Spectrum Test: Non-cooperation Movement & Khilafat Andolan - UPSC MCQ

The programme was to include: 

• Boycott of government schools and colleges

• Boycott of law courts and dispensation of justice through panchayats instead.

• Boycott of legislative councils; (there were some differences over this as some leaders like C.R. Das were not willing to include a boycott of councils, but bowed to Congress discipline

• These leaders boycotted elections held in November 1920, and the majority of the voters too stayed away)

• Boycott of foreign cloth and use of khadi instead; hand-spinning to be done; renouncing government honours and titles; the second phase could include mass civil disobedience, including resignation from government service and non-payment of taxes.

• Statement 2 is not correct: The program included the boycott of law courts but did not specifically mention panchayats.

• December 1920 - At this stage, some leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, G.S. Kharpade and B.C. Pal left the Congress as they believed in a constitutional and lawful struggle. 

• In contrast, some others like Surendranath Banerjea founded the Indian National Liberal Federation and played a minor role in national politics.

• Gandhi felt that people had not learnt or fully understood the method of nonviolence. 

• Incidents like Chauri-Chaura could lead to the kind of excitement and fervour that would turn the movement to become generally violent. 

• A violent movement could be easily suppressed by the colonial regime who would make the incidents of violence an excuse for using the armed might of the State against the protestors. 

• The movement was also showing signs of fatigue. This was natural as it is impossible to sustain any movement at a high pitch for very long. 

• The government seemed to be in no mood for negotiations. The central theme of the agitation—the Khilafat question-also dissipated soon. 

• In November 1922, Turkey's people rose under Mustafa Kamal Pasha and deprived the sultan of political power. Turkey was made a secular state. The Khilafat question lost its relevance

• Gandhi was now under increasing pressure from the Congress rank and file to start the civil disobedience programme. 

• The Ahmedabad session in 1921 (presided over, incidentally, by C.R. Das while still in jail; Hakim Ajmal Khan was the acting president) appointed Gandhi the sole authority on the issue. On February 1, 1922, Gandhi threatened to launch civil disobedience from Bardoli (Gujarat) if 

(i) political prisoners were not released, and 

(ii) press controls were not removed. 

The movement had hardly begun before it was brought to an abrupt end.

• Movement at the beginning but later they showed a lot of reservations about Gandhi's programme. 

• In places like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, which were centres of elite politicians, the response to Gandhi's call was minimal. 

• The response to the call for resignation from the government service, surrendering of titles, etc., was not taken seriously. 

• The comparative newcomers in Indian politics found expression of their interests and aspirations in the movement. 

• Rajendra Prasad in Bihar and Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat provided solid support. In fact, leaders like them found non-cooperation to be a viable political alternative terrorism to fight against a colonial government.

December 1920 At the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress 

(i) The programme of non-cooperation was endorsed. 

(ii) An important change was made in Congress now. Instead of attaining self-government through constitutional means as its goal, Congress decided to attain swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means, thus committing itself to an extra-constitutional mass struggle. So statement 

(iii) Some important organizational changes were made: a congress working committee (CWC) of 15 members was set up to lead the Congress from now onwards; provincial congress committees on linguistic basis were organized; ward committees was organized; and entry fee was reduced to four annas. 

(iv) Gandhi declared that if the non-cooperation programme was implemented completely, swaraj would be ushered in within a year.

• Many groups of revolutionary terrorists, especially those from Bengal, also pledged support to the Congress programme. 

• At this stage, some leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, G.S. Kharpade and B.C. Pal left the Congress as they believed in a constitutional and lawful struggle. 

• In contrast, some others like Surendranath Banerjea founded the Indian National Liberal Federation and played a minor role in national politics.

Ali Brothers supported the movement. Gandhi accompanied by the Ali Brothers undertook a nationwide tour. National Council of Education was set up at the Swadeshi movement in 1906 Only 2nd statement is correct.

The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces (modern-day Uttar Pradesh) in British India, when a large group of protesters participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police who opened fire. In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants. The incident led to the death of three civilians and 22 policemen. Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.

• Despite the massive participation of Muslims and communal unity maintenance, despite the events like Moppila Uprisings, they were great achievements. 

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  In many places, two-thirds of those arrested were Muslims, and such type of participation had neither been seen in the past nor would be seen in the future. Gandhi and other leaders addressed the Muslim masses from mosques, and Gandhi was even allowed to address meetings of Muslim women in which he was the only male who was not blindfolded. Gandhi threatened to launch civil disobedience from Bardoli (Gujarat) in 1922