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| {{Short description|Resistance of British rule in India through non violent means}} | | {{Wikt|noncooperation}} |
| | | '''Non-cooperation movement''' may refer to: |
| {{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
| | * [[Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922)]], during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule |
| {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
| | * [[Non-cooperation movement (1971)]], a movement in East Pakistan |
| {{Colonial India}}{{Indian people sidebar|expanded=history}}
| | * [[Non-cooperation movement (2024)]], a movement in Bangladesh against Awami League government |
| The '''non-cooperation movement''' was a [[political campaign]] launched on 4 September 1920, by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] to have [[Indian people|Indians]] revoke their cooperation from the [[British Raj|British government]], with the aim of inducing the British to grant [[swaraj|self-governance]] and full [[Independence of India|independence]] (''[[Purna Swaraj]]'') to [[India]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Culture And Heritage - Freedom Struggle - The Non Cooperation Movement - Know India: National Portal of India|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/freedom-struggle/the-non-cooperation-movement.php|access-date=2021-08-11|website=knowindia.gov.in}}</ref><ref name=":0">"[https://www.britannica.com/event/noncooperation-movement Noncooperation movement]." ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', December 15, 2015. Retrieved 2021-08-10.</ref><ref name=":1">Wright, Edmund, ed. 2006. "[https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100237329 non-cooperation (in British India)]." ''A Dictionary of World History'' (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192807007.</ref>
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| This came as result of the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) withdrawing its support for British reforms following the [[Rowlatt Act|''Rowlatt Act'']] of 18 March 1919—which suspended the rights of [[Political prisoner|political prisoners]] in [[sedition]] trials,<ref name=Tharoor2003p.26-36/> and was seen as a "''political awakening''" by Indians and as a "threat" by the British<ref name="Wagner2019p.59">[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bziIDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=satya+pal+1919&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS3Jj3xbHkAhVMSsAKHUBWAGoQ6AEIKDAA#v=snippet&q=rowlatt&f=false Wagner, Kim. ''Amritsar 1919'' (2019) p.59]</ref>—and the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]] of 13 April 1919.<ref name="Tharoor2003p.26-36">Tharoor, ''Nehru: The Invention of India'' (2003) p.26-36</ref><ref name="Wagner2019p.243">[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bziIDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=satya+pal+1919&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS3Jj3xbHkAhVMSsAKHUBWAGoQ6AEIKDAA#v=snippet&q=non-cooperation&f=false Wagner, Kim. ''Amritsar 1919'' (2019) p.243]</ref>
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| The movement was one of Gandhi’s first organized acts of large-scale ''[[satyagraha]]'' ([[civil disobedience]]).<ref name=":0" /> Gandhi's planning of the non-cooperation movement included persuading all Indians to withdraw their labour from any activity that "sustained the British government and also economy in India,"<ref name=Ghosh2017/> including British industries and educational institutions.<ref name=Ghosh2017>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/gentlemanly-terrorists/reforms-of-1919-montaguchelmsford-the-rowlatt-act-jails-commission-and-the-royal-amnesty/D97CA2DF6D0AEBDD9AD2066DB1504C04/core-reader#|title=The Reforms of 1919: Montagu–Chelmsford, the Rowlatt Act, Jails Commission, and the Royal Amnesty|last=Ghosh|first=Durba|date=July 2017|website=Gentlemanly Terrorists: Political Violence and the Colonial State in India, 1919–1947|language=en|access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref> Through non-violent means, or ''[[Ahinsa]]'', protesters would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts, and picket liquor shops.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=India and the Contemporary World - II Textbook in History for Class X|publisher=NCERT|isbn=81-7450-707-8|pages=38|chapter=Nationalism in India|chapter-url=https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/jess303.pdf}}</ref> In addition to promoting "self-reliance" by spinning [[khadi]], buying Indian-made goods only, and boycotting British goods, Gandhi's non-cooperation movement called for the [[Khilafat Movement|restoration of the Khilafat]] (Khilafat movement) in Turkey and the end to [[untouchability]]. This resulted in publicly-held meetings and strikes ([[Hartal|''hartals'']]), which led to the first arrests of both Nehru and his father, [[Motilal Nehru]], on 6 December 1921.<ref name=Tharoor2003p.41-42>Tharoor, ''Nehru: The Invention of India'' (2003) p.41-42</ref>
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| The non-cooperation movement was among the broader [[Indian independence movement|movement for Indian independence]] from British rule<ref name="CulturalIndia">[https://learn.culturalindia.net/non-cooperation-movement-history-causes-result-importance.html Essay on Non-Cooperation Movement : Data Points]</ref> and ended, as Nehru described in [[An Autobiography (Nehru)|his autobiography]], "suddenly" on 4 February 1922 after the [[Chauri Chaura incident]].<ref name=Nehru1936p.81>[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98834/page/n99 Nehru. ''An Autobiography'' (1936). p.81]</ref> Subsequent independence movements were the [[Civil Disobedience Movement]] and the [[Quit India Movement]].<ref name=CulturalIndia/>
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| Though intended to be non-violent, the movement was eventually called off by Gandhi in February 1922 following the [[Chauri Chaura incident]], in which numerous policemen were murdered by a mob at [[Chauri Chaura]], [[United Provinces (India)|United Provinces]].<ref name=":1" /> Nonetheless, the movement marked the transition of [[Indian nationalism]] from a middle-class basis to the masses.<ref name=":0" />
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| == Factors leading to the non-cooperation movement ==
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| The non-cooperation movement was a reaction towards the oppressive policies of the [[British Raj|British Indian government]] such as the [[Rowlatt Act|''Rowlatt Act'']] of 18 March 1919, as well as towards the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]] of 13 April 1919.
