production had been ruined by British
imports, illegal manufacture of salt could provide the people a sm^I ‘‘i^ome which was
not unimportant. The manufacture of salt also became a part of Gandhian methods of
constructive work like Khadi production. Rural Gandhian bases everywhere provided
all, the Dandi March and the
'the initial volunteers for the salt satyagraha. Above
subsequent countrywide violation of the salt law provided a tremendously impressive
demonstration of the power of non-violent mass struggle.

8. People breaking Salt laws

 Natioitaliiiii:
The Inter W«r Years-n

Magistrate reported from Midnapur fBenearr ^ ^<^ditionaI District f|

were talking “insolently—the ordinirvo that even old villagers J
laughing sarcastically said, ‘We know ho^^I ”
25.3.3 Movement Spreads
Social boycott of police and lower-Ievi.1 ●
resignations. That the British reSize^^'"^*’’^'*''^ ^
sheer brutality of repression, as “unresistinf was revealed by the
bloody pulp”, in the words of the America (were) methodically bashed into a ;
of unarmed, unresisting satyagrahis standin *u Miller. But the spectacle
sympathy and respect as-nothing else could L ^ ^^^ominable torture aroused local
memories of innumerable acts of petty oppresri^ repression invoked
confines. *. T' ‘■'●■puuon, spreadin. ''illagers. Sympathy |
atfact ● participation often took vini , c™®"* W°nd the fairly narrow
attacking pohee parties. The Gandhian "J «owds of villagers
early removal of most of the Congress eadres by aJret’’^"
While the salt satyagraha was at itc Vi ●
(I

outbursts, outside or going beyond '’y ‘"ree major

i) On 18 April 1930. Bengal revnl ,● Disobedience.
■//y

^slimswerealsoinS^^'°fP««anti:;^^''“'a““l«^^
Hindu youth alone. been a nro^m
I
3
1 ment of educated middle class j|
ii) In Peshawar on 23 April 1930
.Ufi
an

111) TheindostnalcityofSholapurinlvi i, ^"^"'embered.

workers’ strike, attacks on liquors ^
in

out^s,^'^"y *®30 saw a textile

m

and even something like a parallel - and government buildings*

The onset of the monsoon made ni Sovernment for
a few days.
switched over to other forms of m "'anufactnr
careful choice of socially non-dS''™®®'®’ charaete ‘h® Congress
raAcahaation through a variety 0^000‘r**’ f°“°wed tvlh P""®"’
1930 sanctioned non-payment of iLh '"‘^iatives The ufbroadening and
(village police) tax in zamindari reton raiy^ Committee in May
satyagraha’; Pfaeeful violation o7w«"°'’ ^ignificantl?" anti-choukidaP
rights to free fodder, timber and"S'""* ^^'^ctirinr?®'’’ and ’fora*'
no-tax movements through largesea^r ''®*‘ Paoduc^Th and poor peasa»<
peasants heroically stood their S. "^‘«=ations of oTo' 8°^«nment struck back a‘
prmcely s ates. Rural movemen^rTnl’“">« "'igratb?""^’ ‘housands of
bounds, through violent confro„S"f beyond!? neighbouring
tribal invasions of forests in Centra p?‘''a PolieraV P^aaeribed Gandhian
rumour spread that the British RX ™''‘"<=aa, Mahal?,""“"y P'«<=«. and massive
J'"aa coming ,0 arahtra and Karnataka. The
25.3.4
Response of Different Section
Urban intelligentsia support fo.. -
1930 than during the Non-Coonl^"'^'”®" national-
'Tils Mtom ●’r““educated
" atud«;!Te^"""’®"' and ^ ® '*as in evidence
iii

schools. Militant urban yl,h f"'"8 officialT'?.f

terronsm in Bengal, and in norih t ‘ended to h,. ^*‘“^‘ions to
few instances of
join national

.34 rivalled thatMl

of Gandhi himself. Th?To"st*T"* ^’’^gat's!!?*!'^ "’“''n by revolutionaty
"°*‘ °bvious weakT®” ® Popularity briefly
"‘'P°'"«ofnationahsmas
N

35
 NatioiisJlsin:
Hie iRicr War Years - II

of679CivilDisobedienceprisonersin All-,h..K hT
Social1930.
July disconten. turned
and there werecommunal
larcescaleinrioK
oLa'tol
in v alTKkh”'’ ’m ^ were
^ ^ishorcganj village Muslims.
m May and
Candlii-Irwin Pact. Unlike Non-Cooperation Sn"
any major labour upsurae There wern fr^ ’ , did not coincide with
not inclttdc tndustria. or commm ^ ^u. the Congress did
British oflicials. ^ Programme, much to the reliefof

