The Non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule. This movement, which lasted from 1920 to 1922, was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist British occupation of India through non-violent means. Protestors would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts, picket liquor shops, and try to uphold the values of Indian honor and integrity. The Gandhian ideals of ahimsa or non-violence, and his ability to rally hundreds of thousands of common citizens towards the cause of Indian independence, were first seen on a large scale in this movement.

Among the significant causes of this movement were colonial oppression, exemplified by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, economic hardships to the common man due to a large chunk of Indian wealth being exported to Britain, ruin of Indian artisans due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade goods, and popular resentment with the British over Indian soldiers dying in World War I while fighting as part of the British Army, in battles that otherwise had nothing to do with India.

The calls of early political leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah (who hardened his stand in the later days of the struggle), Annie Besant, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak for home rule were accompanied only by petitions and major public meetings. They never resulted in disorder or obstruction of government services. Partly due to that, the British did not take them very seriously. The non-cooperation movement aimed to ensure that the colonial economic and power structure would be seriously challenged, and British authorities would be forced to take notice of the people's demands.

Contents 1 Champaran, Kheda, Khilafat and Amritsar 2 Success and suspension 3 Aftermath 4 Redemption 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Champaran, Kheda, Khilafat and Amritsar

[edit] Success and suspension

The success of the revolt was a total shock to British authorities and a massive encouragement to millions of Indians. Then on February 4, 1922, in the Chauri Chaura, after violent clashes between the local police and the protestors in which three protestors were killed by police firing,^[1] the police chowki (pron.-chau key) (station) was set on fire by the mob, killing 22 of the police occupants.

Gandhi felt that the revolt was veering off-course, and was disappointed that the revolt had lost its non-violent nature. 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 mass civil disobedience movement.

[edit] Aftermath

The Non-Co-operation Movement was withdrawn because of the Chauri-Chaura incident. Although he had stopped the national revolt single-handedly, on March 10, 1922, Gandhi was arrested. On March 18, 1922, he was imprisoned for two years for publishing seditious materials.

Although most Congress leaders remained firmly behind Gandhi, the disillusioned broke away. The Ali brothers would soon become fierce critics. 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.

Contemporary historians and critics suggest that the movement was successful enough to break the back of British rule, and possibly even result in the independence most Indians strove for until 1947.

But many historians and Indian leaders of the time also defend Gandhi's judgment. If he had not stopped the revolts, India could have descended into a chaotic rebellion which would have alienated common Indians and impress only violent revolutionaries.

[edit] Redemption

Gandhi's commitment to non-violence was redeemed when, between 1930 and 1934, India committed itself to full independence and 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 glorious success: the demands of Indians were met, and the Congress Party was recognized as the real representative of the Indian people. The Government of India Act 1935 also gave India its first taste in democratic self-governance.

[edit] See also

• Indian independence movement
• Civil Disobedience Movement
• Quit India Movement
• Yo No Coopero Con La Dictadura

[edit] References

1. ^ Chauri Chaura#The Incident

v – d – e Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Family Kasturba – Harilal – Manilal – Ramdas – Devdas – Samaldas – Arun – Rajmohan – Tushar – Gopalkrishna Influences Ahimsa – Ashram – Bhagavad Gita – Henry David Thoreau  – Civil disobedience – Fasting – Hinduism – Islam – Jainism – John Ruskin – Leo Tolstoy – The Kingdom of God Is Within You – The Masque of Anarchy – Muhammad – Pacifism – Sermon on the Mount – Shrimad Rajchandra – Unto This Last – Vegetarianism Life Civil rights movement in South Africa – Bardoli Satyagraha – Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha – Non-cooperation – Chauri Chaura – Purna Swaraj – Salt Satyagraha – Vaikom Satyagraha – Poona Pact – Quit India – Assassination Philosophy Gandhism – Economics – Sarvodaya – Satyagraha – The Story of My Experiments with Truth – Swadeshi – Swaraj Associates Vinoba Bhave – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – Mirabehn – C. F. Andrews – Narhari Parikh – Ravi Shankar Vyas – Mohanlal Pandya – Mahadev Desai – Abbas Tyabji – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Dada Dharmadhikari – J. C. Kumarappa Legacy Gujarat Vidyapith – Kashi Vidyapeeth – Jamia Millia Islamia – Gandhi Peace Prize – Artistic depictions – Gandhi Jayanti – Gandhigiri  – Seven Blunders of the World Influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. – James Lawson – Nelson Mandela – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Steve Biko – Aung San Suu Kyi – Benigno Aquino, Jr. – Tenzin Gyatso – Maria Lacerda de Moura – Albert Einstein – Lanza del Vasto – Madeleine Slade – John Lennon – Al Gore – Barack Obama Memorials at Union Square – New York – Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site – Atlanta – Pietermaritzburg – Moscow – San Francisco – Honolulu – Rajghat  – National Gandhi Museum – Gandhi Smriti