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| The ''Rowlatt Act'' of 1919, which suspended the rights of [[Political prisoner|political prisoners]] in [[sedition]] trials,<ref name="Tharoor2003p.26-36" /> was seen as a "political awakening" by Indians and as a "threat" by the British.<ref name="Wagner2019p.59" /> Although it was never invoked and declared void just a few years later,<ref name="Wagner2019p.243" /> the Act motivated Gandhi to conceive the idea of [[satyagraha|''satyagraha'']] (truth), which he saw as synonymous with independence.
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| Motivation for Gandhi's movement was further solidified following the events of [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|13 April 1919]], when a large crowd had gathered at [[Jallianwala Bagh]] near the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]] in [[Amritsar]] to protest against the arrest of [[Saifuddin Kitchlew]] and Dr. [[Satyapal]],{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} while others had came to attend the annual [[Vaisakhi|Baisakhi festival]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=India and contemporary world II|publisher=NCERT|year=2007|location=India}}</ref> The civilians were fired upon by soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General [[Reginald Dyer]], resulting in killing and injuring thousands of protesters. The outcry generated by the massacre led to thousands of unrests and more deaths by the hands of the police. The massacre became the most infamous event of British rule in India.
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| Gandhi, who was a preacher of [[nonviolence]], was horrified. He lost all faith in the goodness of the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to cooperate with the "satanic" government. Likewise, the idea of ''satyagraha'' was subsequently authorised by [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], for who the massacre also endorsed "the conviction that nothing short of independence was acceptable."<ref name="Tharoor2003p.26-36" /> | |
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| Gandhi derived his ideologies and inspiration from ongoing non-cooperation movements, particularly that by [[Ram Singh Kuka|Satguru Ram Singh]], who is credited as being the first [[Indian people|Indian]] to use [[Civil disobedience|non-cooperation]] and boycott of British merchandise and services as a political weapon.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ram Singh {{!}} Indian philosopher|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ram-Singh|access-date=14 June 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>Press Information Bureau, Government of India issued on 16 December 2016</ref>
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| In response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other violence in [[Punjab]], the movement sought to secure ''[[Swaraj]]'', independence for [[India]]. Gandhi promised Swaraj within one year if his non-cooperation programme was fully implemented. The other reason to start the non-cooperation movement was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator.
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| Other causes include economic hardships to the common indian citizen, which the [[Indian nationalism|nationalists]] attributed to the flow of Indian wealth to [[United Kingdom|Britain]], the ruin of Indian artisans due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade goods, and forced recruitment and resentment with the British government over Indian soldiers dying in [[World War I]] while fighting as part of the [[British Army]].
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| == Movement ==
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| The non-cooperation movement aimed to challenge the colonial economic and power structure, and British authorities would be forced to take notice of the demands of the independence movement.
