Gandhian Era: Champaran to Civil Disobedience & Round Table Conferences

1. Gandhi's Return & Early Satyagrahas

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) returned to India from South Africa in January 1915 on the advice of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. In South Africa he had developed Satyagraha (truth-force/soul-force) as a political weapon.

Satyagraha Principles: Non-violence (Ahimsa) + Voluntary suffering + Civil disobedience of unjust laws.

A. Champaran Satyagraha (1917) — First Satyagraha in India:

• Champaran district, Bihar — against British planters' Tinkathia system (forced indigo cultivation on 3/20th of peasants' land at below-market prices).
• Gandhi arrived April 1917 despite British orders; conducted thorough investigation.
• Result: Bihar Agrarian Act (1917) — Tinkathia system abolished. Gandhi's first victory in India. Rajendra Prasad and J.B. Kripalani participated.

B. Kheda Satyagraha (1918):

• Kheda district, Gujarat — crop failure; peasants demanded suspension of land revenue.
• Non-payment campaign by peasants.
• Result: Government quietly exempted poor peasants from payment. Vallabhbhai Patel participated actively.

C. Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918):

• Workers demanded 35% wage increase; owners offered 20%.
• Gandhi's first hunger strike (fast-unto-death) in India — owners relented.
• Result: Arbitration; workers got 35% wage increase.

2. Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh & Khilafat

Rowlatt Act (March 1919):

• Formally: Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (1919) — based on Rowlatt Committee Report (1918).
• Allowed arrest and detention without trial for up to 2 years.
• Indians called it "No Vakil, No Appeal, No Daleel" (No Lawyer, No Appeal, No Argument).
• Gandhi called for hartal (general strike) on April 6, 1919 — massive response across India.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919):

• Amritsar, Punjab — Vaisakhi festival day; peaceful crowd of ~20,000 in an enclosed garden.
• Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops to open fire without warning.
• Official figures: 379 killed, 1,137 wounded. Actual estimates: ~1,000 killed.
• Firing for 10 minutes until ammunition exhausted. Martial Law declared in Punjab. Humiliating "crawling order" imposed.
• Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood. Gandhi renounced his war medals.
• Hunter Committee (1919) investigated. Dyer censured but not criminally punished.
• Significance: Permanently alienated Gandhi from any trust in British justice — transformed him from a believer in British fairness to an irreconcilable opponent.

Khilafat Movement (1919–22):

• Led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali (Ali Brothers) to protect the Ottoman Caliph.
• Gandhi supported it wholeheartedly to forge Hindu-Muslim unity — linked it with Non-Cooperation.
• Collapsed after Kemal Atatürk abolished the Caliphate (1924) in Turkey.

3. Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22)

Launch: Special Calcutta Session (September 1920) and Nagpur Session (December 1920) — INC formally adopted. Goal: Swaraj within one year.

Programme:

1. Surrender titles and honours.
2. Boycott civil services, police, army, legislatures.
3. Boycott British courts — use panchayats.
4. Boycott government schools/colleges — national institutions established (Kashi Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Jamia Millia Islamia founded).
5. Boycott foreign cloth — promote khadi and charkha.

First truly mass-based movement:

• Lawyers (Motilal Nehru, Patel, C.R. Das, Rajendra Prasad) quit practice.
• Foreign cloth imports halved within two years.
• Women participated massively for the first time.

Chauri Chaura Incident (February 5, 1922):

• Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur (UP) — a crowd attacked and burned a police station, killing 22 policemen.
• Gandhi immediately called off the entire movement — country not ready for non-violent discipline.
• Leaders furious — Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das felt it was premature.
• Gandhi arrested March 1922 — sentenced to 6 years, served 2.

Significance: Though it failed to achieve Swaraj in one year, it was the most significant mass movement India had seen. Congress transformed from an elite talking shop to a genuine mass organization.

4. Simon Commission, Nehru Report & Civil Disobedience

Simon Commission (1927–28):

• Indian Statutory Commission — seven members, all British, no Indian.
• Led by Sir John Simon. Boycotted by all parties: "Simon Go Back!"
• Lala Lajpat Rai led protest in Lahore (October 30, 1928) — lathi-charged; died of injuries November 17, 1928.
• Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru shot Deputy Superintendent Saunders (December 17, 1928) in revenge. Hanged March 23, 1931.

Nehru Report (1928):

• All-Parties Conference; committee chaired by Motilal Nehru.
• Key demands: Dominion Status (not full independence); joint electorates (no separate electorates); fundamental rights.
• Jinnah objected → proposed "Fourteen Points" (March 1929) → broke with Congress.

Lahore Session (December 1929):

• Presided by Jawaharlal Nehru (age 40 — youngest INC president).
• Declared Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) as goal.
• January 26, 1930 — first Independence Day (now Republic Day).

Dandi March / Salt March (March 12 – April 6, 1930):

• Gandhi walked 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi (Gujarat coast) with 79 followers.
• Broke the Salt Law on April 6, 1930 — launched Civil Disobedience Movement.
• C. Rajagopalachari led march in Tamil Nadu; Sarojini Naidu led raid on Dharasana Salt Works.
• Women participated massively — a major historical shift.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 5, 1931):

• Congress suspended CDM; British released political prisoners (except those convicted of violence — Bhagat Singh NOT released).
• Gandhi to attend Second Round Table Conference (London, Sept–Dec 1931) — no result.

Round Table Conferences:

• 1st RTC (1930–31): Congress boycotted. No result.
• 2nd RTC (1931): Gandhi attended alone. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for Depressed Classes.
• 3rd RTC (1932): Congress boycotted. Communal Award (August 1932) by Ramsay MacDonald — separate electorates for Depressed Classes.
• Gandhi fast-unto-death against Communal Award.
• Poona Pact (September 24, 1932) between Gandhi and Ambedkar: Reserved seats (more in number) instead of separate electorates.