Question

What were the circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the civil disobedience movement in 1931?

Answer 1

Hint: Mahatma Gandhi began his historic march on 12th March, 1930 hence, launching the Civil disobedience movement. The Dandi March which continued from 12 March to 6 April 1930 acted as a breakthrough for this mass revolution.

Complete answer:
On May 4, 1930 Mahatma Gandhi was arrested by the British officers and was put in the Yervavada jail when he announced that he would lead a raid on Dharsana and Solapur. On January 25, 1931 Gandhiji and all other members of the Congress Working Committee were unconditionally released.
On 14 February, 1931 the Delhi pact also known as the Gandhi-Irwin pact took place where Gandhiji on behalf of the Congress agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience movement.
 Few of the major factors that:-
1. Industrial workers at Solapur attacked police posts and government institutions after Gandhi's arrest. 2. The violence threatened to get out of hand. When Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a sincere follower of Mahatma Gandhi, was arrested in April 1930, angry crowds demonstrated in the streets of Peshawar, facing police firing, many were killed.
3. The government brutally repressed by attacking and arresting peaceful satyagrahis and beating women and children and Gandhiji wanted the Civil Disobedience Movement to be non-violent and peaceful.
Since the movement turned violent, and many people were killed, Gandhiji called it off.
Some of the positive features of the civil disobedience movement was that it shattered people’s faith in the British Government and laid the social root for the freedom struggle, and popularised the new method of propaganda like the prabhat pheris, pamphlets etc. The exploitative salt policy of British was followed by the defiance of forest law in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Central province and the refusal to pay the rural ‘Chaukidari tax’ in Eastern India.

Note: Many nationalist leaders were unhappy with this agreement of terminating the movement in 1931. However, at its Karachi session which was held in March 1931 which was presided over by Vallabhbhai Patel, the congress decided to approve the agreement and participate in the second round table conference. Gandhi was chosen to represent the congress at the conference which met in September 1931.