Such lags were largely made up by the massive n

support from business groups, at least dMr:„ ^ Peasant mobilization and considerable
The movement, unlike Non Cooperation h^n Disobedience,
beatings-up right from the beginning ind th ^ of law, arrests, and
than three times the 1921-22 figure Sumort f was 92,2t4; more
merchants and petty traders (industrials ,,1?’ Bombay
Calcutta Marwansheaded by GD Birla can be cit H ^ enthusiastic), and
Capitalists with the national movement at this T the solidarity of the
many towns took a collective pledge to giU the merchants in
aTe« ■ M P't^lttttingfnd the overa
a spectacular collapse of British cloth imnnr,/ ,
^oods for some
™P“tof the Depression there was
only 523 million yards in 1930-3] ^ from 1248 million yards in 1929-30 to
A novel and remarkable feature of the r- -i i^-
widespread participation of women Th. ,! ^'=^obedience Movement .h

facing lathis!and going to iai^rtTp^D “t Pe^^sant fa'"

struggling for domestic and nati™!;^^ ,L‘^f‘='= °ff‘«al felttimethat "™e
active role of women in politics Si, ●h
of women In or outside the famil! r ^ignificant'ct,” ’ '
drastic violation of the traditional im^^“’" "°"-''iolence af “nditions
in some ways been 'feminized' thr father ’. t*'t* not entail any
ofsuffering.ThedeepIvrelipin’ ^^phasis imn action that had
. more crucial: joining the CongressT”^"'"' °t‘ndhi’ssaimlf'^’^' “'"‘'‘‘'‘"® ‘‘“'tP'™"
transaggressions were permitted nr” '^'is a new ’ ..^.""ttge was perhaps even
centuries back had come to be ven in such a niission, and certain
participation which came to be nui ^ ThfoneT'^'’
terrorist action, including assassl.'l'’"'''^^ “"demned was r”
Rabindranath Tagore, happened seve l
then wrote a novel — ance of nthpr*. ● Bengal. Even
condemn! ninT of women’s roles,
"gsuch‘unfeminine’behaviour.

36
25.3.5 Regional Variations Civil Disobedience
Movetnent —1930 -1934

The recent spate of regional studies of Civil Disobedience has brought to light
interesting variations and interna! tensions. Gujarat more specifically, Kheda
district, Bardoli taluka of Surat, Ahmedabad, and the Gujarati business-cum-
professional community of Bombay City — had become the classic heartland of
controlled mass mobilization through Gandhian satyagraha. Gandhian strategies and ,
controls fitted in well with the interests of substantial landholding peasants like the
Patidars of Kheda and Bardoli, where, in the absence of big zamindaris, rent was not
much of an issue. Rural movements tended to be more uninhibited where Congress
organization was weaker, or where internal zamindar-peasant divisions were quite
sharp Thus in Central Provinces, Maharashtra or Karnataka, where Non-Cooperation
had made little inroads, the Gandhian ideas had the flavour and vagueness of novelty,
a near millenarian flavour could still be seen, absent in the well-established strongholds
like Gujarat, coastal Andhra or Bihar. In the United Provinces district level
comparisons have brought out clearly this inverse relationship between organization
and militancy. Parts of Agra district, with a strong Congress organisation and few big
zamindars, followed the Bardoli pattern; talukdar-dominated Rae Baraelt, saw
powerful pressures from the peasants. In Bara Banki, where khadi or charkhyvere
little in evidence, local activists were preaching that land was a gift of God and could
no. belong to zamindars alone. In Bengal, with its re a.ively weak and ef^^en
Congress a near-coincidence of class with communal divisions in the eastern d str.cts,
and fhe presence already of a left alternative, the pattern was even more complex.
There were powerful Gandhian rural movements m parK of West Bengal like
Midnapur Lambagh sub-division, and Bankura; a Praja movement was developing
among Muslim rich peasants which was aloof or hostile regarding Civil Disobedience;
and luuiicivius
in one Muslim-majori.y
j
district,
..
Tippera,
.
Congress activists were combming
^5 (branded as rank Bolshevism by
agrarian radicalism with nationalism in y
Government officials and local Hindu Ian or s.

