My Science School

            The Chauri Chaura incident is a black mark in the pages of Indian history. This happened on 5th February 1922. On this day, a large group of peaceful protesters participating in a procession had an encounter with the police, who opened fire.

            Combat broke out between the police and the mob. Then, the demonstrators set fire to a police station in Chauri Chaura, killing all of its occupants. This incident led to the deaths of three civilians and 22 policemen. Gandhiji was dis-heartened by this incident and halted the non-cooperation movement on the national level.

            On the other hand, British declared a martial law in response to the incident. Numerous raids were conducted and hundreds of people were arrested. Gandhi went on a fast for five days after this incident. Thus, Chauri Chaura became a backlash for the Indian way of peaceful resistance.

 

          The Swadeshi policy was part and parcel of non-cooperation movement. Gandhiji urged people to boycott British goods and to throw their foreign clothes into the fire. Gathering at crossroads, people burnt their imported clothes. They picketed the shops selling western goods. People took firm decisions like using only goods made in India and this was famously called the Swadeshi movement.

          Gandhiji always wanted Indians to spin their clothes by themselves. He promoted Khadi products as an alternative to British made clothes. Every day Gandhiji would spin 182 metres of yarn. He would never take rest without completing his daily chores. He perceived the spinning wheel as a symbol of liberation. It was common in the congress meetings and also wherever nationalists gathered. The spinning wheel was viewed as one of Gandhiji’s efforts to revive village economy, and to help the village folk to come out of their poverty. 

            Gandhiji published two journals, ‘Young India’ and ‘Navjivan’ to air his views and to educate the public about Satyagraha. Educating his countrymen was his priority when he started these newspapers. Young India was one of the prominent newspapers introduced by Gandhiji. He used Young India to propagate his unique propaganda regarding the use of non violence in organizing movements. He urged the readers to consider, organize and plan for India’s eventual struggle for Independence from the British imperialism.

            He began publishing another weekly newspaper called Harijan in 1933 in English. The word ‘Harijan’ means ‘the people of God’. The newspaper lost its popularity in 1948. During this time, Gandhiji also published Harijan Bandu in Gujarati and Harjan Sevak in Hindi. ‘Young India’ and ‘Harijan’ became the influential voices of his own views on all subjects. The language in which he wrote in newspapers was passionate and powerful, and he wrote about burning issues of the time. 

            The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885, by a British named A.O. Hume. It started as an elitist organization and was an association of intelligentsia.

            In 1924, Gandhiji emerged as the president of the Indian National Congress. He put forth a number of reforms within the party. The first major change was in the party’s reach to the masses who resided in the remote villages of India, thereby eliminating the elitist status of the party. Gandhiji famously stated that the soul of India lies in our villages, both in monetary and in logistical terms. Hence, no movement can be truly fruitful without the whole hearted support of the dwellers of the Indian villages. After taking the presidential ship of the Indian National Congress, he introduced the principles of Satyagraha. The party witnessed the birth of many charismatic leaders with great public appeal. They were also loyal to Gandhiji. Thus the non-cooperation movement naturally reached massive national dimensions with a huge number of followers. This movement marked the beginning of the life of Gandhiji as the leader of the masses. 

            Non-cooperation was a highly powerful weapon of protest and mass action introduced by Gandhiji. This became immensely popular after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This movement later became an intrinsic part of India’s freedom struggle and was launched on 1st August, 1920.

            The purpose of this movement was to fight British rule in India through peaceful means. It encompassed numerous actions like refusal to buy British goods, encouragement of the use of local handicrafts and picketing liquor shops. The dictum of non-cooperation movement was ahimsa or non-violence. Gandhiji’s ability to rally thousands of common citizens towards the cause of Indian Independence under the umbrella of non-cooperation was noticeable. Gandhiji feared that the movement might lead to widespread violence. The motivation behind such a movement was nothing but Gandhiji’s lost faith in the constitutional methods and he was evolved into a non-cooperator. 

