Civil Disobedience Movement
The Civil Disobedience Movement started with the famous Dandi March, led by Gandhi. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi began a 385-kilometre journey on foot from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi, a village on India's western seacoast. He was accompanied by 78 other members of the ashram.
On April 6, 1930, Gandhi and his followers arrived in Dandi. Gandhi openly broke the British salt law by collecting salt from the sea. This act of defiance inspired others to participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement across the country. During the first phase of the movement, the production and sale of salt became a symbol of the people's rebellion against the British government.
On April 6, 1930, Gandhi and his followers arrived in Dandi. Gandhi openly broke the British salt law by collecting salt from the sea. This act of defiance inspired others to participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement across the country. During the first phase of the movement, the production and sale of salt became a symbol of the people's rebellion against the British government.
Causes of the Civil Disobedience Movement:
- Formation of the Simon Commission;
- Failure of Demand for Dominion Status;
- Protests against the arrest of social revolutionaries;
The leaders of the nationalist movement in India realized that the British government was not genuinely interested in granting Dominion Status. In December 1929, the Indian National Congress (INC) met in an emergency session in Lahore. Under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, they declared their goal of Complete Independence, or ‘Purna Swaraj.’ The INC also gave Mahatma Gandhi the power to launch a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience at any time and place he chose.
HOW CDM STARTED?
HOW CDM STARTED?
On January 31, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to Viceroy Irwin, presenting eleven demands that he wanted to be met by March 11th. The most stirring of all the demands was to abolish the salt tax, which affected both the rich and the poor. If the demands were not met by the deadline, Congress planned to launch a civil disobedience campaign. As a part of the movement, Mahatma Gandhi led a march from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi, a distance of over 240 miles, accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. On April 6th, he arrived in Dandi and ceremonially broke the law by boiling seawater to make salt. This act became the starting point of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
IMPORTANCE OF SALT
- As Gandhi famously stated, "There is no other item outside of water that the government can tax to reach the starving millions, the sick, the maimed, and the completely helpless. It is the most inhumane poll tax that man's ingenuity can concoct."
- In an instant, salt connected the ideal of swaraj to a very real and universal grievance of the rural poor (and with no socially divisive implications like a no-rent campaign).
- Salt, like khadi, provided a meagre but psychologically important income for the poor through self-help.
- Like khadi, it provided urban adherents with the opportunity to identify symbolically with mass suffering.
INFLUENCE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT ON DIFFERENT PROVINCES OF INDIA:
- The defiance of the salt laws in India spread throughout the country after Gandhi's symbolic breaking of the salt laws at Dandi. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) included people from all walks of life, such as students, women, tribals, merchants, petty traders, workers and peasants.
- Several leaders led the defiance of salt laws in various provinces. C. Rajagopalachari led the Salt Satyagraha in Tamil Nadu, K. Kelappan in Malabar, and Sarojini Naidu and Manilal Gandhi in the Dharasana Salt Works of Gujarat.
- The scale of the defiance of salt laws at Dharasana salt works was remarkable. A group of 2000 volunteers offered nonviolent resistance in the face of a large police force armed with steel-tipped lathis. The police attacked non-resisting Satyagrahis (protestors) until they fell.
- The Gandhi-Irwin pact put an end to the Civil Disobedience Movement. On March 5, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India, signed the pact.
OTHER FORMS OF NON-VIOLENT PROTESTS INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING:
- In the North West Frontier Province's Peshawar region, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan formed the Khudai Khidmatgars, also known as the Red Shirts. They were a group of nonviolent revolutionaries who played a crucial role in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- Women, young mothers, widowed and unmarried girls led the picketing of liquor stores, opium dens, and stores selling foreign cloth. They used nonviolent and persuasive methods to convince buyers and sellers to change their ways. In the boycott of foreign cloth and liquor, they received valuable support from students and youth.
- An anti-chowkidari tax campaign was launched in Bihar, where villages refused to pay protection money to local guards (chowkidars), who supplemented the rural police force. Rajendra Prasad was part of the campaign in Bihar.
- In Gujarat, the districts of Kheda, Surat, and Broach witnessed a no-tax movement against the payment of land revenue. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel led the anti-tax campaign in the Kheda district.
- There was widespread defiance of forest laws in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the Central Provinces, particularly in areas with large tribal populations.
- In Assam, a powerful student-led agitation was launched against the Cunningham Circular. This circular required students and their guardians to provide assurances of good behaviour.
