Question

What do you think about the civil disobedience movement? Was the decision taken by Gandhi ji on Irwin pact in the second round conference was right?

Answer 1

Answer:

Gandhi-Irwin Pact, agreement signed on March 5, 1931, between Mohandas K. Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist movement, and Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax), British viceroy (1926–31) of India. It marked the end of a period of civil disobedience (satyagraha) in India against British rule that Gandhi and his followers had initiated with the Salt March (March–April 1930). Gandhi’s arrest and imprisonment at the end of the march, for illegally making salt, sparked one of his more effective civil disobedience movements. By the end of 1930, tens of thousands of Indians were in jail (including future Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru), the movement had generated worldwide publicity, and Irwin was looking for a way to end it. Gandhi was released from custody in January 1931, and the two men began negotiating the terms of the pact. In the end, Gandhi pledged to give up the satyagraha campaign, and Irwin agreed to release those who had been imprisoned during it and to allow Indians to make salt for domestic use. Later that year Gandhi attended the second session (September–December) of the Round Table Conference in London.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

QUICK FACTS

DATE

March 5, 1931

LOCATION

India

PARTICIPANTS

Mahatma Gandhi

George Montagu Dunk, 2nd earl of Halifax

CONTEXT

Salt March

RELATED TOPICS

Satyagraha

Kenneth Pletcher

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Answer 2

The refusal to accept the demands made in Delhi Manifesto by Mahatma Gandhi led to the Lahore Congress. Through the Civil Disobedience movement, Gandhi made 11 demands later on and issued an ultimatum of January 31, 1930 to accept or reject . In July 1930 Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, proposed a round table conference and reaffirmed the "goal of dominion status".

Explanation:

• I feel the civil disobedience was a failure  due to several reasons. The early nationalists couldn't understand that the priorities of the British and the Indians came into conflict and British used India's resources to increase their prosperity & wealth. They had hoped  that the British will give Indians "Home Rule." They felt that the British rule had certain benefits. For example, it It helped to clean up social problems such as untouchable, sati, etc. To achieve their objectives, they used peaceful & constitutional methods. So they did not understand that using government demands and prayers as a form of restlessness would never be effective. It struggled to draw crowds to the national revolution. Only a segment of urban Indians were influenced by the early nationalists
• Moreover since the civil disobedience movement itself was a failure, signing of the Gandhi-Irwin pact was  also not right. This because afterLord Irwin's tenure as  the Viceroy the new Viceroy  Lord Willington violated the agreement of honour and ruled the country by harsh ordinances. He did not regard to the pact and he was afraid of India's political leaders gaining a  strong hand over the British. Had Gandhiji been resolute and refused to sign pact, the the people then who were in high spirit of victory towards independence might have been successful. Gandhiji's belief that the British would respect the pact went wrong