          We cannot trivialize the Rowlatt Act as a black act. The introduction of this act, acted as a catalyst for many other events that led to India’s Independence. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was one such event.

          On April 13th, 1919 a peaceful protest meeting was going on in Amritsar, in a garden surrounded on three sides by high walls. This place was called Jallianwala Bagh. The crowd consisted of some non-violent protesters and pilgrims who had come for Baishakhi celebrations. The British commander General Dyer decided to crush the meeting with utmost brutality. The innocent crowd was fired at without giving them a warning to disperse.

          About 379 lives were lost in the massacre and more than 1200 were injured. This brutality traumatized Indians. Many Indians, who were at once staunch believers of peace, took to weapons, in reaction to the callous attitude of the British.

          Gandhiji was horrified and was determined to free India from the pitiless hands of the British without bloodshed. As an act of protest, he returned the medals which he was given by the British during the Boer War. 

                       The legal fight against the Rowlatt Act seemed futile. Do you know what Gandhiji did? Gandhiji accepted this fact and decided to conduct a hartal or a general strike as a way of demonstrating his objection to the implementation of this act. A day of hartal was declared, where everything came to a standstill. Stores had to be closed. Employees went on strike. These were attempts of civil disobedience on a mass scale. The Indians hoped that these actions would deliver a message of repudiation and resistance to the Britishers. Remarkable support against the unfair law received from all streams of the society was appreciable. But Satyagraha was an unfamiliar weapon to many in India. In many places people turned violent. Gandhi recognized the seriousness of the situation and cancelled the hartal. Then, Gandhiji launched a 72-hour fast as a penance for the violence in the hartal. 

            The Rowlatt Act was the legislation passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, and it was officially named as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act. It was passed on March 18th, 1919. The act was based on the report of Rowlatt committee, and it was also named after its president, British judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt.

     

 

            The act aroused protests among Indians. It endangered the basic civil rights of people who participated in political activities against the government. This act gave enormous powers to the police for inspection and to arrest any person on any grounds without a warrant. It aimed at curtailing the freedom of the Indian citizens, and to suppress any nationalist uprising in the country.

The act injured the civil rights and even the nationality of the Indians. Gandhiji was extremely critical of this act. It caused the government to enact repressive measures against the Indian citizens.

 

          When Gandhiji entered the Indian political scene, there was great communal disharmony among the people. Gandhiji asserted that Indians should be united to fight against the mighty imperial power of the British. It was in this background that the Khilafat issue came up.

          After Turkey was defeated in the First World War, its territories were divided among European powers. The Ottoman emperor in Turkey was also the Sultan-Khalifa of the global Muslim community. There was great worry among the Indian Muslims over the fate of the holy places of Islam which were under the custodianship of the Khalifa. Gandhiji feared that their resentment would turn into violent channels and he wanted to prevent this. Therefore, he offered to lead the Muslim community on this issue, if they accepted his nonviolent methods. His decision to help the Khilafat Movement was questioned by many. After the termination of the Khilafat Movement when Turkey gained a more favourable diplomatic position, communal riots started in many places in India, much to the displeasure of Gandhiji. 

 

 

          Many Indian soldiers flocked to participate in World War I. It was for them Gandhiji extended his support. This was partly due to the promise of the British government to reciprocate by supporting the Indian dream of Swaraj, after the end of World War I.

          The largely relocated Indian soldiers fought along with British soldiers. They struggled in numerous areas like Mesopotamia and Europe. Many lost their lives in the battles.

          Britain and her allies emerged victorious. But Indians lost their hearts as the British retreated from their promise of self-government after World War I. Instead of self-government, they offered minor reforms, but most of them were disappointing to Gandhiji and his followers. In short, Indians felt embittered.

          Then, it became clearer to Gandhiji and his men that the British would not free India, at any cost. 

 

 

The Champaran and Kheda agitations of Bihar and Gujarat in 1918 were the first golden feathers in Gandhiji’s crown.

What was the Champaran agitation? It was piloted by the local agrarians of Champaran in Bihar. They were enforced to cultivate indigo, whose demand had been declining over two decades and were forced to sell their crops at a fixed price.

