Category Social Sciences

   In 1917, a committee was set up under Sir Sydney Rowlatt to look into the militant activities of the Indian freedom fighters.

On the basis of its report, the Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council. The Rowlatt Act gave the Viceroy extraordinary powers to quell the rising discontent of the Indian masses.

 According to this act, any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. No appeal or petition could be filed against such arrests. This act was called the ‘black Act’ and it was widely opposed.

 An all-India hartal was organized on 6th April 1919. People came out in support of the hartal in various cities. Shops were shut down, and workers in railway workshops went on strike.

 The British administration decided to clamp down on the nationalists. But the Rowlatt Act could not crush the will of the people. Instead, it only strengthened the resolve of the Indians not to give up the struggle until India attained independence. 

 After the Non-cooperation Movement was withdrawn, there was some confusion in the Congress as to what the next course of action should be.

 Elections were scheduled to be held in 1923, and many leaders were eager to contest, and enter the legislative assembly so that they could bring about some changes.

 One such leader was C. R. Das, who resigned as president of the Congress. Along with Motilal Nehru and N.C. Kelkar, he launched a new political outfit called ‘Congress Khilafat Swarajya Party’, or simply, the ‘Swaraj Party’. These leaders did win the elections, but the political climate was such that they could not really bring about any changes.

 The Swaraj Party played a significant role in the Freedom Movement by keeping alive the hunger for freedom, and fostering Hindu-Muslim unity. 

January 26th is celebrated as our Republic Day. But 20 years before India became a republic, the date 26th January had great significance for Indians. For it was on this day, in 1930, that the Indian National Congress declared Purna Swaraj, or complete freedom from the British Raj as its goal.

 One option before the Congress was to demand dominion status, under which India would have still remained at least nominally under British rule. The Congress rejected this option, and instead asked for Purna Swaraj, which means complete independence. The Congress declared 26th January as ‘Independence Day’.

Continue reading “Why was January 26th 1930, an important day for India?”

Gandhiji’s Dandi March encouraged millions of Indians to defy the British by breaking the unfair salt laws of the British. Indians started making or buying salt illegally.

The non-violent satyagrahis did not defend themselves against the lathis of policemen, and many were killed instantly. The country was outraged. Gandhiji asked the people to give up wearing foreign cloth, and start using rough cotton khadi made of yarn spun by the charkha, or the wooden spinning wheel.

 This would not only undermine Britain’s economic power, but also give employment to the poor in the country-side. All over India, piles of foreign cloth and foreign goods were burnt. It was civil disobedience on a scale never seen before.

The British administration was nearly paralyzed. The Viceroy, who had laughed at Gandhiji’s ‘crazy scheme of upsetting the government with a pinch of salt’, learnt that a pinch of salt could be more powerful than the mightiest cannon!

  The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930, was an act of civil disobedience led by Gandhiji. His actions sent shockwaves across the nation.

 Indians all over the country were inspired to flout the salt Tax, and launch strikes and boycotts against colonial institutions. Gandhiji and some 80,000 others were arrested.

 In January 1931, Gandhiji was released from prison. He later met with the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin. In March 1931, the two worked out the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. According to this pact, Gandhiji agreed to end the Satyagraha in exchange for several concessions.

Continue reading “What was the aftermath of the Dandi Salt March?”

  Britain’s Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting, or selling salt. Citizens were forced to buy salt from the British, who taxed it heavily. Gandhiji reasoned that defying the Salt Tax would be a simple and effective way for many Indians to break a British law without using violence.

 On March 12th, 1930, Gandhiji set out from his ashram at Sabarmati near Ahmadabad, with his followers, to the coastal town of Dandi. All along the way, Gandhiji addressed large crowds, and with each passing day an increasing number of people joined the march.

By the time they reached Dandi on April 5th, Gandhiji was at the head of a crowd of tens of thousands. Then, early the next morning, he walked down to the sea, and reached down to pick up a small lump of natural salt out of the mud. By this small act, he defied the British law, and created a huge impact.

 Nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt, and Gandhiji’s Salt March put India firmly on the road to freedom.