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| Gandhi's call was for a nationwide protest against the ''Rowlatt Act''. In promoting "self-reliance," his planning of the non-cooperation movement included persuading all Indians to withdraw their labour from any activity that "sustained the British government and also economy in India,"<ref name="Ghosh2017" /> including British industries and educational institutions.<ref name="Ghosh2017" />
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| Through non-violent means, or ''[[Ahinsa]]'', protesters would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts (by spinning [[khadi]], etc.), and picket liquor shops.<ref name=":2" /> Moreover:<ref>[https://aeon.co/essays/the-shame-of-sir-british-honours-and-decolonisation Titles, Medals and Ribbons]</ref>
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| * all offices and factories would be closed;
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| * Indians would be encouraged to withdraw from Raj-sponsored schools, police services, the military, and the civil service, and lawyers were asked to leave the Raj's courts;
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| * public transportation and English-manufactured goods, especially clothing, was boycotted; and
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| * Indians returned honours and titles given by the government and resigned from various posts like teachers, lawyers, civil and military services.
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| Gandhi's non-cooperation movement also called for the end to [[untouchability]].
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| Publicly-held meetings and strikes ([[Hartal|''hartals'']]) during the movement ultimately led to the first arrests of both [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and his father, [[Motilal Nehru]], on 6 December 1921.<ref name="Tharoor2003p.41-42" /> The calls of early political leaders like [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] (Congress Extremists) were called major public meetings. They resulted in disorder or obstruction of government services. The British took them very seriously and imprisoned him in [[Mandalay]] in [[Burma]] and [[V. O. Chidambaram Pillai|V. O.Chidambaram Pillai]] received 40 years of imprisonment.
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| Veterans such as [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[Bipin Chandra Pal]], [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah]], and [[Annie Besant]] opposed the idea outright. The [[All India Muslim League]] also criticized the idea. However, the younger generation of Indian nationalists was thrilled and backed Gandhi, whose plans were adopted by the [[Congress Party (India)|Congress Party]] in September 1920 and launched that December.<ref name=":0" />
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| Gandhi strengthened the movement by supporting the contemporaneous [[Khilafat Movement]], the Muslim campaign to restore the status of the [[Khalifa]] and protest the dismemberment of the [[Ottoman Empire]] after [[World War I]]. As such, Gandhi received extensive support from [[Indian Muslims|Indian-Muslim]] leaders like [[Maulana Azad]], [[Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari]], [[Hakim Ajmal Khan]], [[Abbas Tyabji]], [[Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar]] and [[Maulana Shaukat Ali]].<ref name=":0" />
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| The eminent [[Hindi]] writer, poet, playwright, journalist, and nationalist [[Rambriksh Benipuri]], who spent more than eight years in prison fighting for India's independence, wrote:
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| {{Quote|When I recall Non-Cooperation era of 1921, the image of a storm confronts my eyes. From the time I became aware, I have witnessed numerous movements, however, I can assert that no other movement upturned the foundations of Indian society to the extent that the Non-Cooperation movement did. From the most humble huts to the high places, from villages to cities, everywhere there was a ferment, a loud echo.<ref>{{cite book
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| | first = Lata Singh
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| | last = Biswamoy Pati (ed.)
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| | title = Colonial and Contemporary Bihar and Jharkhand (Chapter 7. Lata Singh, ''Nationalism in Bihar, 1921-22: Mapping Resistances'' quoting Suresh Sharma (ed.) ''Benipuri Granthavali'', vol. IV, 1998, p.38)
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| | publisher =[[Primus Books]]
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| | year = 2014
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| | isbn = 978-93-80607-92-4
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| | page = 264 (at p. 127)
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| }}</ref>}}
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| == Impact and suspension ==
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| The impact of the revolt was a total shock to British authorities and a massive encouragement to millions of Indian nationalists. Unity in the country was strengthened and many Indian schools and colleges were made. Indian goods were encouraged.<ref name="CulturalIndia"/>
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| On 4 February 1922 a massacre took place at [[Chauri Chaura]], a small town in the district of [[Gorakhpur]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]. A police officer had attacked some volunteers picketing a liquor shop. A whole crowd of peasants that had gathered there went to the police ''chowki'' (station). The mob set fire to the police ''chowki'' with some 22 policemen inside it.
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| Mahatma Gandhi felt that the revolt was veering off-course, and was disappointed with the gradual loss of non-violent nature of the movement. He did not want the movement to degenerate into a contest of violence, with police and angry mobs attacking each other back and forth, victimizing civilians in between. Gandhi appealed to the Indian public for all resistance to end, went on a fast lasting 3 weeks, and called off the non-cooperation movement.
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| Gandhi was also a firm believer of STS (struggle truce struggle).{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} He believed that after a duration of struggle, there should be a resting phase by which they could recover the power and rise again more strong and powerful.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} Though this point is not mentioned but every movement lead by Gandhi was withdrawn by him after a year or two.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}
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| === End of non-cooperation ===
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| The Non-cooperation movement was withdrawn after the [[Chauri Chaura incident]].
