Gandhi Flashcards
When did Gandhi launch his civil disobedience campaign?
- February 1919 during the passage of Rowlatt Acts
- Called for a hartal on 6th April
- However, only gained a narrow majority in Congress to do so
Which 3 principles guided Gandhi’s campaigns?
- Satyagraha: suffering if necessary
- Ahisma: ‘non-violence’; peaceful methods means not breaking the law and so British cannot respond easily
- Swaraj: ‘self-rule’
What is ‘swadesh’ and ‘hartal’?
- Swadesh: boycotts of goods, courts, schools
- Hartal: strikes
How did Gandhi unite Hindus and Muslims?
- Khilafat: Muslim movement of grievance
- Historically British removed last Mughal emperor in 1858
- British and French trying to break up Ottoman Empire after WWI
- Muslim opinion against British in India; Gandhi concerned and spoke at Khilafat conferences
- 1920: Congress pass a resolution in support
Outline the 1920 non-cooperation movement
- December 1920: Nagpur Congress meeting
- Gandhi proposes larger NCM and unanimously approved (Amritsar April 1919)
- Gandhi declared aim of Swaraj within one year
What did protest campaigns invovle?
Boycotts of…
- Law courts by lawyers
- Schools and colleges by teachers
- Elections, councils etc.
What happened when the Prince of Wales’ visited India in 1931?
Boycotts turned into huge demonstrations with 30,000 arrested
Why was Gandhi arguably so successful?
- New type of protest as opposed to counter productive terrorism
- Non-violent but assertive
- Didn’t rely on proving educated Indians able to govern
When did non-cooperation end?
- Ahmedabad session of Congress December 1921
- Agreed to launch mass civil disobedience campaign unless issue s of Khilafat and Amritsar were redressed
- As it began, Gandhi suddenly called it off because of growing communal violence
Why did non-cooperation fail?
- Gandhi refused to compromise his principles
- He feared the movement falling into the hands of ‘mob’
- Not enough people responded to Gandhi’s call
What’s an example of Gandhi refusing to compromise his values?
- Chauri Chaura Incident 5th February 1922
- Mob of congress workers torched a police station, incinerated 22 constables
- 6th February: upon hearing about this, Gandhi suspended the movement
What’s an example of people failing to respond to Gandhi?
- 1920 elections
- Gandhi calls for a boycott of elections but only 6/637 of Provincial Assemblies’ seats had no candidate
How did non-cooperation strengthen Congress in numbers?
During non-cooperation, membership increased from under 100,000 to peak of about 2m by the end of 1921
How did non-cooperation strengthen Congress in representativity?
- Before 1920, C had been an elite body and after 1920 it became a mass organisation
- Vehicle of urban, commercial and rich peasants
- More representative than educated elite but not completely
When did Gandhi take leadership of Congress?
1920
