Question

How did different social groups conceive the idea of ‘Non-Cooperation’? Explain with examples.

Answer 1

Hint:Non-cooperation movement was started in order to get freedom from the British Government rule which was a large scale civil disobedience, i.e. Satyagraha.

Complete answer:
The Non-Cooperation movement was founded in 1920 on 1st August and launched on 5th September 1920 in Calcutta by the Indian National Congress in which Gandhiji played the major role. It was the first organized act of Gandhi to free India and get ‘swaraj’ from the British rule. Different social groups conceived the movement differently such as-

1. The participation of the middle class people was the first approach towards the movement where students left their schools and colleges, the headmasters resigned from their posts, the lawyers left their practice and were boycotted, the election were boycotted too. In the movement the Indian textiles were bought with the burning of foreign clothes.

2.Peasants also took part in the movement and were always against the talukdars and landlords who charged high rents and different cess from them which they had to pay. This led to the boycott of these landlords and talukdars.

3. The plantation workers in the area of Assam also took part with a hope that they would get freedom and can move easily anywhere they want because in those times they had to work in a specified limit and area. Permission was to be taken from the authority which they did not get easily.

4. The tribals living in the area of Andhra Pradesh were also against the British policies because they stopped them from entering the forest area for grazing their cattle.

Thus, everyone had different problems but the main motive was only to get freedom and bring peace.

Note: This movement was started because of the three main causes, i.e. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre which created disturbances in Punjab, Rowlatt Act and Khilafat Agitation. But, at the end this movement had to be withdrawn by Mahatma Gandhi due to the Chauri Chaura incident in which 22 policemen were burnt alive which was turning violent in most of the places.