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Non-Cooperation Movement Class 10 Notes | CBSE

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Nationalism in India

Non-Cooperation Movement Class 10: Causes, Spread and Withdrawal

Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The Non-Cooperation Movement, launched in January 1921, asked Indians to stop supporting British rule so it would collapse. War-time hardship and the Khilafat issue shaped it. It spread from town middle classes to peasants, tribals and plantation workers, each with its own idea of swaraj. Gandhiji withdrew it in February 1922. Boards ask its causes, spread, effects and withdrawal.

Old black-and-white group photograph of staff and students of National College, Lahore, founded in 1921, with turbaned men seated and standi

Notice this college, founded in 1921 to train students for the movement, showing how Non-Cooperation led students to leave government schools and colleges.

Picture: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Understand Non-Cooperation Movement

The Non-Cooperation Movement was the broad-based movement Gandhiji planned after the Rowlatt satyagraha, which had been limited mostly to cities and towns. Its logic came from his book Hind Swaraj (1909). There he argued that the British ruled India only because Indians cooperated with them. If Indians refused, British rule would collapse within a year and swaraj would come. So the weapon was simple: withdraw your support.

Background 1: the First World War. The war changed India's economy and politics. Defence spending rose sharply. The government paid for it with war loans and higher taxes: customs duties went up and an income tax was brought in. Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, so ordinary families suffered badly. Villages had to send soldiers, and this forced recruitment made rural people angry. Then crops failed in 1918-19 and 1920-21, food ran short, and an influenza epidemic struck. The 1921 census recorded 12 to 13 million deaths from famine and the epidemic. People had expected relief once the war ended. It did not come, so their anger was ready to be turned into a movement.

Background 2: the Khilafat issue. The war ended with Ottoman Turkey on the losing side, and word went round that the victors would force a severe settlement on the Ottoman emperor. He was also the Khalifa, looked upon as the spiritual leader of the Islamic world. In March 1919 Muslim leaders set up a Khilafat Committee in Bombay to protect his worldly authority as a ruler. Young Muslim leaders, such as the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, talked to Gandhiji about united mass action. Gandhiji saw a chance to bring Muslims into one national movement with Hindus.

Why 1920? The Rowlatt satyagraha of 1919 had spread widely but stayed mostly in cities and towns. Gandhiji wanted a broader movement, and he was sure it could not happen unless Hindus and Muslims came closer. Taking up Khilafat was his way to do this. At the Calcutta session (September 1920) he convinced other leaders to start non-cooperation for Khilafat and for swaraj. Many in the Congress hesitated: they did not want to boycott the council elections of November 1920 and feared violence. After a tussle, a compromise was reached at the Nagpur session (December 1920) and the programme was adopted.

The plan was to move step by step. First, people would hand back the titles the government had given them. They would also stay away from the civil services, the army, the police, courts, legislative councils and schools, and stop buying foreign goods. Only if the government answered with repression would the next step come: a full civil disobedience campaign.

The movement began in January 1921, and its key idea is that swaraj meant different things to different people.

In the towns the middle class joined first. Students walked out of government schools and colleges, teachers and headmasters resigned, and lawyers stopped practising. Most provinces boycotted the council elections. Madras was the exception: there the Justice Party, a party of non-Brahmans, contested them, because a council seat gave a share of power that usually only Brahmans enjoyed. The economic boycott hit harder. Foreign goods were refused, liquor shops were picketed (protesters blocked their entrances) and foreign cloth was burnt in bonfires. Imports of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. Many merchants would not deal in or finance foreign goods, and as people switched to Indian cloth, Indian mills and handlooms produced more. But the town movement lost steam. Khadi cost more than factory-made cloth, and poor people could not keep buying it. Indian schools and courts to replace British ones took a long time to appear, so many students, teachers and lawyers went back.

