Gandhi Era (1915–1934): Smart Notes for UPSC

🧭 OVERVIEW & PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS

The return of **Mahatma Gandhi** from South Africa in January 1915 marked a permanent structural shift in the Indian National Movement. Gandhi transformed the anti-colonial movement from an urban, elite constitutional debate into a multi-class, pan-Indian mass movement. Grounded in **Satyagraha (Truth Force)**, **Ahimsa (Non-Violence)**, and moral self-purification, Gandhian techniques mobilized peasants, workers, women, and students into disciplined non-cooperation against the British Empire.

🔥 CORE PHILOSOPHICAL TENETS

Satyagraha vs. Passive Resistance: Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong rooted in moral love and truth, rejecting hatred toward the adversary. Passive resistance is a weapon of the weak that accepts physical force as a tactical choice.

Means and Ends: Gandhi maintained that clean ends cannot be achieved through impure or violent means.

I. 📍 EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN SATYAGRAHA (1917–1918)

Satyagraha	Year	Key Issue	Gandhian Technique & Result
Champaran Satyagraha	1917	Protest against the Tinkathia system (forcing indigo cultivation on 3/20th land) in Bihar. Invited by Rajkumar Shukla.	First Civil Disobedience. Government appointed an inquiry committee (Gandhi member); Tinkathia system abolished and 25% compensation refunded.
Ahmedabad Mill Strike	1918	Dispute over withdrawal of Plague Bonus between mill owners and cotton mill workers.	First Hunger Strike. Gandhi fasted; tribunal awarded a 35% wage hike to workers.
Kheda Satyagraha	1918	Crop failure in Gujarat; peasants demanded revenue suspension under the Revenue Code (if yield was under 25%).	First Non-Cooperation. Joined by Vallabhbhai Patel & Indulal Yagnik. Government agreed to collect tax only from capable peasants.

II. 🌊 ROWLATT SATYAGRAHA, KHILAFAT & NCM (1919–1922)

1. Rowlatt Act & Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919)

Rowlatt Act (Anarchical & Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919): Allowed detention of political suspects for 2 years without trial (popularly called "No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal").
Rowlatt Satyagraha: Gandhi organized the Satyagraha Sabha and called for an all-India strike on April 6, 1919.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919): Public assembled at Amritsar to protest arrest of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal. General Dyer ordered open fire, killing hundreds. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood in protest; Hunter Commission appointed to inquire.

2. Khilafat & Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922)

Khilafat Movement: Led by Ali Brothers (Shaukat & Mohammad Ali), Maulana Azad, and Hasrat Mohani against the dismemberment of the Ottoman Caliphate by Britain after WWI. Gandhi united Khilafat with Congress demands.
NCM Adoption: Approved at Special Calcutta Session (Sept 1920) under Lala Lajpat Rai; endorsed at Nagpur Session (Dec 1920) under C. Vijayaraghavachariar (reorganized INC with provincial committees on linguistic basis).
Program: Surrender of titles, boycott of courts, schools, and foreign goods; promotion of Charkha and Khadi.
Chauri Chaura Incident (Feb 5, 1922): Violent crowd burned down a police station in Gorakhpur, killing 22 policemen. Gandhi unilaterally withdrew NCM via Bardoli Resolution (Feb 12, 1922).

III. 📜 SWARAJ PARTY, NEHRU REPORT & LAHORE SESSION

1. Swarajists vs. No-Changers (1922–1923)

Swarajists (Pro-Changers): Led by C.R. Das (President) and Motilal Nehru (Secretary). Formed the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party (1923) to enter legislative councils, disrupt colonial proceedings from within, and "wreck the councils from inside."
No-Changers: Led by C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Rajendra Prasad. Favored constructive village work, Khadi, and anti-untouchability programs.

2. Simon Commission & Nehru Report (1927–1928)

Simon Commission (1927): All-white 7-member commission sent to review 1919 Act. Boycotted by Congress under slogan "Simon Go Back". Lala Lajpat Rai succumbed to injuries from police lathi charges during protests at Lahore (1928).
Nehru Report (1928): Drafted by Motilal Nehru in response to Lord Birkenhead’s challenge. Demanded Dominion Status, Joint Electorates with fundamental rights, and a federal structure. Rejected by Jinnah (who issued his 14 Points).
Lahore Congress Session (1929): Presided by **Jawaharlal Nehru**. Passed the historic **Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence)** resolution. Jan 26, 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day.

