Question

Various classes and groups of India participated in the civil disobedience movement for different reasons why

Answer 1

Various classes and different social groups of Indians participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement led by Gandhiji in 1930. All of them joined this movement on account of their own needs, aspirations and limited understanding.

 

In the rural areas, rich farmers and peasant communities such as Patidars (Gujarat) and Jats in Uttar Pradesh were very hard hit by the trade depression and decreasing costs of their commercial crops. They found themselves unable to pay the government’s revenue due to the disappearance of their cash income. For them the fight was a struggle against high revenue. So, the rich peasants participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement and supported the boycott programmes.

The poorer peasants were not in favour of I6wering of the revenue demand. Many of them were small tenants who used to cultivate rented land taken from landlords. As the depression continued, cash income dwindled and so the tenants were unable to pay their land-rent. They demanded that their dues of rent should be remitted.

The business classes participated in the movement to oppose the colonial polices that restricted business activities. They wanted protection against:  imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports. A few of them attacked colonial control over the Indian Economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement. Besides it they supported the movement financially and boycotted the trading of foreign goods.

The industrial working classes stayed away from this movement leaving the Nagpur region as industrialists came closer to the congress. Women took part in this movement. They began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women.