In Awadh the peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi who had once gone to Fiji as an indentured labourer. Talukdars and landlords squeezed them with very high rents and many extra cesses, made them do begar (unpaid forced labour) on their farms, and kept evicting tenants so that they could never claim the land. The peasants wanted revenue cut, begar ended and harsh landlords socially boycotted; village panchayats even arranged nai-dhobi bandhs so that landlords lost the services of barbers and washermen. Jawaharlal Nehru toured the Awadh villages from June 1920, and by October the Oudh Kisan Sabha, headed by Nehru, Baba Ramchandra and others, was formed; within a month it had over 300 village branches. The Congress tried to fold this struggle into the national movement, but in 1921 the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars looted and grain hoards seized, often in Gandhiji's name, and the Congress leadership disliked these forms.

In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, the government had shut large forest areas, so the hill people could no longer graze cattle or gather fuelwood and fruit there, and then made them do begar on road building. They rose in revolt under Alluri Sitaram Raju, who claimed special powers, praised Gandhiji and urged people to wear khadi and give up drink, yet insisted that only force could free India. His followers attacked police stations and fought a guerrilla war, which the Congress could not approve. Raju was captured and executed in 1924 and later became a folk hero.

In the plantations of Assam, the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 did not let workers leave the tea gardens without permission, and permission was rarely given. For them swaraj meant the freedom to move and to keep their link with their home villages. Hearing of the movement, thousands walked out, believing 'Gandhi Raj' would give them land at home. A railway and steamer strike left them stranded on the way, and the police caught and beat them.

These groups did not follow the Congress programme exactly. Yet by acting in Gandhiji's name, they linked their local struggles to an all-India movement. That is how the movement built a sense of a wider nation.

In February 1922, a peaceful demonstration at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur became a violent clash with the police. Gandhiji then called the movement off. He saw violence breaking out in several places. He also believed volunteers had to be trained in satyagraha before they could take on mass struggles again. This withdrawal leads into the next phase of the chapter: the Swaraj Party debate and, later, Civil Disobedience.

Non-Cooperation Movement: key facts

Effects of the First World War
Defence spendingwar loans, higher customs duties, new income tax
Pricesdoubled 1913-1918
Villagesforced recruitment
Crop failures1918-19 and 1920-21
Famine and influenza12-13 million deaths (1921 census)
Use for 'how did the war help the national movement' answers.
Khilafat Committee
Bombay, March 1919: formed to defend the Khalifa's temporal powers after Ottoman Turkey's defeat; Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali
Gandhiji used it to bring Hindus and Muslims into one movement.
Idea behind non-cooperation
Hind Swaraj (1909): British rule survived on Indian cooperation; refusal would bring swaraj within a year
Opening point for any 'why non-cooperation' answer.
Congress sessions, 1920
Calcutta, September 1920: leaders convinced; Nagpur, December 1920: programme adopted after compromise
Both are map items. Calcutta comes first, Nagpur adopts.
Programme in stages
Surrender titles; boycott civil services, army, police, courts, councils, schools, foreign goods; then full civil disobedience if repressed
Quote the stages in order for 3-mark answers.
Economic effect
Foreign cloth imports halved 1921-22: Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore
Best evidence for economic-effects questions.
Awadh peasants
Baba Ramchandra; against talukdars, high rents, begar; Oudh Kisan Sabha by October 1920 with Nehru
Countryside strand; demands: lower revenue, end begar, boycott landlords.
Gudem Hills
Alluri Sitaram Raju led guerrilla war; believed only force could free India; executed 1924
Shows a strand the Congress could not approve.
Inland Emigration Act, 1859
Assam plantation workers could not leave tea gardens without permission
Explains swaraj as freedom of movement.
Withdrawal
February 1922: Chauri Chaura violence; Gandhiji called off the movement
Two reasons: violence, and need to train satyagrahis.

How to answer Non-Cooperation Movement questions

Board questions on this topic ask you to explain causes, describe spread among groups, assess economic effects or give reasons for decline and withdrawal. Marks go to separate, fact-backed points.

