Non-cooperation Movement – History, Causes and Result

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Non-cooperation Movement


India’s freedom struggle had witnessed a few unique movements under the leadership of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mohandas Gandhi stepped up in India’s politics in 1916 and by 1919 he became the national leader of India’s freedom struggle. His unique political ideology of Ahimsa united the people. He united the nation above the discrimination of religion and caste and this made India’s struggle for freedom stronger. The Non-cooperation Movement was one of that movement where Hindus and Muslims came together to fight against the British.

Here are some important points related to the Non-cooperation Movement

Introduction

The Non-cooperation Movement was initiated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. Non-Cooperation Movement was the next big incident of India’s freedom struggle after the ‘Sepoy Mutiny 1857’. Non-cooperation Movement was a peaceful war against the British. Since it was a violence-free movement so every Indian related to any age group, gender or religion had connected them with this movement.  It’s very rare when so many people associate them with a movement. In the case of Non-corporation Movement, many Indians took part in it because Indians couldn’t do something big against the British government.

Causes

The Non-cooperation Movement was the result of many poverty-stricken and inimical policies of the British government against India. The Non-cooperation Movement was the result of many incidents that took place in 1919 and previous years. Here are the main causes that initiated the Non-cooperation Movement.

World War I

During World War I, the British utilized India’s resources like manpower and wealth for their own benefits. About 1.25 million Indian soldiers fought from the British side and approx 74,000 soldiers sacrifice their lives. Indians have expected a favor back from the British government in form of Independence which British didn’t offer.

Worst Economical Condition

This war didn’t only take the lives of Indian but also damaged the economic condition of India. Price of every small thing shot up, farmers could not get the right price of their agricultural products. The soldiers and farmers wanted to get compensation but with a bad economic condition it was not possible and expecting it from the British was a mistake.

Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh

The British government was forcing the Rowlatt Act on Indians. With the help of this act British want to restrict Indians from speaking from their mind. In April 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh incident forced Indian leaders to take some firm action against the British.

Khilafat Agitation

Khilafat Agitation was one of the most important causes of the Non-cooperation movement. Muslims were against the British because of the disrespectful treatment of British towards the Turkey Sultan. So in India, the Khilafat committee was organized to declare the withdrawn of all the corporation from the government until their demands were met by British. Mahatma Gandhi looked at this agitation as the opportunity to bring Hindus and Muslims against British on the same platform.

Launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement

Formally the movement launched on 1st August 1920 at Nagpur session of Congress. Mahatma Gandhi asked his fellow Indian to not to do any violence and fight with the weapon of Ahimsa. Here are the main programs associated with the Non-cooperation movement.

  • In Non-corporation movement, Mahatma Gandhi invoked people to not to obey any law and regulation passed by the British
  • On Gandhi’s appeal Indians stopped following the rules defined by the British. Indians surrendered their titles, boycott the court, foreign clothes, educational institutes, and elections.
  • Initially, resignation from the government jobs and not to pay the taxes was not a part of the movement but later on, it became a part of the movement.
  • During Non-corporation Movement, Congress demanded ‘Purn Swaraj’. It was very first time when Congress took a revolutionary stand against the British. The Non-cooperation Movement changed the scenario of Indian politics.

The result of the Non-Cooperation Movement

The aim of the Non-Cooperation Movement was Purn Swaraj but it couldn’t achieve it. Gandhi Ji decided to cancel it because of Cauri-Chaura incident where people attacked policemen.  But it was a mass movement and it made Indians lose their trust in British.  This movement evoked enthusiasm in Indian. To conclude it we can say that the Non-cooperation movement was not a failed one. It united India as a nation.

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