3 Q3 Mention the participation of different sections of the society in the non-cooperation movement. 5
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
The non-cooperation movement was a reaction towards the oppressive policies of the British Indian government such as the Rowlatt Act of 18 March 1919, as well as towards the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919.
The Rowlatt Act of 1919, which suspended the rights of political prisoners in sedition trials,[4] was seen as a "political awakening" by Indians and as a "threat" by the British.[5] Although it was never invoked and declared void just a few years later,[6] the Act motivated Gandhi to conceive the idea of satyagraha (truth), which he saw as synonymous with independence.
Motivation for Gandhi's movement was further solidified following the events of 13 April 1919, when a large crowd had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal,[citation needed] while others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi festival.[12] The civilians were fired upon by soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, resulting in killing and injuring thousands of protesters. The outcry generated by the massacre led to thousands of unrests and more deaths by the hands of the police. The massacre became the most infamous event of British rule in India.
Gandhi, who was a preacher of nonviolence, was horrified. He lost all faith in the goodness of the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to cooperate with the "satanic" government. Likewise, the idea of satyagraha was subsequently authorised by Jawaharlal Nehru, for who the massacre also endorsed "the conviction that nothing short of independence was acceptable."[4]
Gandhi derived his ideologies and inspiration from ongoing non-cooperation movements, particularly that by Satguru Ram Singh, who is credited as being the first Indian to use non-cooperation and boycott of British merchandise and services as a political weapon.[13][14]
In response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other violence in Punjab, the movement sought to secure Swaraj, independence for India. Gandhi promised Swaraj within one year if his non-cooperation programme was fully implemented. The other reason to start the non-cooperation movement was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator.
Other causes include economic hardships to the common indian citizen, which the nationalists attributed to the flow of Indian wealth to Britain, the ruin of Indian artisans due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade goods, and forced recruitment and resentment with the British government over Indian soldiers dying in World War I while fighting as part of the British Army.