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• In India and as in many other colonies, the growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement
• People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism
• The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together
• But each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently, their experiences were varied, and their notions of freedom were not always the same
• The Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups together within one movement
• But the unity did not emerge without conflict
• In the years after 1919, we see the national movement spreading to new areas, incorporating new social groups, and developing new modes of struggle
• Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised satyagraha movements in various places
• The Rowlatt Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years
• Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws, which would start with a hartal on 6 April
• On 13 April the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds
• Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India, and decided to take up the Khilafat issue
• Mahatma Gandhi convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj
• Non-cooperation


  Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages. It should begin with the surrender of titles that the government awarded, and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods
• The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921
• Various social groups participated in this movement, each with its own specific aspiration
• The movement started with middle-class participation in the cities
• The effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires
• From the cities, the Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the countryside. It drew into its fold the struggles of peasants and tribals which were developing in different parts of India in the years after the war
• In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasants exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses
• Rebellion in the Countryside

  1. Peasants and tribals joined the Non-Cooperation Movement

  2. Peasants in Awadh led by Baba Ramchandra demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and social boycott of oppressive landlords

  3. Peasant movement developed in forms Congress leadership was unhappy with - houses of talukdars and merchants attacked, bazaars looted, grain hoards taken over

  4. Local leaders told peasants Gandhiji had declared no taxes to be paid and land to be redistributed
• Jawaharlal Nehru: 'They behaved as brave men, calm and unruffled in the face of danger. I do not know how they felt but I know what my feelings were. For a moment my blood was up, non-violence was almost forgotten – but for a moment only. The thought of the great leader, who by God's goodness has been sent to lead us to victory, came to me, and I saw the kisans seated and standing near me, less excited, more peaceful than I was – and the moment of weakness passed, I spoke to them in all humility on non-violence – I needed the lesson more than they – and they heeded me and peacefully dispersed.'
• Bardoli Satyagraha


  • Peasant movement led by Vallabhbhai Patel against enhancement of land revenue
  • Widely publicised and generated immense sympathy in many parts of India
• Tribal peasants' interpretation of Mahatma Gandhi and swaraj


  1. Militant guerrilla movement in Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh

  2. Rebels attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials, carried on guerrilla warfare for achieving swaraj

  3. Alluri Sitaram Raju, the rebel leader, claimed special powers, talked of Mahatma Gandhi's greatness but asserted India could be liberated only by force, not non-violence
• Plantation workers' understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and swaraj


  1. Defied authorities, left plantations and headed home, believing Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages

  2. Stranded on the way, caught by police and brutally beaten up
• Visions of these movements were not defined by the Congress programme, they interpreted swaraj in their own ways
• When tribals chanted Gandhiji's name and raised slogans demanding 'Swatantra Bharat', they were emotionally relating to an all-India agitation
• Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 as it was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before mass struggles
• C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics, while younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose pressed for more radical mass agitation and full independence
• The new Tory government in Britain constituted the Simon Commission in 1928 to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes, but it did not have a single Indian member
• In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of 'Purna Swaraj' or full independence for India
• Salt


  Powerful symbol that could unite the nation
• The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

  1. Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating 11 demands, including abolishing the salt tax

  2. Mahatma Gandhi started the salt march from Sabarmati to Dandi, ceremonially violated the law by manufacturing salt

  3. People broke colonial laws, manufactured salt, boycotted foreign cloth, picketed liquor shops, refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, violated forest laws

  4. Colonial government began arresting Congress leaders, leading to violent clashes in many places
• The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movement as people were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, but also to break colonial laws
• Thousands in different parts of the country broke colonial laws, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories

  1921-22
• Worried by the developments

  The colonial government began arresting the Congress leaders
• Peaceful satyagrahis were attacked

  Women and children were beaten, and about 100,000 people were arrested
• The negotiations at the Round Table Conference broke down and Gandhiji returned disappointed
• The government had begun a new cycle of repression, declaring the Congress illegal and imposing measures to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts
• The Civil Disobedience Movement continued for over a year but lost its momentum by 1934