Explain the participation of different social groups in the civil disobedience movement?
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Answer
Not all communities participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. There are 2 rich communities that participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (C.D.M)
In Rural areas,
The Indian land owners wanted the Indian National Congress (INC) to put forward their demand of reducing the Land Revenue while the tenants wanted even the land owners to reduce the rent on the houses as the INC could take both it had first selected the land owners as they promised them that they would participate in large numbers.
In Urban Areas,
The Industrialists wanted the Britishers to remove the trade restrictions as they did for the World War 1. For the INC they were supporting with funds so that they could organize meeting hence the INC without any choice but to take their demand. While the Industrial Workers wanted the the company to them more wages as the INC had already taken up the demand of the Industrialists it could not take the forward the demand of the workers.
Hence in the C.D.M many different social groups did not participate.
During the Salt March many women from the richer communities had also joined because they just wanted to hear what was said by Gandhiji.
The following were the different social groups who
participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement with
different objectives:
a. The rich peasants were not able to pay the revenue
due to the trade depression, falling prices and
disappeared cash income and also the government
refused to reduce the revenue. Their notion for
Swaraj struggle was basically a struggle against
high revenue.
b. For the poor peasantry groups, the meaning of Swaraj was lowering the revenue demand and also
they wanted the unpaid rent to be remitted.
c. The Indian merchants and the industrialists
started opposing the colonial policies which
restricted their business to expand. They had
two demands — protection against the import of
foreign goods and a favorable exchange ratio of
rupee and sterling.
d. Some of the industrial workers participated in the
Civil Disobedience Movement were the Nagpur
industrial workers as part of their own movement
against the low wages and the poor working
conditions in the industries.
e. In the year 1930 and 1932, the railway workers
and the dock workers went on strike. The
Chhotanagpur tin mines workers also protested
in rallies wearing Gandhian caps and boycotted
the campaigns.
f. Women also participated in large scale in the Civil
Disobedience Movement during the Salt March by
Gandhiji. They belonged to the high caste families
from the urban areas and rich peasant households
from the rural areas. For them it was a sacred
duty to serve the nation.