Unhappy by this condition, they asked for Gandhiji’s help. Gandhiji proclaimed civil disobedience and his fight for justice was rewarded. The government compelled the landholders to refund a portion of the rent to the farmers and the enforcement on indigo cultivation was also abolished.

The Kheda Agitation took place when Kheda was affected by famine in 1918 and planters were demanding liberation from the levies.

Gandhiji, along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel battled for this cause, using non-cooperation as a weapon. The deadlock lasted for five months as the authorities were not ready to compromise.

But finally, at the end of May 1918, the government relaxed the conditions of imbursement of the taxes up until the famine ended.

 

            Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a social and political leader of the Congress party, known for his restraint and moderation and his determination to work inside the system. Gandhiji admired Gokhale a lot and his liberal outlook impressed him very much. Gandhiji knew Gokhale from his South African days. When he came back to India, Gandhiji went to see Gokhale. Gokhale urged him to get a better understanding of India’s present status and problems, so that he could practice Satyagraha in the Indian struggle for freedom.

            In his autobiography Gandhiji talked about Gokhale as his greatest supporter and guide. Gandhiji had an admiration for Gokhale being a political leader as well. He respected the principles of Gokhale. Gandhiji described Gokhale as being pure as crystal, gentle as a lamb, brave as a lion and chivalrous to a fault. But, regardless of Gandhiji’s extreme reverence for Gokhale, he also had differences of opinion with him. 

 

 

          Gandhiji was a popular figure when he returned to India from South Africa. He returned along with his family in 1915. He received a warm welcome from his people.

          Gandhiji was not aware of the existing conditions and key problems in India. So, he was certain to not to campaign for the rights of Indians until he got to know the context clearly. Gandhiji built an ashram at Sabarmati in the heart of Ahmadabad. About 200 people including men and women promised to live in the ashram, according to the principles of Gandhiji. They had to follow a simple vegetarian diet, with prayer and social service. There were no luxuries. Weaving was their major vocation. Gandhiji encompassed the castaways also. This caused great disapproval among the inhabitants of the ashram itself.

          Even in the contemporary world, there are ashrams around India, where people still follow the Gandhian philosophy of life. 

               John Ruskin and his magnum opus ‘Unto This Last’ was an influential force in Gandhiji’s life. Ruskin argued in his writing that true wealth is not earning more and more money but accustomed more to peace in one’s life. He also held that being peaceful is more imperative than being powerful.

               Motivated by this idea, Gandhiji began a farm outside Durban -the Phoenix settlement. It was Gandhiji’s first experimental ashram. In the ashram, Gandhiji and his supporters lived a life of no luxuries. They cultivated and ran a printing press for the Indians to express their opinions. They published a weekly journal founded by Gandhiji. It featured informative articles on various topics like politics, diet, health and sanitary habits. 

 

 

               The Tolstoy Farm was another community started by Gandhiji near Johannesburg. Gandhiji urged proper hygiene in his ashrams, as he believed that being hygienic is important for a healthy spiritual life. 

 

           

 

 

             Gandhiji was an ardent believer of Satyagraha as a powerful weapon. The word Satyagraha means truth-force. It embraces civil disobedience and a relentless pursuit for truth and peace. This inspirational concept, which completely changed the face of Indian struggle for independence, was first tested in South Africa. Gandhiji proposed certain rules for satyagrahis to follow. He trained the Indians during the South African passive resistance campaign. In short, this was a trial run for his future campaigns.

            No worship of violence and belief in suffering the insults patiently etc. are the mottos of a satyagrahi. Satyagraha does not aim at humiliating rivals, but aims to soften their heart by peace. Satyagraha was fruitful in South Africa and along with this, Gandhiji practiced self-reliance. It was compulsory for him that his family should also be self-reliant. He used to wash his cloths by himself. He cut his own hair and that of his children as well.

            In short, it is clear that the Indian freedom struggle was a much bigger test for Gandhiji and his idea of Satyagraha.