The Spread and Repression of the Movement

As the Civil Disobedience Movement spread, thousands broke the salt law, foreign cloth was boycotted, liquor shops picketed, peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, and forest people violated forest laws.

Worried, the government began arresting the Congress leaders. When Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested in April 1930, crowds demonstrated in Peshawar, facing armoured cars and firing. When Mahatma Gandhi himself was arrested, industrial workers in Sholapur attacked all structures that symbolised British rule. About 100,000 people were arrested. Gandhi then called off the movement and signed the Gandhi–Irwin Pact on 5 March 1931, agreeing to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London in December 1931 (the government agreeing to release political prisoners). The negotiations broke down, and back in India Gandhi relaunched Civil Disobedience, but by 1934 it lost its momentum.

Peasants, Business and Workers

Different social groups joined for different reasons:

  • Rich peasants — the Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh — were hit by the fall in prices and could not pay revenue. For them swaraj meant a fight against high revenues; they were disappointed when the movement was called off in 1931 without revenue being reduced.
  • Poor peasants — small tenants — wanted their unpaid rent to landlords remitted; they joined radical movements led by Socialists and Communists, but the Congress was unwilling to support 'no rent' campaigns.
  • The business classes — organised in FICCI (1927) under leaders like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla — wanted protection against imports. They supported the movement at first, but grew apprehensive after the failure of the Round Table Conference.
  • Industrial workers mostly stayed away (except in Nagpur), though some adopted ideas like the boycott of foreign goods.

The Participation of Women

An important feature of the Civil Disobedience Movement was the large-scale participation of women. During the salt march, thousands of women came out of their homes to hear Gandhi. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops, and many went to jail. In urban areas these women were from high-caste families; in rural areas, from rich peasant households. Moved by Gandhi's call, they began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty.

Yet this increased public role did not necessarily bring a radical change in how women's position was seen. Gandhi believed it was women's duty to look after home and hearth, and for a long time the Congress was reluctant to give women any position of authority, keen only on their symbolic presence.

Questions and Answers

Q1. Describe the repression faced by the Civil Disobedience Movement. Ans. The government arrested Congress leaders one by one. The arrest of Abdul Ghaffar Khan brought crowds onto the streets of Peshawar, and Gandhi's arrest led workers in Sholapur to attack symbols of British rule. Peaceful satyagrahis, women and children were beaten, and about 100,000 people were arrested.

Q2. Why did rich peasants join the Civil Disobedience Movement, and why were they disappointed? Ans. Rich peasants like the Patidars and Jats, hit by falling prices, could not pay revenue, so for them swaraj meant a struggle against high revenue. They were disappointed when the movement was called off in 1931 without the revenue rates being revised.

Questions and Answers (continued)

Q3. How did the business classes relate to the Civil Disobedience Movement? Ans. Organised in bodies like FICCI (1927) under leaders such as Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, businessmen wanted protection against imports. They supported the movement at first with funds, but grew apprehensive after the failure of the Round Table Conference and the spread of militant and socialist ideas.

Q4. Describe the participation of women in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Ans. Women participated on a large scale — joining marches, making salt, picketing shops and going to jail. In towns they were from high-caste families and in villages from rich peasant households. However, the Congress mostly valued their symbolic presence and was slow to give them positions of authority.

Questions and Answers (continued)

Q5. What was the Gandhi–Irwin Pact? Ans. Signed on 5 March 1931, the Gandhi–Irwin Pact ended the first phase of Civil Disobedience: Gandhi agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London, and the government agreed to release political prisoners.