SPI History · Modern India
Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement
From Gandhiji's return in 1915 to the end of Non-Cooperation in 1922: his first satyagrahas, the war years, Jallianwala Bagh, Khilafat, and how the movement spread and was called off.
Why this matters
Twelve questions in the bank, the most of any page here, four EASY and eight MODERATE. They test a year (1915), a place (Kheda, Amritsar, Bombay, Nagpur), a group (the Ali brothers, the Justice Party, the tribals of the Gudem Hills) and a reason (why the movement was withdrawn). The NCERT Class 10 chapter Nationalism in India is the source of almost every line.
Concept 1 of 3: Gandhi's return, the first satyagrahas and the war years
Gandhiji came back from South Africa with a new way of fighting: satyagraha, the force of truth, without violence. He tried it first on local problems in 1917 and 1918, while the First World War was making life harder for ordinary Indians.
Definition
- Gandhiji returned from South Africa in January 1915.
- 1917, Champaran (Bihar): peasants against the oppressive plantation system of indigo.
- 1917, Kheda (Gujarat): peasants hit by crop failure and plague who could not pay revenue.
- 1918, Ahmedabad: a satyagraha among cotton mill workers.
- The First World War raised defence spending, paid for by war loans and higher taxes: customs duties went up and income tax was brought in. Villages faced forced recruitment for the army.
- The Rowlatt Act of 1919 let the government jail political prisoners without trial for two years. Gandhiji called a nationwide satyagraha against it.
- On 13 April 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, General Dyer ordered his troops to fire on an unarmed crowd.
| Year | Event | Place or detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Gandhiji returns from South Africa | January 1915 |
| 1917 | Champaran Satyagraha | Bihar, indigo planters |
| 1917 | Kheda Satyagraha | Gujarat, peasants who could not pay revenue |
| 1918 | Ahmedabad Satyagraha | Cotton mill workers |
| 1914 to 1918 | First World War | War loans, higher taxes, income tax brought in |
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act | Detention without trial for two years |
| 13 April 1919 | Jallianwala Bagh massacre | Amritsar, General Dyer |
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionModerate
Example 1 · Modern India · Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement
Who was the Organisor of “Satyagaraha Andolan” in 1917 in Kheda District of Gujarat ?
Champaran is Bihar, Kheda is Gujarat
Both satyagrahas came in 1917. Champaran in Bihar was about indigo; Kheda in Gujarat was about land revenue after a crop failure. Sardar Patel helped at Kheda, but the movement was Gandhiji's.
The war meant was the First, not the Second
War loans, raised customs duties and a new income tax in the years before Non-Cooperation point to the First World War (1914 to 1918).
Concept 2 of 3: Khilafat and the launch of Non-Cooperation
Gandhiji saw a chance to bring Hindus and Muslims into one movement. Muslims were angry at how the Ottoman Khalifa was treated after the war, so he joined their Khilafat cause to a wider plan: refuse to cooperate with British rule.
Definition
- A Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919, led by the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.
- At the Calcutta session of September 1920 Gandhiji convinced the Congress to start Non-Cooperation in support of Khilafat and swaraj.
- At the Nagpur session of December 1920 the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted.
- The movement asked people to give up titles and to boycott the civil services, the army, the police, the courts, the councils, schools and foreign goods.
- Council elections were boycotted in most provinces, but in Madras the Justice Party, a party of non-Brahmans, contested them as a way to gain power.
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Leaders of the Khilafat Movement | The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali |
| Khilafat Committee formed | Bombay, March 1919 |
| Non-Cooperation proposed | Calcutta session, September 1920 |
| Non-Cooperation adopted | Nagpur session, December 1920 |
| Party that did not boycott the 1921 council elections | The Justice Party of Madras |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 2 · Modern India · Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement
Who among the following two leaders led the Khilafat Movement?
Calcutta proposed, Nagpur adopted
The Calcutta session of September 1920 agreed to start Non-Cooperation; the Nagpur session of December 1920 adopted the programme. An option saying Calcutta in January 1921 is wrong on both counts.