11, Kalakankar Jatha (U.P.) making salt.

n»pr'if Yniir Proeress 2

1 What ^as Gandhi's proposal to Lord Irwin before startmg the movement? What
were its consequences? Answer in about one hundred words.
37
 Nalionalistn:
The Inter War Years - II

2 What was the programme of the Civil Disobedi

five lines.
lence Movement? Answer in about

3 Why was salt chosen as the

words. central issue of the
movement? Answer in about fifty ■ V,

4 Give your answer in

i one
sentence,
i) What do
you understand by Forest Satyagraha?

ii) What was the Government

response to' no-tax’
movements?

iii) What was the basic differ

Disobedience Mov ement?^^ce between the Non-Co
operation and the Civil

Around September-Ociober 1930 C’

contradictory, phase. Pressures for C>isobedi-●ence -
^ntor^H
having its major impact, and the Up ●counting as tu f^ore
of rent in October. Incidents of poor
multiplied in many areas. At the reluctant! ^ ^^Pression began
decline of enthusiasm and same time,’’ official tribal milir non-payment
support amr>„ "’'"^‘^al renorre ^ and violence
brealdng earlier pledges not to sell imported
imported'’''"
that “the capacity of the commercial com
ma n®"*"
Tha t f ^
of a marked
'^'lom started
and,demdustrialists
tn
like Homi Mody denrnce"d
and industry . Possibly ,|,e enthust, ®^
^"durance'-
"froquen, reached its limits.

I substa;!;'i","‘h»"als '^hich dislocated

h

38
peasants in the face of
 too. Almost all leading Civil Disobeftknce
Movement—19364-1934

rather suddenin the

culminated retreat.
DelhiHe
Pact pCW'^d Gaildrwin
pact. The salient features of this accord were:
i) nte agreement arrived at the First Round Table Conferenee shall further be
deliberated upon in another Round Table Conference,
ii). The Indian National Congress
will withdraw the Civil Disobedience Movement
immediately and effectively in all respects,
iii) The boycott of British goods would also be withdrawn forthwith.
A ^withdraw ordinances promulgated in relation to the
iv) The Government a^eed “ *“*l£ political prisoners against whom there were
Civil Disobedience Movement. P and penalties that had not been realised
were

movement.
●.n.. to condone breach of the existing law relating to salt
v) The Government was neither t amended. Nonetheless, government was
administration nor would , of salt freely to the people living within a
to permit the collection and manufacture o /
specified area from the sea-shore.c divided when it met on 5 March, 1931 to Hiscuss
discuss
The Congress working committee wa ^ Victory because the Viceroy had to
the results of the talks. Many peop e , Gandhi agreed to attend the Round
negotiate a settlement. Others were in sharp contrast to his stand uptill the
Table Conference, more or less on Kntis ^gn^itting the death sentence on
end of January 1931. Even ^^hiji s req Viceroy, and they were
Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and R^guru was ^ with
executed on 23rd March. his Autobiography a few years later,
a bang but a whimper”, as Ne ru Many others besides Nehru felt
The Gandhi-Irwin Pact the proclaimed goal °f Puma
(Hsmayed by the unexpected ^al**' 8 ^ 3, ,he Congress behest must
Swaraj, and peasants who had , black flag demonstration agmnsr
have felt particularly let down. The'® * . days after the execution of Bhagat
Gandhi when the Karachi Congress ^w policy, with Nehru, having spent some
Singh. The session, however, ”*<6^ “ actepting the Delhi agreement. More
sle^less nights, moving the key re^l t
fundament^y, it can be argued that the im
pf some eru<^l months
movements precisely when
during which the Congress restrain^ * having its initial impact, and
rural discontent was at its height, ^ed the potential for lerg®"™^*-
When sheereconomiedistress hadn°t J 1932, but by that time the
The Congress did give the call for no tax
psychological moment had gon - Conference also proved a virtual fiasco.
Gandhi’s entry into the Second Round Table at large and the
TTie firlt^nference, in January 1931,^^^ Macdonald’s novel offer of
^ngre»boycottmgit>a^een^„fe.Butitst^^^^
responsible governmenm i^^pd would nom.^^
ayemblyon whichpn^^,, to maintain Bnnsh c discussion,
of-reservations end srf g paving * L RTC found himself involved in