IV. 🏔️ CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT (1930–1934)

1. Dandi March & Launch of CDM

Gandhi submitted his 11 Demands to Viceroy Irwin. Upon rejection, he launched the CDM with the **Dandi March** (March 12 – April 6, 1930).
Marched 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi with 78 volunteers; broke the Salt Law on April 6, 1930. Salt was chosen because it affected every Indian across caste and class lines.

2. Regional Spread of CDM

Tamil Nadu: C. Rajagopalachari led march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam.
Malabar: K. Kelappan marched from Calicut to Payyanur.
NWFP (Red Shirts / Khudai Khidmatgars): Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ("Frontier Gandhi") organized non-violent Pashtun resistance. Peshawar uprising witnessed the Garhwal Rifles refusing to open fire on unarmed crowds.
Dharasana Salt Works (Gujarat): Sarojini Naidu, Manilal, and Imam Sahib led non-violent raid on salt works; met with brutal police lathi charges (reported by Webb Miller).
Manipur & Nagaland: Rani Gaidinliu (aged 13) raised revolt against British rule.

3. Gandhi-Irwin Pact & Round Table Conferences

Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Pact of Delhi, March 1931): Congress agreed to suspend CDM and participate in the 2nd Round Table Conference; British agreed to release non-violent political prisoners and allow peaceful salt making along coasts.
Karachi Session (1931): Presided by Vallabhbhai Patel. Endorsed Delhi Pact and passed landmark resolutions on **Fundamental Rights** and **National Economic Program** (drafted by Nehru).
Second Round Table Conference (London, 1931): Gandhi attended as sole INC representative; deadlocked over minority representation. Resumed CDM upon return, but British launched heavy repression.

4. Communal Award & Poona Pact (1932)

Communal Award (Aug 1932): Announced by Ramsay MacDonald, granting separate electorates to Depressed Classes (Dalits).
Poona Pact (Sept 24, 1932): Gandhi went on fast unto death in Yerwada Jail, Pune. Agreement signed between **Dr. B.R. Ambedkar** and Hindu leaders. Abandoned separate electorates for Depressed Classes in favor of **reserved seats** (increased from 71 to 148 in provincial legislatures).
Anti-Untouchability Campaign: Gandhi launched the *All India Anti-Untouchability League* (1932) and published the weekly *Harijan*.

V. 🎯 UPSC PRELIMS HIGH-YIELD FACTS

📌 Rapid Revision Checklist

Belgaum Session (1924): The ONLY Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
Garhwal Rifles (1930): Led by Chandra Singh Garhwali; refused to fire on non-violent Khudai Khidmatgar protestors in Peshawar.
Bardoli Resolution (1922): Formally withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement following Chauri Chaura.
First to sign Poona Pact: Signed by Madan Mohan Malaviya on behalf of caste Hindus and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on behalf of Depressed Classes.
Attended ALL Three Round Table Conferences: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Tej Bahadur Sapru.

VI. 📝 PYQ THEMES & MAINS VALUE ADDITION

Previous Year Question Themes

Comparison between Non-Cooperation Movement (1920) and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930).
Critical evaluation of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the demand for capital punishment commutation of Bhagat Singh.
Ideological differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar on caste and untouchability.
Significance of Karachi Resolution (1931) in shaping socio-economic vision of independent India.

💡 Mains Analytical Insight: Characterizing Gandhian Mass Mobilization

Struggle-Truce-Struggle (S-T-S) Strategy: Gandhi recognized that mass enthusiasm cannot be maintained indefinitely at peak pitch. Periods of active mass movement (Struggle) were deliberately alternated with phases of constitutional work and constructive programs (Truce) to allow masses to recuperate.
Multi-Class Harmony: Unified disparate socioeconomic strata (landlords, peasants, industrialists, workers) under the single umbrella of anti-colonial liberation.

🐦 FINAL REVISION FLOW

Champaran / Kheda / Ahmedabad (1917–18) ➔ Rowlatt Act & Jallianwala Bagh (1919) ➔ NCM Launch (1920) ➔ Chauri Chaura & Withdrawal (1922) ➔ Swarajist Debate ➔ Simon Boycott & Nehru Report (1928) ➔ Lahore Purna Swaraj (1929) ➔ Dandi March & CDM (1930) ➔ Gandhi-Irwin Pact & Karachi Session (1931) ➔ Poona Pact (1932) ➔ CDM Withdrawal (1934).

🕊️ GANDHI ERA: 1915–1934