Quick Answer: Why Gandhiji Suspended Non-Cooperation and Relaunched as Civil Disobedience
Non-Cooperation to Civil Disobedience: Why Gandhi Suspended and Relaunched the Movements
Quick Answer: Gandhiji suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 after a mob burnt a police station at Chauri Chaura, killing 22 policemen — violence he read as a defeat of non-violence. Civil Disobedience was launched in 1930 because the government ignored Congress demands, the Simon Commission had provoked nationwide anger, and the Lahore Session (Dec 1929) had committed the Congress to complete independence (Purna Swaraj).
- Quick Answer: Why Gandhiji Suspended Non-Cooperation and Relaunched as Civil Disobedience
- Timeline of Key Events, 1920-1934
- Non-Cooperation Movement: Aims, Methods and Spread (1920-1922)
- Chauri Chaura Incident: Why Gandhiji Suspended the Movement
- Reactions to the Suspension and What Followed (1922-1927)
- Civil Disobedience Movement: Background and Demands
- Dandi March and Spread of Civil Disobedience (March-April 1930)
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931): Temporary Pause and Its Terms
- Relaunch and Final Withdrawal of Civil Disobedience (1932-1934)
- Comparison Table: Non-Cooperation vs Civil Disobedience
- PYQ Points and Exam Angles
- Memory Aids and Quick Revision Points
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: In which year did Gandhiji suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement?
- Q: What happened at Chauri Chaura on 5 February 1922?
- Q: What were the key terms of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact?
- Q: When was the Civil Disobedience Movement finally withdrawn?
- Q: Why did Gandhi choose salt as the symbol of protest in 1930?
- Related reading
Timeline of Key Events, 1920-1934
- Dec 1920: Nagpur Session — Congress adopts Non-Cooperation programme.
- 5 Feb 1922: Chauri Chaura incident, Gorakhpur district, UP.
- Feb 1922: Bardoli resolution — Non-Cooperation withdrawn.
- 1922-27: Hiatus period — Swarajists vs No-Changers in Congress.
- 1928: Simon Commission arrives in India; boycotted everywhere.
- Dec 1929: Lahore Session — Purna Swaraj resolution (Jawaharlal Nehru president).
- 12 Mar-6 Apr 1930: Dandi March and Salt Satyagraha.
- 5 Mar 1931: Gandhi-Irwin Pact — Civil Disobedience suspended.
- Sep-Dec 1931: Gandhi attends Second Round Table Conference, London.
- Dec 1931/Jan 1932: Civil Disobedience relaunched.
- 1932: Communal Award (Aug) and Poona Pact (Sep).
- Apr 1934: Civil Disobedience formally withdrawn.
Non-Cooperation Movement: Aims, Methods and Spread (1920-1922)
Launched after the Amritsar Congress (1919) and formalised at the special Calcutta Session and then the Nagpur Session (Dec 1920), the movement aimed at redress of the Punjab wrongs, the Khilafat question and Swaraj. Its methods were strictly non-violent:
- Surrender of titles and honours awarded by the government.
- Boycott of legislatures (councils), courts, and government schools and colleges.
- Boycott of foreign cloth and promotion of khadi and the charkha.
- Non-payment of taxes was kept as a later, final-stage option — never actually reached nationwide.
The Khilafat alliance with Ali brothers brought Hindu-Muslim unity onto the streets, while boycotts of the visit of the Prince of Wales (1921) showed the movement’s reach. Reference material on this period is available at the official Ministry of Home Affairs archives and the Gandhi Ashram, Sabarmati website, which hosts original issues of Young India.
Chauri Chaura Incident: Why Gandhiji Suspended the Movement
On 5 February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, United Provinces (now UP), a procession of satyagrahis clashed with police. The police fired; the crowd retaliated by setting the police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. For Gandhi, this was proof the masses were not ready for non-violent struggle — a violent mass movement could be crushed and would morally damage the cause. At the Bardoli meeting of the Congress Working Committee (February 1922), the Bardoli resolution formally stopped civil disobedience, asking workers to shift to constructive work. Gandhi later wrote in Young India that a movement built on non-violence had to be stopped when violence appeared, or risk becoming an “uncontrollable” mass outburst.
Reactions to the Suspension and What Followed (1922-1927)
The abrupt withdrawal stunned Congressmen. Two camps emerged:
- Swarajists (C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru): wanted to enter councils, contest elections and “wreck from within” — led to the 1923 Swaraj Party.
