Question

How did different social groups conceive of the idea of non cooperation movement?

Answer 1

(i) Middle class people in the towns. (ii) Plantation workers. (iii) Peasants in rural areas. (iv) Tribal people. (v) Business class people The different social groups that joined the Non-CooperationMovement of 1921 were the urban middle class comprising lawyers,teachers and headmasters, students, peasants, tribals and workers.Peasants, tribals and workers joined the movement from thecountryside. They did so with hopes of self-emancipation. Peasantsrebelled against talukdars and landlords who demanded high rentsand also forced them to do begar or free labour. Tribal peasants revolted against theenclosure of large forest tracts by the British government, whichleft them devoid of a livelihood as well as traditional rights.Plantation workers, on the other hand, desired freedom to moveabout and retain links with the villages they came from. All threebelieved that Gandhi Raj would come with the Non-CooperationMovement, and this would mark an end to their sorrows. Hence, theyjoined the anti-colonial struggle..

Answer 2

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.