The making and unmaking of Non-cooperation

During the First World War, the British had imposed censorship of the press and allowed detention without trial. In 1919, on the recommendation of a committee led by Sir Sidney Rowlatt, these tough measures were continued: the Rowlatt Act. Gandhi called for a countrywide campaign against it.

Protests were strongest in the Punjab. In April 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, a British general ordered his troops to open fire on a peaceful gathering; over 400 people were killed.

Gandhi then called for Non-cooperation with British rule, together with the Khilafat movement (Muslims seeking to restore the Caliphate). Indians were asked to stop attending schools, colleges and law courts, and not to pay taxes. Gandhi promised that, if non-cooperation was effectively carried out, India would win swaraj within a year.

Many groups joined, often in their own ways: students, lawyers, and workers (there were 396 strikes in 1921); tribals in northern Andhra violated forest laws; peasants in Awadh refused to pay taxes. It was the first mass movement since 1857.

In February 1922, a crowd of peasants at Chauri Chaura (in present-day Uttar Pradesh) attacked and burnt a police station, killing several policemen. Gandhi called off the movement. In March 1922 he was arrested, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in jail. Mass action had to be non-violent, or not at all.