  1. 1Read the command word: 'explain', 'analyse' or 'evaluate' needs reasons, not just a list.
  2. 2Start with the idea from Hind Swaraj if the question is about why the movement was launched.
  3. 3Name the group and place for each strand: middle class in towns, Awadh peasants, Gudem tribals, Assam plantation workers.
  4. 4Give one concrete fact per point: the Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore fall, begar, the 1859 Act, Raju's execution in 1924.
  5. 5For 'slowed down' questions give both reasons: costly khadi and slow Indian alternative institutions.
  6. 6For withdrawal, write Chauri Chaura plus Gandhiji's view that satyagrahis needed training.
  7. 7Close with the link idea: swaraj meant different things, but acting in Gandhiji's name tied local struggles to an all-India movement.
  8. 8Keep to word limits: 60 words for 3 marks, 120 words for 5 marks.

Non-Cooperation Movement in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Non-cooperation as a strategy

Imagine the students of a hostel feel that their mess contractor is unfair, and suppose the contractor can run the mess only with their payments. Instead of fighting, the students agree together to stop eating at the mess for a week.

Explain how this plan uses the same idea as Gandhiji's non-cooperation, and suggest one problem that could make it weaken, as happened in the towns during the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Identify the idea: power depends on cooperation of those who are ruled or served.
  2. Link to Hind Swaraj: Gandhiji argued that British rule lasted only because Indians cooperated.
  3. Identify a weakness: students need an affordable alternative to eat.
  4. Link to NCERT: khadi was costly and Indian institutions came up slowly, so people drifted back.

Answer: The plan works like non-cooperation: in this imagined case the contractor, like British rule in Gandhiji's argument, survives only because people cooperate. Withdrawing support puts pressure without violence. But the boycott may weaken if outside food is costly or hard to find. In 1921-22 the town movement slowed because khadi was expensive and alternative Indian institutions were slow to come up.

Memory hook: No cooperation, no control, but only if there is an alternative.

Swaraj meant different things

Imagine a gram sabha meeting where everyone cheers a call for 'a better village'. Tenant farmers hope rents will fall, labourers hope for paid work, and families living near the forest hope to collect firewood freely again.

Compare this situation with how different groups understood swaraj during the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Note that one slogan carried different hopes.
  2. Awadh peasants: lower revenue, end of begar.
  3. Gudem tribals: restoring forest rights.
  4. Plantation workers: freedom to move and return home.
  5. Common link: all identified with a wider movement.

Answer: Like the villagers, groups in 1921 joined one call with their own hopes. Awadh peasants wanted lower revenue and an end to begar; Gudem tribals wanted their forest rights back; Assam plantation workers wanted freedom to leave the gardens and go home. Yet acting in Gandhiji's name linked them to an all-India struggle.

Memory hook: One slogan, many dreams.

Tricks to remember Non-Cooperation Movement

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • C before N

    Calcutta Convinces, Nagpur Notifies (adopts). Alphabet order matches time order: September then December 1920.

    Use it when: MCQs and map questions on the two 1920 sessions.

  • TPS for the three strands

    Towns, Peasants (Awadh), Sitaram Raju's hills, plus Swaraj in the plantations: think 'T-P-S-S'.

    Use it when: Structuring 5-mark 'spread of the movement' answers.

  • 102 to 57

    Foreign cloth fell from 102 to 57 crore: almost half, so 'imports halved'.

    Use it when: Economic effects questions.

  • Two Ks slowed the towns

    Khadi cost and Kept-waiting for Indian institutions.

    Use it when: Why the movement in cities slowed down.

Non-Cooperation Movement: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Plantation workers and swaraj · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Under which law were plantation workers in Assam not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission?
(a) Rowlatt Act, 1919
(b) Inland Emigration Act, 1859
(c) Government of India Act, 1919
(d) Forest Act, 1878

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Recall the plantation section: workers needed permission to leave and rarely got it; the law named is the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 (1 mark).

