Non-cooperation movement

Lokmanya Tilak died in 1920 and Mahatma Gandhi took over the leadership of the freedom movement.

New Way of Satyagraha:

South Africa was ruled by the British. Some people from India had settled there. They and the black people there were being treated unfairly by the British rulers. Gandhiji had gone to South Africa to pursue a career in law. There he organized them to fight against the injustice done to Indians. For this, he adopted the path of Satyagraha. Satyagraha was the non-violent resistance to oppression, the conversion of an unjust person. Gandhiji brought justice to the people of South Africa through Satyagraha.

Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa in 1915. He realized that Indians were facing many problems during the British rule. For this, Gandhiji decided to run the movement on the path of Satyagraha.

Gandhiji first addressed the issue of farmers in Champaran in Bihar. The British farmers used to force the farmers to grow indigo. Gandhiji satyagraha against this injustice. The peasants were relieved of the hardships of the British cultivators.

There was a drought in Kheda district of Gujarat.  Yet the British government was forcibly recovering the farm.  With Gandhiji's encouragement, the farmers fought against this injustice through satyagraha.  Eventually the government waived the farm.

Roulette Act:

The British government gave Indians some rights under the Reforms Act, but at the same time enacted laws to suppress the Indians. For this, the government enacted the Roulette Act. The law was extremely oppressive. The law gave the government the right to imprison anyone without question. A wave of outrage swept across the country. As per Gandhiji's call to protest against this law, a nationwide strike was observed. The government tried to suppress this movement. 

Jallianwala Bagh massacre:

Due to the strike in Amritsar, Dr. Satyapal and Dr. The government deported Saifuddin Kichlu. A large gathering was held at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest the deportation. At that moment, General Dyer, a military officer, ordered his troops to open fire. More than 400 people were killed and thousands injured in the shootings. After this incident, the British started atrocities in Punjab. News of this atrocity spread like wildfire across the country. So there was a wave of anger everywhere. In protest of this atrocity, Rabindranath Tagore returned to the government the book 'Sir' given to him by the British government.

Khilafat Movement:

Calling the Sultan of Turkey 'Khalifa'.  All Muslims around the world considered him their religious leader.  Turkey participated in the First World War against England.  The British had assured the Indian Muslims that they would not push the caliph's power to get the Muslims of India to cooperate in the war, but the British did not keep their promise.  As soon as the war ended, they dismembered the Turkish Empire and took possession of parts of it.  This angered Muslims in India.  The movement he started to support the caliph against the British is called the 'caliphate movement'.  The National Assembly actively supported the movement.  In response to this, the leaders of the Khilafat movement supported the non-cooperation movement.

Non-cooperation movement:

Gandhiji was of the opinion that if he did not cooperate with the British, the British would not be able to rule for a single day. For this, the National Assembly approved a program of non-cooperation. The program was designed by the British government to deny respect, not to attend government schools and colleges, to boycott foreign goods, and for lawyers to boycott government court work.

Along with the non-cooperation movement, Gandhiji undertook a constructive program of eradicating untouchability, bringing about Hindu-Muslim unity and banning alcohol.

The non-cooperation movement received a nationwide response. The students enrolled in government schools and got admission in national schools. Many refused to advocate. People made Holi of foreign cloth. Dr. Leaders like Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhbhai Patel etc. took part in this movement. Women were actively involved in this movement.

As the non-cooperation movement gained momentum, so did the government's repression. Satyagrahis staged a peaceful procession at Chaurichaura in Uttar Pradesh. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Some policemen were killed in the blaze. Gandhiji did not approve of the violent turn of the non-cooperation movement, so he stopped the movement. However, the government arrested Gandhiji.

Although the non-cooperation movement stopped, Satyagraha was taking place in many parts of the country. The government did not appreciate such satyagrahas; Therefore, leaders like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das, etc. should be elected to the legislature and oppose the government's repression there. For this he formed 'Swarajya Paksh'. He opposed the unjust policies of the government in the legislature.

Simon Commission

A committee from England came to India to see how the reforms given to India by the British were implemented. Sir John Simon was the chairman of this committee, hence the name 'Simon Commission'. There was no Indian representative on the committee, so the National Assembly boycotted the Simon Commission. The commission was protested across the country with black flags. Wherever the Simon Commission went, there were slogans like 'Simon go back'. Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against the Simon Commission in Lahore. He was injured in a police raid at the time. That was the end of it.