Rowlatt Satyagraha And Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy - The Freedom Struggle, History, UPSC UPSC Notes | EduRev

ROWLATT SATYAGRAHA AND JALLIANWALA BAGH TRAGEDY

• Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919. It was passed for three years. The Act provided that:
• Executive officers will have pow­ers to make arbitrary arrests.
• It provided for trial of revolu­tionary offences by a special court.
• The court was to meet in cam­era.
• The court was to disregard the Indian Evidence Act.
• No appeal against the decision of the court was permissible.
• Provincial governments authorised to demand security from sus­pected persons, search their premises and arrest them without warrants.
• Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy Developments were
• Lt. Governor O’Dwyer ruled through an
• oppressive administration in Punjab during World War I.
• Protests all over Punjab over the Black (Rowlatt) Acts on 6 April, 1919.
• Deportation of Amritsar lead­ers—Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Kitchlew on 9 April.
• Firing on the public outside Hall Gate, Amritsar on 10 April.
• Brigadier Dyer appointed Mili­tary Administrator of Amritsar on 11 April, 1919.
• Dyer prohibited public meetings and processions on 12 April.
• Dyer’s men fired at peaceful as­sembly at Jallianwala Bagh, killing 379 persons and wounding 1200 persons on 13 April, the day of Baisakhi.
• Martial law imposed in the Punjab on 15 April, 1919.

Khilafat MOVEMENT

• The Muslims formed a Khilafat Committee under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Azad, Hakim Azmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani after the First World War.
• Britain announced its peace terms to Turkey on May 15, 1920 and decided to abolish the title of Khalifa enjoyed  by the Sultan of Turkey.
• The Central Khilafat Committee adopted the Non-Cooperation resolu­tion at its Bombay Session in May, 1920.
• The Congress met in a special session in September, 1920 at Calcutta and agreed to start the Non-Cooperation Movement till the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs were undone and Swaraj was established.
• The decision was further en­dorsed at its Nagpur Session held in December, 1920.
• The leaders of the Khilafat Movement also endorsed the Non-Co­operation Movement led by Gandhi.
• Progress of Non-Cooperation Move­rnent during 1921
• Gandhi returned his title of Kaiser-i-Hind.
• Congressmen boycotted elec­tions.
• Government courts boycotted and Arbitration courts set up to settle disputes.
• Students boycoted schools and colleges and joined N.C.M.
• Bonfire of foreign goods a com­mon site in cities.
• Congress Ashrams set up all over India as centres for political pro­paganda.
• Prince of Wales’ visit boycotted by the Congress.
• NCM was suspended on 12 Feb., 1922 by Gandhi after the Chauri Chaura incident. Outbreak of violent incidents at Chauri Chaura had upset Gandhi. He did not want the NCM to turn violent.

THE SWARAJ PARTY

• The withdrawal of the Non-co­operation Movement in Feb. 1922 and the arrest of Gandhi led to the spread of disintegration, disorganisation and demoralization in the nationalist ranks.
• A new line of political activity was taken by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru. They suggested that the na­tionalists should end the boycott of the legislative councils, enter them, ex­pose them as ‘sham parliaments’ and as ‘a mask which the bureaucracy has put on’ and ‘obstruct every work of the council’.
• C.R. Das put forward this programme at the Gaya Congress in Dec. 1922.
• Another section of the Con­gress headed by Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad and C. Rajagopalachari opposed the proposal and the proposal was defeated.
• Das and Motilal resigned from their respective offices in the Congress and on 1 Jan., 1923 announced the formation of Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party better known later as the Swaraj Party.
• Das was the President and Motilal one of the Secretaries.
• The adherents to the council entry came to be known as ‘pro-chang­ers’ and those opposing it as ‘no-chang­ers’.
• Their main techniques of action were:
• the refusal to pass the budget,
• opposition to repressive legis­lation,
• cooperation in passing social welfare legislation,
• occasional acceptance of of­fices,
• quitting the offices and resign­ing the membership when asked to do so by the Congress.
• In 1923 elections, the Swarajists got a majority in Bengal and C.P. In the Central Legislative Assembly, Motilal Nehru was chosen the leader of the Swarajists.
• On 24 August, 1925, Vithalbhai~ Patel was elected the first non-official President (Speaker) of the Indian Legis­lative Assembly and was re-elected to this office on January 20, 1927.
• Causes of decline of Swara3 Party were:
• Death of C.R. Das in June 1925.
• Motilal Nehru’s inability to keep the party together.
• Swarajists accepted positions in Government Committees, in Assemblies and Executive Councils.
• Appearance of splinter groups in the party.
• Contribution of Swaraj Party to Freedom Struggle
• Pressurised the British Govern­ment into acceptance of some Indian demands.
• Party kept up the political struggle for freedom during 1923-28.
• British Labour Party accepted Dominion Status as goal of constitu­tional development in India.
• Legislatures used as platform for national propaganda.
• Exposed the autocracy of Brit­ish Government and callousness of l.C.S.
• Promoted the cause of Indian Freedom and added parliamentary di­mension to freedom struggle after 1922.

SIMON COMMISSION
 Why Indians Protested

• All members of the Commis­sion were Englishmen.
• No Indian was included in the Commission.
• Denial to Indians of the right to participate in determination of their con­stitution.
• Britain posed as sole arbiter of India’s destiny.

Forms of Protest

• Congress opposed Simon Com­mission ‘at every stage and every form’.
• Hartals in principal towns.
• Black flag demonstrations against the Commission.
• Police oppression angered the people and this became a further griev­ance.
• Provisions
• Dyarchy, because of its inher­ent effects, should be scrapped and the whole field of provincial adminis­tration entrusted to Ministers respon­sible to the Legislature.
• Safeguards were considered nec­essary for some specific purposes like the maintenance of peace and tran­quility of a province and the protec­tion of the legitimate interest of the ministry.
• A unitary type of Govemment, as then existed, was considered unsuit­able for India.
• In order to help the growth of political consciousness in the people, “franchise should be extended, and the Legislature enlarged.”
• A strong and stable government at the Centre was considered essential, “while the provincial councils were learn­ing by experience to bear the full weight of new and heavy responsibilities.”
• The method of periodical parlia­mentary inquiry should be abandoned, and the new Constitution should be so elastically framed as to enable it to develop by itself.
• The method of indirect election, through the provincial councils, was recommended for both the Houses of the Central Legislature.
• The power of the Indian Council was to be limited.
• Central Legislature was to be enlarged and elected by the provincial councils.
• Burma was to be separated from India and Sind from the Bombay Presi­dency.