British watched this glee was not entirely negative. The British,
^ f .he Pact and of equality and courtesy for the
Yet the impact ^te with Gandhi on “^ Jby many die-hard officials. The
^er *“** *“ “jj^as something ack to their villages and towns with
first time, and ^o have go congress organization expanded
released almost as «e‘or^dwa" quite different from ihe
SdTy inihe “untryside,
fragmentation and decline
The Congress in fact was seeking to establish 39
 itself as the alternative, more legitimate centre nf
Nationalism;
The Inter War Years - II nnth ●»

to settle local disputes, and trying to mediate in arbitration courts

popular pressures were also buildina un in'n.n conflicts. Meanwhile,
in the United Provinces, which the nrovinri',! ^ *^°st notably no-rent agitation
December 193]. A powerful anti-Mahani m eventually permitted in
was an indication that political unrest wni Kashmir under Sheikh Abdulla
be a revolt in Alwar two years later) everth princely states (there waste
to intervene in princely India Congress leadership still refused
This was the overall
Congress before it context for the British decision of .
got any stronger taken hv tr. P’’*^'^rnptive strike against the
asas one of T' n
Government and
Wi,li„|don 3I "^7
one of Qv.I martial laW (D/A Low) -swpp '
National ^
●’‘^en described
fre^eriT'* t (272 of them in^ft'’® '"‘‘"‘='=5 banning all Congress

more common than ever before.

25.5 1932-34: CIVIL

dkobei^n^ again
Out manoeuvred
_
and facine
the national ^ repressive measures on m
movement still fought on
''aliantly for abn
people were jailed in the first three months tinprecedented scale,
a more extensive movement than i — an inH,n^.- ^ 120,000
repression, for the figures m 1930, but of morp^ 1°"^’
were described
as the “two blTck"^"'"^ decline fairly fasr?
traders were still staunchly with by WilHngdon in a C'ly and Bengal ■
because of sporadic agrarian tin ^nd Bene-ii ^^^2: Gujarati small
highest ever, in ,1932; 33 in 1933)"^ r^’ ^iue to term nightmare partly
than in 1930, though a villaee lit seems tr^ i incidents, the
despite confiscation of 2000 acr ^ Kheda was still lesson the whole
As the mass mo ’ "’"PPing a d
declined in face
Indian big business towards^cXb of certain>'epression, political
concluded the Lees-Mody Pact in Oc?‘k°" ‘he Bri7s7®n '"hhins pushed
Japanese competition. Ahmedabad7 ‘‘'igninpth^?™'’'''^ miHowners
, betrayal, but Birla and Thakurdas '‘*nd GD r out of fear of
Congress for a compromise "inwards w ^ denounced this
Gandhi in jail, not unnaturally boa
suspended Civil Disobedience ^ ' in terms ..f.
April 1934. The Mahatma decided^^^^*^’'^ ^^y 1933 ^^'^^'^'nble retreat. He
rural constructive programme This w"’m^ Harij^„ formally withdraw it in
ule which found expression in the nlr to tht r“ P'“nk of his new
by Ramsay Macdonald. The a7i H 7 ^°"tmunal 1^“'“'' Po'^y of ■Divide and
Muslim electorate., for the new 7edemnf°t sepal,fe77'^ early in 1932
two separate polihcal entities. Ganlh n ^'‘^'‘'““■es. tre ,,i„ ‘Untouchabic' and
Of more seats for Harijans within the rl^P^^ed this Awtr 1 l ^'"dus'and Harijans as
accepted Gandhi's stand. Anothe^ A^i ^^deni anded reservation
. Council politics, and so the scen^ of Conpre'-'^'^^'^dk nf, the Harijah leader-
The 1933 Government of India Act" '^'d 1920s^n^^" preferred to go back to
drafts, for i, was drawn up at a pointTltem ?7‘'^-,bly
me British
-oa'''"
to
be repeating itself-
than earlier
triumphant.

25o6 AFTERMATH

That die Government's sense of‘victor. > u

however, when the Congress swent th ^ cenh
Block 6). The Congress had been defe-u‘●‘‘Ctlf oy j' most province?-^
m
quickly revealed-
40
'"''Pe’-iorhrute ? (See Unit 30of
^ but its mass prestige
 was as high as ever. The Left alternatives emerged from the logic of Civil Disobedience
avOINiobcdiciMx '
Movement-^1930-1934 '
itself, for the Movement had aroused expectations which Gandhian strategy could not
consistently, Bose) voiced the new
■ fulfil. At the level of leadership, Nehru (and, less
mood, emphasising the need to combine nationalism with radical social and economic
programm!^. Some Congress activists formed a socialist ginger-group within the party
in 1934. Kisan Sabhas with anti-zamindar programmes develo^d rapid^^™''r‘re«s
likeBiharand Andhra. The Communists, too, were recoyenngfrom the Meerut arrests
and their own folly of keeping away from Civil Disobedience, and a significant section,
of disfiluSioned terrorists and Gandhian activists were moving towards them,
to retain
Inthischangedsituation,thedominantgroupswithiptheCbngresswereab^^^
control only by a series of adjustments and openmp j„fo„,(ij„cted
the level of programmatic statements and not action.
official Congress programme by the mid 19 . Karachi declaration on
pronouncements. An early ‘"d—f m“l-sS^
fondamental irghts and economi P vet reductions were promised, for
^6t: This declaration was very mo living wages and trade union rights
the firsttime, not only in peasant upsurges which had constituted so
also entered the Cpngress pro^amme Peasa
much ofthe real strength of Cml Diso political controls within the national
had not been entirely futile. Th°“S*'^^ . ^Qngress language and rhetoric, and some
movement remained elsewhere, direction as a consequence of the growing
actual policies, did have to take a .
assertiveness of these sections of Indian socieiy.