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| Although he had stopped the national revolt single-handedly, on 12 feb 1922, Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. On 18 March 1922, he was imprisoned for six years for publishing seditious materials. This led to suppression of the movement and was followed by the arrest of other leaders.
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| Although most Congress leader's remained firmly behind Gandhi, the determined leaders broke away, including the Ali brothers ([[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Muhammad Ali]] and [[Shaukat Ali (politician)|Shaukat Ali]]). [[Motilal Nehru]] and [[Chittaranjan Das]] formed the [[Swaraj Party]], rejecting Gandhi's leadership. Many nationalists had felt that the non-cooperation movement should not have been stopped due to isolated incidents of violence, and most nationalists, while retaining confidence in Gandhi, were discouraged.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
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| It is argued{{By whom|date=November 2020}}, though without any concrete proof, that Gandhi called off the movement in an attempt to salvage his own personal image, which would have been tarnished if he had been blamed for the Chauri Chaura incident; However, historians{{Who|date=November 2020}} and contemporary leaders associated with the movement welcomed Gandhi's judgment. Gandhi could not compromise his fundamental principle of non-violence by reluctantly accepting and allowing the violent struggle that evidently was circling round the movement with extremist elements of Indian independence movement at its core. So, a similar type of movement was introduced in 1930, the [[civil disobedience movement]]. The main difference was the introduction of a policy of violating the law 'peacefully'.
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| == Savings ==
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| Gandhi's commitment to nonviolence was redeemed when, between 1930 and 1934, tens of millions again revolted in the [[Salt Satyagraha]] which made India's cause famous worldwide for its unerring adherence to non-violence. The Satyagraha ended in success. The demands of Indians were met and the Congress was recognized as a representative of the Indian people. The [[Government of India Act 1935|''Government of India Act 1935'']] also gave India its first taste in democratic self-governance.
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| == See also == | | == See also == |
| * [[Rowlatt Satyagraha]] | | * [[Civil disobedience (disambiguation)]] |
| * [[Civil disobedience movement|Civil-disobedience Movement]] | | **[[Civil disobedience movement]] or the Salt March, protest movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 |
| * [[Quit India Movement]]
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| *[[Mahatma Gandhi]]
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| == References ==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| ==Biography==
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| *[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98834 ''Jawaharlal Nehru An Autobiography'']. [[Oxford University Press]] (1936)
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| *Tharoor, Shashi. [https://archive.org/details/nehruinventionof00thar ''Nehru: The Invention of India'']. Arcade Publishing (2003). New York. First edition. {{isbn|9781559706971}}
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| *Jawaharlal Nehru and [[Nayantara Sahgal]]. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85772500 Before freedom, 1909–1947 : Nehru's letters to his sister]. [[Roli Books]] (2004). {{isbn|8174363475}} {{oclc|85772500}}
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| *Wagner, Kim, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bziIDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=satya+pal+1919&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS3Jj3xbHkAhVMSsAKHUBWAGoQ6AEIKDAA#v=snippet&q=non-cooperation&f=false ''Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre'']. [[Yale University Press]] (2019). {{ISBN|9780300200355}}
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| *Anand, Anita, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?redir_esc=y&id=Mk7ptwEACAAJ&q=satypal#v=onepage&q=satypal&f=false ''The Patient Assassin: a true tale of massacre, revenge, and India's quest for independence''], Simon & Schuster (2019), {{ISBN|978-1-5011-9570-9}}
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| == Further reading ==
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| * {{cite book |author-link=Charles Freer Andrews |first=C. F |last=Andrews |url=http://www.gandhiheritageportal.org/fundamental_workdetail/NS0xMDQ= |archive-url=https://archive.is/20131130110336/http://www.gandhiheritageportal.org/fundamental_workdetail/NS0xMDQ= |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 November 2013 |title=Non-Co-Operation |location=Madras |publisher=Ganesh & Co. |year=1920 |access-date=10 March 2015 }}
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| *[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2051326?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents "The Government of India and the First Non-Cooperation Movement--1920-1922"]. D. A. Low (1966)
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| {{Gandhi| state=expanded}}
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| {{Indian independence movement}}
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| {{Authority control}}
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Cooperation Movement}} | | {{dis}} |
| [[Category:1920 in India]]
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| [[Category:Civil disobedience]]
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| [[Category:Economic history of India]]
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| [[Category:Indian independence movement]]
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| [[Category:Nonviolent resistance movements]]
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| [[Category:Protests in British India]]
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