War, satyagraha and the Rowlatt Act

Nationalism through struggle. In India, as in other colonies, people discovered their unity while fighting colonial rule. Being oppressed together tied many groups to each other. But each group felt colonialism differently, and each had its own idea of freedom. The Congress under Gandhiji tried to bring them into one movement, but unity came with conflict.

The Rowlatt Act (1919). It was rushed through the Imperial Legislative Council even though every Indian member opposed it. It let the government jail political prisoners without trial for two years. Gandhiji called for non-violent civil disobedience, starting with a hartal on 6 April. Rallies, strikes and shop closures followed. Afraid that railway and telegraph lines would be cut, the British arrested local leaders in Amritsar and barred Gandhiji from Delhi. On 10 April, police fired on a peaceful procession; attacks on banks and post offices followed; martial law was declared and General Dyer took charge.

Jallianwala Bagh, 13 April 1919. A large crowd gathered in this walled ground in Amritsar: some to protest, others for the Baisakhi fair. Many villagers did not know martial law had been declared. Dyer blocked the exits and opened fire, killing hundreds. He said he wanted to 'produce a moral effect': to terrify people. Protests spread across north India. The government hit back brutally: satyagrahis were forced to crawl on the streets, rub their noses on the ground and salute every sahib; people were flogged and villages near Gujranwala were bombed. As violence spread, Gandhiji called off the movement.

Khilafat: bringing Hindus and Muslims together. Gandhiji wanted a much wider movement, which needed Hindus and Muslims united. After the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated, and a harsh treaty was feared for the Khalifa, the spiritual head of the Islamic world. In March 1919 a Khilafat Committee was set up in Bombay; young Muslim leaders like Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali discussed united mass action with Gandhiji. At the Calcutta session (September 1920) he persuaded the Congress to start non-cooperation for Khilafat and for swaraj together: one movement for both causes.

Why non-cooperation? In Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhiji argued that British rule survived only because Indians cooperated with it. If Indians stopped cooperating, British rule would collapse within a year. His plan, in stages: first give back government titles and boycott the civil services, army, police, courts, councils, schools and foreign goods; if the government used repression, start full civil disobedience. Many Congress leaders were worried: they did not want to boycott the November 1920 council elections, and feared violence. After months of debate, the plan was adopted as a compromise at Nagpur in December 1920.