Check Your Progress 3

its effect? Write your answer in about
! 1 What w£fe the Gandhi-Irwin Pact? What was
one hundred words.

Civil Disobedience Movement after the

^ London? Answer in about fifty
words,

♦c Jc riaht fV)or (^)- ( )

, 3 Which of the following *“*®”[‘®Ftrst Round Table Conferena.of the
i b)a) THeCongressboycottod^^nyfortheparticipation
TheGahahl-IrwinPactpa I j^^renee. , .
( )

( )'

( ) 41
; Disobedience Movement.
"I

Nationalism:
The Inter War Years ● II
25,7 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit we have discussed the history of Civil n.-c k f

to 1934. You have read how the developments in thp * Movement from 1930
following the Non-Cooperation Movement during the period 4.
Disobedience Movement. In spite of Gandhr ^ ground for the Civil
attitude of the British compelled GandhT.fstanthT'movement in non-compromising
1930. i
The movement got spontaneous resppnse from
peasants took part in it with thei various regions of country and
was in progress, it was temporarily ru^sninri However. when the movement
1931. Gandhi
failed. went to London to attend the’secordT G=>"*i-Irwin
ConferencePactbuti the
{
m
mission
Second Round Table
The movement was renewed in 1932 but It i„ .■
tightened its repressive machinery to crush the"" British Government
cwTor eTd" th"^
Congress programme, and finallv th i Peasants economic a

2S.8 KEY WORDS

colonial benevolence and discussed^thl°^f >nterestl factfn^^ Cambridge, which

as one of patron-client type ^‘^’^bonship between th d”’
r.-viin- u .. British and the Indians -.
Civ.1 Disobedience: Peaceful violation of government
laws.
Dyarchy: Dual government, in which"
transferred. P°weris divided!into two
parts, reserved and
Lahore Congress: In 1929, at the I ^hr.
pledge for Purna^Swarai was taken ° session of the Inn
re

would be observed as India ’s IndepenH

' '"osolved thm h Congress the
session.
"“^Pendence Day. Jawahln"' as the president of this
Pnrna Swaraj: Complete independe nee.
Strategy; The art of Plan ning actions,
Truce: Agreement betwee n two
persons or two
groups

25.9 ANSWERS TO
EXERCISES oheckyour
progress
1 Check Your Progress 1
1 Following points should be considered- R
Commission, peasant and workinpci! ®°>'‘?ottand H *

“
2 a) V
®‘"®“«^fetideas;;^°™">*nistleadership,
m the Congress, etc.
b) V c) V d) X

Check Your Progress 2

1 Before starting the movement Gandhi p
consideration, which included abolition oT^ ^ P''°Posal
Government response was negative r ^^^ttax,
Sub-sec. 25.3.1. / g^ve '■^'easeofpoii,
the call for fi, ‘ prisoners, etc.

I
I’42 “’e movement. See
 2 Violation of salt law, boycott of colleges and.goverament offices, burning of foreign avflOinbeiBnce
Movcaeat—ISM-1934
clothes, etc. See Sub-sec. 25.3.2.
3 Salt—the essential food, universal grievance of the rural poor, no sodaUy divisive
implications, it linked up with other Gandhian methods of constructive work, etc.
See Sub-sec. 25.3.2.

4 i) . Peaceful violation of forest laws,

ii) Imprisonment, confiscation of property, etc.
iii) Direct violation of government law.

r
the Viceroy of India and Gandjnji. Your »^ould
include dissatisfaction among many nationalists over the terms of the^mert
goal of Puma Swaraj and non-fulfilment of the peasant demands. See Section 25.4.
2 IheGovemmentthroughrepressivemeasureswantedtoforcetheCongresst o^e
aS:Sr^fioT^^exLpIe it banned aU Congr^ or^—. property of
the Congressmembers was confiscated. Also read Section 25.4.
-3a)V b)V c)y d)x

43