Chapter Notes

Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement: Civil Disobedience and Beyond

In the history of nations, single individuals are often seen as the primary architects. For example, we associate Garibaldi with the making of Italy and George Washington with the American War of Independence. In the same way, Mahatma Gandhi is widely regarded as the 'Father' of the Indian nation.

While Gandhi was indeed the most influential leader of the freedom struggle, his political journey was also shaped by the society he lived in. This chapter explores his activities in India between 1915 and 1948, examining how he inspired popular struggles and transformed the nationalist movement into a true mass movement.

A Leader Announces Himself

In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India after two decades abroad, mostly in South Africa. It was in South Africa that he developed his unique method of non-violent protest, satyagraha, promoted religious harmony, and challenged the discriminatory treatment of lower castes and women. The historian Chandran Devanesan remarked that South Africa was "the making of the Mahatma."

The India Gandhi returned to was politically much more active than the one he had left in 1893.

• The Indian National Congress had branches in most major cities.
• The Swadeshi movement of 1905-07 had broadened the party's appeal among the middle classes.
• The movement had two main factions:
  • Militant leaders (known as "Lal, Bal and Pal"): Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra, Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal, and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab.
  • "Moderates": This group preferred a more gradual approach and included Gandhi's political mentor, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

On Gokhale's advice, Gandhi spent his first year travelling across British India to understand the land and its people.

The Banaras Hindu University Speech

Gandhi's first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916. The audience included powerful princes, wealthy philanthropists, and important Congress leaders like Annie Besant.

Instead of congratulating the attendees, Gandhi used his speech to voice his concern for the labouring poor. He pointed out the stark contrast between the "richly bedecked noblemen" present and the "millions of the poor" who were absent.

"There is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India... Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it."

An opportunity to put this into practice came in December 1916 at the annual Congress session in Lucknow. A peasant from Champaran, Bihar, approached him to tell him about the harsh treatment of indigo farmers by British planters.

The Making and Unmaking of Non-Cooperation

Gandhi's initial campaigns were localized but crucial for establishing his reputation as a leader with deep sympathy for the poor.

1. Champaran Satyagraha (1917): He spent much of the year in Champaran, fighting for the security and freedom of peasants.
2. Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918): He intervened in a labour dispute, demanding better working conditions for textile mill workers.
3. Kheda Satyagraha (1918): He joined peasants in asking for the remission of taxes after their harvest failed.

The Rowlatt Satyagraha

In 1919, the British government passed the Rowlatt Act, continuing harsh wartime measures like press censorship and detention without trial. This gave Gandhi an issue to build a much wider movement.

• He called for a countrywide campaign against the Act.
• In towns across North and West India, shops shut down and schools closed in response to the bandh.
• Protests were especially intense in Punjab. The situation worsened, leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in April 1919, where a British Brigadier ordered his troops to fire on a nationalist meeting, killing more than four hundred people.

Emboldened, Gandhi called for a campaign of "non-cooperation" with British rule. Indians were asked to boycott schools, colleges, law courts, and to not pay taxes. He promised that if this was done effectively, India would win swaraj (self-rule) within a year.

Knitting a Popular Movement

To broaden the struggle, Gandhi joined hands with the Khilafat Movement (1919-1920). Led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, this movement of Indian Muslims sought to restore the position of the Turkish Sultan, or Khalifa, who was seen as the head of the global Islamic community. Gandhi hoped that by combining non-cooperation with the Khilafat issue, he could unite Hindus and Muslims to end colonial rule.

The response was unprecedented:

• Students left government-run schools and colleges.
• Lawyers refused to attend court.
• The working class went on strike. In 1921 alone, there were 396 strikes involving 600,000 workers.
• In the countryside, farmers in Awadh refused to pay taxes, and hill tribes in northern Andhra violated forest laws.

However, in February 1922, a group of peasants attacked and burned a police station in Chauri Chaura (United Provinces), killing several policemen. This act of violence prompted Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement entirely.

Gandhi was arrested in March 1922 and charged with sedition. The judge, Justice C.N. Broomfield, acknowledged Gandhi's status as a "great patriot and a leader" in the eyes of millions, even as he sentenced him to six years in prison.

A People's Leader

By 1922, Gandhi had transformed Indian nationalism from a movement of professionals and intellectuals into one where hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, and artisans participated. They revered him as their "Mahatma."

He identified with the common people in several ways:

• Dress: While other leaders wore formal Western suits or Indian bandgalas, Gandhi wore a simple dhoti or loincloth.
• Language: He spoke the language of the people, making him more accessible.
• The Charkha: He spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel) and encouraged others to do so. This act of spinning helped break down caste barriers between mental and manual labour and promoted self-reliance.

His success was also based on careful organization. New branches of the Congress were set up, and "Praja Mandals" were established to promote nationalism in the princely states. Using mother tongues instead of English helped carry the nationalist message to the farthest corners of the country.