The Justice Party took part
Most of the country boycotted the council elections, but the Justice Party of Madras contested them. A statement that even the Justice Party boycotted them is false.
Concept 3 of 3: How the movement spread and why it was called off
Each group read swaraj in its own way. Townspeople left schools and courts, peasants fought landlords, tribals broke forest laws. When a crowd turned violent at Chauri Chaura, Gandhiji stopped the whole movement.
Definition
- In the towns students left government schools, teachers resigned and lawyers gave up their practice; foreign cloth was boycotted and burnt.
- In Awadh the peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra against high rents and forced labour.
- In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, tribals led by Alluri Sitaram Raju began a militant guerrilla movement in the early 1920s against forest laws.
- When tribals chanted Gandhiji's name and raised slogans for Swatantra Bharat, they were going beyond their own area and joining in feeling with an all-India movement.
- In February 1922, after a crowd set fire to the police station at Chauri Chaura and killed policemen, Gandhiji withdrew the movement: he felt it was turning violent and people needed more training for satyagraha.
| Group | What they did |
|---|---|
| Students, teachers, lawyers | Left government schools, resigned, gave up practice |
| Peasants of Awadh | Led by Baba Ramchandra against landlords |
| Tribals of the Gudem Hills | Militant guerrilla movement under Alluri Sitaram Raju |
| Crowd at Chauri Chaura | Burnt a police station, February 1922 |
| Gandhiji | Withdrew the movement because it was turning violent |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 3 · Modern India · Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement
Why did Gandhiji withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?
Raju's movement was not non-violent
Alluri Sitaram Raju spoke of Gandhiji with respect, but his followers attacked police stations. The Gudem Hills rising was a militant guerrilla movement, not a satyagraha.
Called off for violence, not for lack of support
The movement was still strong in 1922. Gandhiji withdrew it because it was turning violent. The wish to contest council elections came after the withdrawal and led to the Swaraj Party.
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Reference tables (3)
Gandhi's return, the first satyagrahas and the war years7 rows
| Year | Event | Place or detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Gandhiji returns from South Africa | January 1915 |
| 1917 | Champaran Satyagraha | Bihar, indigo planters |
| 1917 | Kheda Satyagraha | Gujarat, peasants who could not pay revenue |
| 1918 | Ahmedabad Satyagraha | Cotton mill workers |
| 1914 to 1918 | First World War | War loans, higher taxes, income tax brought in |
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act | Detention without trial for two years |
| 13 April 1919 | Jallianwala Bagh massacre | Amritsar, General Dyer |
Khilafat and the launch of Non-Cooperation5 rows
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Leaders of the Khilafat Movement | The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali |
| Khilafat Committee formed | Bombay, March 1919 |
| Non-Cooperation proposed | Calcutta session, September 1920 |
| Non-Cooperation adopted | Nagpur session, December 1920 |
| Party that did not boycott the 1921 council elections | The Justice Party of Madras |
How the movement spread and why it was called off5 rows
| Group | What they did |
|---|---|
| Students, teachers, lawyers | Left government schools, resigned, gave up practice |
| Peasants of Awadh | Led by Baba Ramchandra against landlords |
| Tribals of the Gudem Hills | Militant guerrilla movement under Alluri Sitaram Raju |
| Crowd at Chauri Chaura | Burnt a police station, February 1922 |
| Gandhiji | Withdrew the movement because it was turning violent |
Watch out for (6)
- Champaran is Bihar, Kheda is Gujarat→ Gandhi's return, the first satyagrahas and the war years
- The war meant was the First, not the Second→ Gandhi's return, the first satyagrahas and the war years
- Calcutta proposed, Nagpur adopted→ Khilafat and the launch of Non-Cooperation
- The Justice Party took part→ Khilafat and the launch of Non-Cooperation
- Raju's movement was not non-violent→ How the movement spread and why it was called off
- Called off for violence, not for lack of support→ How the movement spread and why it was called off
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