Q) Examine the goal, programmes and achievements of the civil disobedience movement.

How far Gandhi was

India: the largest democracy in the world was once the largest British colony for about 200 years. The feeling of
Nationalism arose among the people of India with the advent of British rule. During their regime in India, there
were numerous rebellions, uprisings, and revolts to protest against the atrocities and tyranny of the Britishers.
One of these anti-colonial movements was the civil disobedience movement, launched in 1930.

Various factors engendered the launch of the civil disobedience movement: The root cause laid in the
demand for the constitutional amendments which were required in the government of India act 1919, the
nationalist leaders were already dissatisfied with these acts, and the announcement that an all-white commission
would decide on the constitutional reforms required in India exacerbated the vexation among Indians. Owing to
this, a constitution was drafted in an All-Party Conference by the Indians. Demand for the ‘dominion status’ was
the focal point of this draft but this became a bone of contention with the younger leaders including Jawaharlal
Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose who were in the favour of complete independence. Finally, Gandhiji was able
to push through a compromise formula that accepted the Nehru Report's dominion status objective provided the
British granted it by the end of 1929, failing which the Congress would be free to get the ball rolling for Civil
Disobedience and ‘Purna Swaraj’. Lord Irwin promised a Round Table Conference as soon as the Simon
Commission submitted its report and added that he could not assure the fulfilment of their demand for the
dominion status. (Hence, the first-round table conference was boycotted by the members of Indian National
Congress). Since their clamour was not accepted, therefore, in the Lahore session, the Indian National Congress,
took the resolution of Poorna Swaraj and, the Indian tricolour flag was hoisted by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on
the bank of the Ravi River. In this session the Indian National Congress authorized the Working Committee
which in turn provided full power to Gandhiji to launch a civil disobedience movement. On 31st January,
Gandhiji gave an ultimatum to Lord Irwin mentioning his demands in the form of 11 points. Since these
demands were ignored, the Civil Disobedience Movement was set in motion under the stewardship of Mahatma
Gandhi.

Earmark of the civil disobedience movement: The sole motive of the movement was to attain complete
independence, the foundation of which was laid on 26th January 1930. A public declaration was made on 26
January 1930 – a day which the Congress Party urged Indians to celebrate as 'Independence Day'. The
declaration was passed due to the failure of negotiations between nationalist leaders and the British over demand
of dominion status for India.

Programs of the civil disobedience movement: The Civil Disobedience Movement was multi-faceted. The salt
satyagraha was the centrepiece of the movement. The movement also encompassed refusal to pay taxes, a
boycott of foreign goods including liquor and clothes. The embargo was also witnessed in the form of lawyers
giving up practice, the public boycotting the courts by refraining from litigation, the government servants
resigning from their posts, and the members of legislatures resigning their seats.

Gandhi’s role in the movement and country wide mass participation:

In the years ensuing the Non-Cooperation Movement, the torch of nationalism had been kept alive by Gandhiji.
Owing to his ordinary attire and simplicity more and more people were drawn towards him. He was able to
connect with the masses and this connection increased the participation of people in the civil disobedience
movement. Gandhiji used salt as a tool to commence the civil disobedience movement since it was a basic
commodity which he believed would unite people and would enlarge the participation. On 12th March, 1930
Gandhi ji along with seventy-eight members of the Ashram. marched 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram and
reached coastal town of Dandi after 24 days on 6 th April 1930.  After reaching Dandi, he broke the salt law by
picking up the salt left on the shore by the sea. On his way to reach Dandi he was joined by thousands of people.
With this act, the defiance of salt laws started all over the country. When Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested on
14 April, for defiance of the salt law, there were huge demonstrations and clashes with the police in the cities of
Madras, Calcutta and Karachi.

The movement didn’t restrict itself to a certain region rather it spread pan India and percolated to various
sections of the society. This movement witnessed participation of women in great numbers who were earlier
merely engaged in household chores. They stood from morning to night outside liquor shops and opium dens
and stores selling foreign cloth, quietly but firmly persuading the customers and shopkeepers to change their
ways. Along with the women, students and youth played the most prominent part in the boycott of foreign cloth
and liquor. The liquor boycott brought Government revenues from excise duties crashing down. Eastern India
became the scene of a new kind of no-tax campaign i.e refusal to pay the chowkidara tax.

Although, the participation of Muslims in the Civil Disobedience Movement was certainly less compared to the
non- cooperation movement yet their participation was not insignificant, either. Their participation in the North-
West Frontier Province was, as is well known, overwhelming. The Middle- and upper-class Muslim women
were also active to a certain extent.

It can be deduced that up to a certain point Gandhiji succeeded in making Civil Disobedience a mass movement.
Even after the arrest of Gandhiji, the movement did not stop rather it proliferated. His arrest acted as a further
spur to activity, caused endless trouble for the Government and massive unrest among the people. At the
industrial city of Sholapur in Maharashtra, the news of Gandhi's arrest led to a textile strike from 7 May.

Even tough, the movement had to remain non- violent there were a few areas where violence was reported
including Sholapur, Peshawar and Chittagong. Despite these violent incidents, Gandhiji did not call off the
movement.

Phases of Civil Disobedience Movement: There were two phases of the civil disobedience movement. The
first phase began with the salt satyagraha and Gandhiji said that the breaking of the salt law, could be
accompanied by boycott of foreign cloth and liquor. The second phase began in mid-May, after Gandhi ji was
arrested, the Working Committee sanctioned the non-payment of revenue in the provinces where the ryotwari
system prevailed, a no chaukidari tax compaign in zamindari provinces, and violation of forest laws in the
Central Provinces.

Round table conferences and the end of civil disobedience movement: The first-round table conference was
boycotted by the Indian National Congress. Hence, it was being persuaded come to a settlement. Finally, a
settlement between Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin brought the Congress to the second session of
Round Table Conference. In these talks Gandhi Irwin pact was signed which was a provisional settlement and as
a result of this pact civil disobedience movement was called off.

Achievements and accomplishments of the civil disobedience movement: The Civil Disobedience
Movement marked a critically important stage in the progress of the anti-imperialist struggle. It was a landmark
event in the Indian Nationalists movement. It is credited for paving the way for freedom in India. It was
significant in many ways as it was a movement spread to the urban areas and people belonging to the lower
castes. Furthermore, it witnessed the participation as well as some sort of emancipation of women. Moreover,
the imports of cloth from Britain had fallen by half and other imported goods like cigarettes had suffered a
similar fate. The Government’s income from liquor excise and land revenue had been affected. The elections to
the Legislative Assembly were effectively boycotted.
Therefore, it can be concluded that although the civil disobedience movement was not a roaring success yet it
set the stage for independence from the Britishers to a certain extent.