After his release from prison in February 1924, Gandhi focused on social reform, promoting home-spun cloth (khadi), the abolition of untouchability, and Hindu-Muslim harmony.

The Salt Satyagraha: A Case Study

After a few years focused on social work, Gandhi re-entered politics around 1928. At the end of December 1929, the Congress session in Lahore made two historic decisions:

1. The election of Jawaharlal Nehru as President, signifying a shift to the younger generation.
2. A commitment to "Purna Swaraj," or complete independence.

January 26, 1930, was observed as "Independence Day." Soon after, Gandhi announced his plan to lead a march to break the salt laws.

Dandi

The British had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt. Indians were forbidden from making their own salt, forcing them to buy it at a high price. By targeting this deeply unpopular law, Gandhi hoped to mobilize a wide-ranging discontent against British rule.

On March 12, 1930, Gandhi began walking from his ashram at Sabarmati towards the coastal village of Dandi.

• The British Viceroy, Lord Irwin, initially failed to grasp the significance of the march.
• Gandhi reached his destination three weeks later and broke the law by making a fistful of salt.
• This act inspired parallel salt marches and other protests across the country. Nearly 60,000 Indians, including Gandhi, were arrested.

The Salt March was significant for three key reasons:

1. It brought Mahatma Gandhi to world attention, as it was widely covered by the European and American press.
2. It was the first nationalist activity where women participated in large numbers. The activist Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay persuaded Gandhi to allow women to join the protests.
3. It forced the British to realize that their rule would not last forever and that they would have to grant some power to Indians.

Dialogues

In response, the British government convened a series of "Round Table Conferences" in London.

• The first, in November 1930, was futile as Gandhi was in jail.
• After his release, he met with the Viceroy, leading to the "Gandhi-Irwin Pact" in March 1931. By its terms, civil disobedience would be called off, prisoners released, and salt manufacture allowed along the coast.
• Gandhi attended the second Round Table Conference in late 1931. However, his claim that the Congress represented all of India was challenged by the Muslim League, the Princes, and B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that the Congress did not represent the lowest castes.

The conference was inconclusive. Gandhi returned to India and resumed civil disobedience. In 1935, the Government of India Act promised some form of representative government, and in the 1937 elections, the Congress won a comprehensive victory, forming ministries in eight out of eleven provinces.

Quit India

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Congress leaders offered to support the British war effort in return for a promise of independence after the war. The British refused. In protest, the Congress ministries resigned in October 1939.

The political situation grew more complex. In March 1940, the Muslim League passed a resolution demanding autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent. The struggle was now three-way: between the Congress, the Muslim League, and the British.

In 1942, the British government sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India to negotiate a compromise, but the talks broke down. Following the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule: the "Quit India" campaign.

• The movement began in August 1942.
• Gandhi was jailed at once, but younger activists, like socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, organized strikes and acts of sabotage.
• It was a genuine mass movement that energized the youth, who left colleges to go to jail in large numbers.
• While Congress leaders were in jail, Jinnah and the Muslim League worked to expand their influence.

The Last Heroic Days

After the war, a Labour government came to power in Britain in 1945 and committed itself to granting independence. However, the 1946 provincial elections showed a deep political polarization: the Congress swept the "General" seats, while the League won an overwhelming majority of seats reserved for Muslims.

When talks to keep India united failed, Jinnah called for a "Direct Action Day" on August 16, 1946, to press the demand for Pakistan. This led to bloody riots in Calcutta, which soon spread across the country.

In February 1947, the new Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, announced that British India would be freed but also divided.

On August 15, 1947, India gained its freedom, but at the unacceptable price of Partition. Gandhi was not in the capital for the celebrations. He was in Calcutta, marking the day with a 24-hour fast. In the following months, he worked tirelessly to bring peace to riot-torn areas and protect minorities.

On January 30, 1948, at his daily prayer meeting in Delhi, Mahatma Gandhi was shot and killed by a young man, Nathuram Godse. His death led to a global outpouring of grief.

Knowing Gandhi

Historians use many different kinds of sources to reconstruct the history of the nationalist movement and Gandhi's role in it.

• Public Voice and Private Scripts: Speeches show a leader's public stance, while private letters can offer a glimpse into their private thoughts, fears, and frustrations. However, many letters were written with the awareness that they might be published one day.
• Framing a Picture: Autobiographies provide rich human detail but are retrospective accounts written from memory. They tell us what the author chose to remember and how they wanted their life to be viewed.
• Through Police Eyes: Colonial government records, such as the secret fortnightly reports from the Home Department, are another vital source. These reports were based on police information but often reflected what high-ranking officials wanted to believe, sometimes downplaying the success of nationalist movements.
• From Newspapers: Contemporary newspapers, both in English and Indian languages, tracked Gandhi's movements. However, these accounts are not unprejudiced and reflect the political opinions of their publishers.