- No-Changers (Rajendra Prasad, Patel, Ansari): wanted to continue Gandhi’s constructive programme — khadi, national schools, temperance, Hindu-Muslim unity, removal of untouchability.
The hiatus (1922-27) saw the rise of revolutionary activity, the formation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (1925), and the rise of socialist and communist ideas among the youth.
Civil Disobedience Movement: Background and Demands
Three developments set the stage for the second mass movement:
- Simon Commission (1928): an all-white constitutional commission, boycotted nationwide with the slogan “Simon, Go Back”; Lala Lajpat Rai died after a lathi blow in Lahore (Nov 1928).
- Nehru Report (1928): Indian parties’ constitutional counter-proposal; its rejection by the government ended hopes of dominion status.
- Lahore Session (Dec 1929): under Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress adopted the Purna Swaraj resolution and authorised civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes, if Swaraj was not granted by 26 January 1930.
Gandhi presented an 11-point demand to Viceroy Irwin (Jan 1930), including rupee-sterling exchange rate reduction, land revenue cuts, salt tax abolition, and 50% cut in military spending. When no response came, he chose the salt tax as the target — the most striking, universally felt symbol of colonial exploitation, and the “only protest in the world where the demand was to commit a ‘crime'” as noted in accounts on the Sabarmati Ashram site.
Dandi March and Spread of Civil Disobedience (March-April 1930)
On 12 March 1930, Gandhi set out from Sabarmati Ashram with 78 chosen followers, covering roughly 240 miles (about 385 km) in 24 days to reach Dandi on 6 April 1930, where he picked up salt and broke the law. The movement spread rapidly:
- Dharasana Salt Works raid (May 1930): Sarojini Naidu led satyagrahis; the brutal repression, reported worldwide, damaged Britain’s moral standing.
- No-tax campaigns: notably the refusal of the land revenue demand in Bardoli and other Gujarat districts.
- Forest satyagraha in Maharashtra, Central Provinces and Bihar.
- Peshawar/Khana Khan: Garhwali soldiers refused to fire on crowds; Chittagong armoury raid (April 1930) by revolutionaries ran parallel.
- Boycott of foreign cloth and liquor shops; Khudai Khidmatgars under Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan joined in the North-West Frontier Province.
Over 90,000 people were arrested during 1930 alone.
Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931): Temporary Pause and Its Terms
After five Round Table-adjacent feelers, Gandhi and Viceroy Irwin signed a pact on 5 March 1931. Key terms:
- Civil Disobedience to be suspended (not withdrawn).
- Release of political prisoners not convicted of violence; remission of remaining sentences for those charged with violence.
- Permit to make salt for personal use in coastal areas (not for sale).
- Right to peaceful, non-violent picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.
- Return of confiscated land (where not already sold) and Delhi negotiations on the salt tax.
- Gandhi to attend the Second Round Table Conference — the sole Congress representative. He attended London from September to December 1931, where the conference collapsed over the communal question and the constitution.
Relaunch and Final Withdrawal of Civil Disobedience (1932-1934)
The Second RTC failed; on return Gandhi found repression continuing. Civil Disobedience was restarted in late December 1931/January 1932. The government responded with mass arrests and Ordinances. In August 1932, the Communal Award granted separate electorates to the Depressed Classes; Gandhi’s fast unto death led to the Poona Pact (September 1932), replacing separate electorates with reserved seats. The movement lost momentum; Gandhi formally withdrew Civil Disobedience in April 1934 to concentrate on constructive work and village industries, marking the end of this phase of mass struggle.
Comparison Table: Non-Cooperation vs Civil Disobedience
| Aspect | Non-Cooperation (1920-22) | Civil Disobedience (1930-34) |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Swaraj within the empire (post-Amritsar redressal + Khilafat) | Complete independence (Purna Swaraj) |
| Method | Boycott of councils, courts, schools, foreign cloth | Breaking colonial laws directly — salt-making, no-tax, forest satyagraha |
| Trigger | Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh, Khilafat | Simon Commission, unmet 11 demands, Lahore resolution |
| Social base | Urban middle class, students, peasants | Broader: peasants, merchants, tribals, richer peasants |
| Women’s participation | Limited | Large-scale — Sarojini Naidu, Kamaladevi, picketing of liquor shops |
| Outcome | Withdrawn at Bardoli, Feb 1922 | Paused by Gandhi-Irwin Pact; withdrawn April 1934 |
| Reason for suspension | Chauri Chaura violence | Pact terms; failure of RTC; declining momentum |
PYQ Points and Exam Angles
- UPSC Prelims: Chauri Chaura date (5 Feb 1922), Bardoli resolution (Feb 1922), Dandi March distance (~240 miles/385 km, 78 satyagrahis, 12 Mar-6 Apr 1930), Gandhi-Irwin Pact date (5 Mar 1931).