- In the United Provinces, a no-revenue, no-rent campaign was launched against the government, which quickly turned into a no-rent campaign against the zamindars. Jawaharlal Nehru organized the no-revenue, no-rent campaign, and the Agra and Rae Bareli districts were important centres of the campaign.
- The movement popularized several mobilization techniques, including Prabhat Pheris, Patrikas, and Magic Lanterns.
- At the age of thirteen, Nagaland's Rani Gaidinliu raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule in Manipur and Nagaland. In 1932, she was apprehended and sentenced to life in prison.
- The Chittagong Revolt Group, led by Surya Sen, raided two armouries in Chittagong and announced the formation of a provisional government.
- The movement was the most liberating experience for Indian women to date. It can be said to have marked their entry into public space.
CDM AND PEASANT MOVEMENTS:
During the Great Depression, the CDM (Civil Disobedience Movement) was implemented, and farmers were requested to either not pay rent or pay only half of it. They were subjected to severe government repression, which is where the young militants grew up. Anti-tax and anti-rent campaigns were also raging. Due to the recent success of the Bardoli Satyagraha, peasants were ecstatic. This sparked a series of peasant uprisings across the country. In Bengal and Bihar, a campaign against the chowkidari tax was launched, while in Punjab, Kisansabhas were organized, and peasants participated in a forest satyagraha to protest the unethical use of forest resources for commercial purposes.
It also led to the rise of leftist parties in the country, beginning with the Congress Socialist Party in 1934. The party aimed to bring radical reforms to society with the participation of peasants and lead the country's awareness campaign. In response to the peasants' uproar, the government passed several reforms, including debt relief, the restoration of lands lost due to acquisition, and non-repayment of revenues during famines, all of which encouraged the peasants to demand more reforms.
The Tebhaga uprising was the most well-known of these peasant uprisings. Bengali sharecroppers demanded that the jotedar share of the produce be reduced from half to one-third. In addition, the cultivators preferred to store their produce in their godowns rather than the jotedars.
It also led to the rise of leftist parties in the country, beginning with the Congress Socialist Party in 1934. The party aimed to bring radical reforms to society with the participation of peasants and lead the country's awareness campaign. In response to the peasants' uproar, the government passed several reforms, including debt relief, the restoration of lands lost due to acquisition, and non-repayment of revenues during famines, all of which encouraged the peasants to demand more reforms.
The Tebhaga uprising was the most well-known of these peasant uprisings. Bengali sharecroppers demanded that the jotedar share of the produce be reduced from half to one-third. In addition, the cultivators preferred to store their produce in their godowns rather than the jotedars.
FEATURES OF THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT:
• This was the first nationwide movement, whereas all others had been limited to cities.
• People from rural areas were also able to register their participation.
• A significant number of women participated in the event, including popular figures such as Kasturba Gandhi, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Avantikabai Gokhale, Lilavati Munshi, and Hansaben Mehta.
• The motto of this movement was nonviolence.
• Despite constant suppression by the British, the movement did not give up.
• As a result of their fearlessness, the Indians were regarded as fearless people.
DRAWBACKS OF THE MOVEMENT:
- Muslims were less likely to participate as a result of communal leaders' advice and the government's efforts to promote communalism as a counter-nationalism strategy.
- Except in Nagpur, industrial workers did not turn out in large numbers.
SECOND PHASE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE:
Gandhi returned to India from London after the second round table conference failed. Upon his return, the Congress working committee held a meeting to discuss the revival of civil disobedience. However, all the top leaders of the Congress were detained by the government.
The government enacted draconian ordinances to impose martial law, which led to brutal repression of protestors who did not resort to violence. The anti-tax and anti-rent campaigns were also harshly rebuked. Despite the people's fight, the movement was unable to maintain a steady pace and was eventually crushed.
The second phase of the civil disobedience movement lasted until 1934 when Gandhiji called it a day. His decision was criticised by many leaders, including SC Bose and Vithalbhai Patel, who later desired a reorganisation of Congress under a new leader.
The government enacted draconian ordinances to impose martial law, which led to brutal repression of protestors who did not resort to violence. The anti-tax and anti-rent campaigns were also harshly rebuked. Despite the people's fight, the movement was unable to maintain a steady pace and was eventually crushed.
The second phase of the civil disobedience movement lasted until 1934 when Gandhiji called it a day. His decision was criticised by many leaders, including SC Bose and Vithalbhai Patel, who later desired a reorganisation of Congress under a new leader.