The Swaraj Party, Depression and the Simon Commission
After withdrawing Non-Cooperation, some leaders wanted to contest elections to the provincial councils set up by the Government of India Act of 1919, to oppose British policies from within. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party, while younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose pressed for more radical mass agitation and full independence.
Two factors then shaped politics in the late 1920s. First, the worldwide economic Depression: agricultural prices fell from 1926 and collapsed after 1930, and peasants found it hard to sell harvests and pay revenue. Second, the Simon Commission — set up under Sir John Simon to look into the constitutional system — had no Indian member. When it arrived in 1928, it was greeted with 'Go back Simon' by all parties. (During a protest against it, Lala Lajpat Rai was assaulted and later died of his injuries.)
Purna Swaraj and the Eleven Demands
To win people over, Viceroy Lord Irwin offered, in October 1929, a vague 'dominion status' and a Round Table Conference — which did not satisfy the Congress. In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand for 'Purna Swaraj' (full independence), and 26 January 1930 was to be celebrated as Independence Day.
Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol to unite the nation. On 31 January 1930, he sent Viceroy Irwin a letter with eleven demands, the most stirring being the demand to abolish the salt tax — salt was consumed by rich and poor alike, and the government monopoly, Gandhi declared, revealed the most oppressive face of British rule. If the demands were not met by 11 March, the Congress would launch civil disobedience.
The Salt March to Dandi
Irwin was unwilling to negotiate, so Gandhi started his famous salt march with 78 volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from his ashram at Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day, and thousands came to hear Gandhi wherever he stopped. On 6 April 1930, he reached Dandi and ceremonially violated the law by manufacturing salt from sea water.
This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Unlike Non-Cooperation, people were now asked not only to refuse cooperation but also to break colonial laws — manufacturing salt, boycotting foreign cloth, refusing to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, and violating forest laws.
Questions and Answers
Q1. Why was the Simon Commission opposed in India? Ans. The Simon Commission, set up to review the constitutional system, had not a single Indian member — all its members were British. Indians felt insulted at being excluded from deciding their own future, so all parties greeted it with the slogan 'Go back Simon'.
Q2. What was the significance of salt as a symbol chosen by Gandhi? Ans. Salt was consumed by the rich and poor alike and was an essential item of food. The tax and government monopoly on it revealed the most oppressive face of British rule, so it could unite all classes in a single campaign.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q3. Describe the Salt March. Ans. Gandhi began the salt march on foot with 78 volunteers from Sabarmati to Dandi — over 240 miles, walking about 10 miles a day for 24 days. On 6 April 1930, he reached Dandi and broke the salt law by making salt from sea water, beginning the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Q4. How was the Civil Disobedience Movement different from Non-Cooperation? Ans. In Non-Cooperation people refused to cooperate with the British; in Civil Disobedience they were asked not only to refuse cooperation but also to break colonial laws — making salt, refusing taxes and violating forest laws.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q5. What was 'Purna Swaraj' and when was it declared? Ans. Purna Swaraj meant complete independence. It was formalised at the Lahore Congress in December 1929 under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, and 26 January 1930 was declared Independence Day, when people pledged to struggle for full independence.