Mains Practice Questions

Introduction

The Civil Disobedience Movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi, was a pivotal turning point in India's struggle for independence. This nonviolent resistance campaign, launched in 1930, aimed to challenge British rule through peaceful defiance of unjust laws.

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Importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement:

• Creation of a National Political Culture: The movement fostered a culture of civil disobedience, institutionalized non-violent resistance, and laid the ideological groundwork for the demand for complete independence
• Set the Stage for Future Movements: The movement laid a foundation for subsequent campaigns like the Quit India Movement.
  • It demonstrated India's determination and willingness to challenge British authority on a mass scale.
• International Focus: It brought global attention to India's independence cause, with significant international media coverage, which embarrassed the British government and exposed colonial injustices.

Key Features of the Civil Disobedience Movement:

• Mass Participation: The movement marked a significant shift from earlier campaigns by involving a much wider cross-section of Indian society. It brought together people from various backgrounds, including women, students, and rural populations.
  • The Dandi March, which initiated the movement, saw thousands of people joining Gandhi on his 240-mile journey to break the salt laws.
• Non-violence (Ahimsa): Gandhi's principle of non-violent resistance was the cornerstone of the movement.
  • Despite facing brutal police action during the Dharasana Satyagraha, where protesters were beaten while attempting to raid the salt depot, the satyagrahis largely remained non-violent.
• Breaking Unjust Laws: The movement encouraged the deliberate and open violation of specific laws deemed unjust.
  • The forest laws were defied in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the Central Provinces.
  • In the Northwest Frontier Province, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan led the non-violent Khudai Khidmatgars in protests against colonial laws.
• Promotion of Khadi and Indigenous Products: The movement emphasized economic self-reliance through the use of locally made goods.
  • Spinning wheels became a common sight in Indian households, with many, including prominent leaders, taking up spinning as a daily activity to support the swadeshi movement.
• Shift of Nature of Congress: The Congress' shift towards greater radicalism is evident in the background of Civil Disobedience like the Purna Swaraj Resolution and the Karachi Resolution, which introduced ideas like Fundamental Rights, socialist economic policies, and the abolition of zamindari.
  • In 1934, the Congress Socialist Party was also founded under Congress' umbrella, led by Fabian socialists like Jai Prakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva, and Ram Manohar Lohia.

Outcomes of the Civil Disobedience Movement:

• Gandhi-Irwin Pact: The movement led to negotiations between Gandhi and the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, resulting in a pact in 1931.
  • As part of the pact, the government agreed to release political prisoners and allow salt production for domestic use in coastal villages.
• International Attention: The movement drew global attention to India's freedom struggle.
  • American journalist Webb Miller's eyewitness accounts of the Dharasana Satyagraha were published in 1,350 newspapers globally, creating international pressure on the British government.
• Strengthening of the Nationalist Movement: The movement broadened the base of the freedom struggle and prepared the ground for future campaigns.
  • The participation of women in large numbers set a precedent for their increased involvement in subsequent phases of the freedom movement.
    • Women like Sarojini Naidu emerged as prominent leaders.
• Partial Success in Reforms: While immediate independence was not achieved, the movement contributed to gradual constitutional reforms.
  • The movement influenced the discussions at the Round Table Conferences and contributed to the eventual formulation of the Government of India Act 1935, which introduced provincial autonomy.

Conclusion

The Civil Disobedience Movement was a watershed moment in India's quest for independence. It significantly expanded the scope and reach of the nationalist movement, challenged British authority on multiple fronts, and laid the groundwork for future struggles that would ultimately lead to India's independence in 1947.