- UPSC Prelims: Lahore Session 1929 president — Jawaharlal Nehru; Simon Commission — 1928, all-white; Poona Pact — Sep 1932.
- UPSC Mains: “Why did Gandhi withdraw Non-Cooperation after Chauri Chaura?” — answer around non-violence as means and end, discipline of the masses, and the moral legitimacy of the movement.
- UPSC Mains: Compare participation of business groups, peasants and women in the two movements.
- SSC/Banking one-liners: “Which incident led to the withdrawal of Non-Cooperation?” — Chauri Chaura; “Who led the Dharasana raid?” — Sarojini Naidu; “Which pact followed the Communal Award?” — Poona Pact.
- For primary-source verification, consult the Press Information Bureau and the MHA archival releases on the freedom movement.
Memory Aids and Quick Revision Points
Mnemonic — “NC-5-B”: N (Nagpur 1920, launch), C (Chauri Chaura, 5 Feb), 5 (withdraw Feb 1922), B (Bardoli resolution).
Mnemonic — “LORD-S”: L (Lahore 1929), O (11 demands ignored), R (Round Table), D (Dandi 1930), S (Suspension/Withdrawal 1931-34).
- Non-Cooperation launched at Nagpur Session, December 1920.
- Chauri Chaura, 5 Feb 1922 — 22 policemen killed in a burnt police station.
- Bardoli resolution, Feb 1922 — formal withdrawal of Non-Cooperation.
- Simon Commission, 1928 — boycotted; Lajpat Rai died after lathi charge.
- Lahore Session, Dec 1929 — Purna Swaraj resolution under Nehru.
- Dandi March, 12 Mar-6 Apr 1930, Sabarmati to Dandi, ~385 km, 78 followers.
- Dharasana raid led by Sarojini Naidu, May 1930.
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 5 Mar 1931; Second RTC attended Sep-Dec 1931.
- Communal Award (Aug 1932) → Poona Pact (Sep 1932).
- Civil Disobedience finally withdrawn in April 1934.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: In which year did Gandhiji suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement?
In February 1922, following the Chauri Chaura incident of 5 February; the formal withdrawal came through the Bardoli resolution of the Congress Working Committee.
Q: What happened at Chauri Chaura on 5 February 1922?
An angry crowd set fire to a police station at Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur district, UP), killing 22-23 policemen. Gandhi saw this as a defeat of non-violence and halted the movement.
Q: What were the key terms of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact?
Suspension of Civil Disobedience, release of political prisoners not involved in violence, permission to make salt for personal use in coastal areas, and Gandhi’s participation as the sole Congress representative in the Second Round Table Conference.
Q: When was the Civil Disobedience Movement finally withdrawn?
Gandhi formally withdrew the movement in April 1934, to focus on constructive work and village industries.
Q: Why did Gandhi choose salt as the symbol of protest in 1930?
The salt tax affected rich and poor alike — especially the poor — making it a simple, universally understood grievance capable of mobilising mass participation through a single, dramatic act of law-breaking.
Related reading
- Mughal Empire Administration: Mansabdari and Jagirdari Systems Explained for UPSC & State PSC
- Cabinet Mission and Mountbatten Plan Quiz: 12 PYQ-Style MCQs on Partition and Transfer of Power (1946–47)
Quick revision
- Dec 1920: Nagpur Session — Congress adopts Non-Cooperation programme.
- 5 Feb 1922: Chauri Chaura incident, Gorakhpur district, UP.
- Feb 1922: Bardoli resolution — Non-Cooperation withdrawn.
- 1922-27: Hiatus period — Swarajists vs No-Changers in Congress.
- 1928: Simon Commission arrives in India; boycotted everywhere.
- Dec 1929: Lahore Session — Purna Swaraj resolution (Jawaharlal Nehru president).
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