v – d – e Indian independence movement History Colonisation – East India Company – British India – French India – Portuguese India – Plassey – Buxar – Anglo-Mysore Wars – Anglo-Maratha Wars (First – Second – Third) – Polygar War – Vellore Mutiny – First Anglo-Sikh War – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Rebellion of 1857 – British Raj  – more Philosophies and ideologies Indian nationalism – Swaraj – Hindu nationalism – Gandhism – Satyagraha – Indian Muslim nationalism – Swadeshi – Socialism – Khilafat Movement Events and movements Partition of Bengal – Revolutionaries – Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy – The Indian Sociologist – The Sedetious conspiracy – Champaran and Kheda – Rowlatt Committee – Rowlatt Bills – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre – Non-Cooperation – Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre – Flag Satyagraha – Bardoli – 1928 Protests – Nehru Report – Purna Swaraj – Salt Satyagraha – Round table conferences – Act of 1935 – Legion Freies Indien – Cripps' mission – Quit India – Indian National Army – Tiger Legion – Bombay Mutiny – Coup d'tat de Yanaon – Provisional Government of India Organisations Indian National Congress – All-India Muslim League – Anushilan Samiti – Jugantar – Arya Samaj – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – India House – Berlin Committee – Ghadar – Home Rule – Khaksar Tehrik – Khudai Khidmatgar – Hindustan Republican Association – Swaraj Party – Indian Independence League – All India Kisan Sabha – Azad Hind – more Social reformers Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Rahul Sankrityayan – Mahatma Jyotirao Phule – Gopal Ganesh Agarkar – Shahu Maharaj – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar – Dhondo Keshav Karve – Vitthal Ramji Shinde – Mahadev Govind Ranade – Swami Dayananda Saraswati – Ramakrishna  – Swami Vivekananda – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati – Vinoba Bhave – Baba Amte – Ram Mohan Roy – Gopal Hari Deshmukh Indian leaders and activists Puli Thevar – Yashwantrao Holkar – Rahul Sankrityayan – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati – Veerapandiya Kattabomman – Sangolli Rayanna – Baba Ram Singh – Mangal Pandey – Veer Kunwar Singh – Rae Ahmed Nawaz Khan Kharal–Ž – Rani of Jhansi – Bahadur Shah Zafar – Swami Dayanand Saraswati – Bal Gangadhar Tilak – Gopal Krishna Gokhale – Dadabhai Naoroji – Bhikaiji Cama – Shyamji Krishna Varma – Annie Besant – Har Dayal – Subramanya Bharathi – Lala Lajpat Rai – Bipin Chandra Pal – Rash Behari Bose – Chittaranjan Das – Bidhan Chandra Roy – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Maulana Azad – Ashfaqullah Khan – Ram Prasad Bismil – Chandrasekhar Azad – Rajaji – Bhagat Singh – Sarojini Naidu – Purushottam Das Tandon – Alluri Sitaramaraju – M. Ali Jinnah – Sardar Patel – Vakkom Majeed – Subhash Chandra Bose – Jawaharlal Nehru – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Allama Mashriqi – Akkamma Cherian – Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai – Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar – more British leaders Robert Clive – James Outram – Dalhousie – Irwin – Linlithgow – Wavell – Stafford Cripps – Mountbatten – more Independence Simla Conference  – Cabinet Mission – Indian Independence Act – Partition of India – Political integration – Constitution – Republic of India