Answer: (b) Inland Emigration Act, 1859

Example 2: Why the town movement slowed · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Explain why the Non-Cooperation Movement in the cities gradually slowed down. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Khadi cost more than factory-made mill cloth, so poor people could not afford to keep buying it (1 mark).
  2. A boycott of British institutions worked only if Indian ones replaced them, and these took long to set up (1 mark).
  3. So many students and teachers went back to government schools and lawyers returned to government courts (1 mark).

Answer: Khadi cost more than factory-made cloth, so poor families could not keep up the boycott for long. Giving up British schools and courts needed Indian replacements, and these took a long time to appear. With nowhere else to go, many students, teachers and lawyers went back, and the movement in the cities lost force.

Example 3: Awadh peasants · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Describe the peasant movement in Awadh during the Non-Cooperation period. Why was the Congress unhappy with the way it developed? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Led by Baba Ramchandra against talukdars and landlords who took high rents, cesses and begar, and evicted tenants (1 mark).
  2. Demands: lower revenue, abolition of begar, social boycott of landlords through nai-dhobi bandhs; Oudh Kisan Sabha set up with Nehru (1 mark).
  3. In 1921 talukdars' houses were attacked, bazaars looted, grain hoards seized, and Gandhiji's name used to justify no taxes and land redistribution (1 mark).

Answer: Peasants of Awadh, led by Baba Ramchandra, protested against talukdars who demanded high rents, cesses and begar and evicted tenants. They demanded lower revenue, an end to begar and social boycott of landlords, with nai-dhobi bandhs; the Oudh Kisan Sabha was formed. The Congress was unhappy because in 1921 houses were attacked, bazaars looted and Gandhiji's name misused.

Example 4: Comparing three rural strands (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Compare the struggles of the Awadh peasants, the Gudem hill tribals and the Assam plantation workers during the Non-Cooperation period under four heads: grievance, leader, method and how the Congress related to them. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Awadh grievance and leader: high rents, cesses, begar and eviction by talukdars; led by Baba Ramchandra, with Nehru in the Oudh Kisan Sabha (1 mark).
  2. Awadh method and Congress: nai-dhobi bandhs and social boycott, later attacks on talukdars' houses and looting; Congress tried to absorb the struggle but was unhappy with these forms (1 mark).
  3. Gudem: forest closure and begar for road building; Alluri Sitaram Raju; guerrilla attacks on police stations, a method the Congress could not approve (1 mark).
  4. Assam: confined by the Inland Emigration Act of 1859; workers defied the authorities and left for home hoping for land, but were caught and beaten (1 mark).
  5. Comparison: none followed the Congress programme exactly, yet acting in Gandhiji's name linked each local struggle to an all-India movement (1 mark).

Answer: Awadh peasants opposed talukdars who charged high rents and cesses, forced begar and evicted tenants. Led by Baba Ramchandra, with Nehru in the Oudh Kisan Sabha, they used nai-dhobi bandhs; later houses were attacked and bazaars looted, which upset the Congress. Gudem tribals resented forest closure and begar for roads. Alluri Sitaram Raju led them in guerrilla attacks on police stations, a method the Congress could not approve. Assam plantation workers, confined by the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, walked out of the gardens hoping Gandhi Raj would give them land; police caught and beat them. None followed the Congress programme exactly, yet acting in Gandhiji's name tied each local struggle to an all-India movement.

Example 5: Source: the hill rebels · 4 marks · Source-basedHOTS / competency

Read the source and answer the questions.

Picture the hill villages of the Gudem region of Andhra Pradesh in the early 1920s. These families had long used the nearby woods as of right. Their cattle grazed there, and they gathered firewood and fruit there. Then the colonial state shut off big stretches of forest and kept them out. On top of this, officials made them build roads as begar. Anger turned into revolt. The man who led it, Alluri Sitaram Raju, spoke warmly of Mahatma Gandhi. He asked people to wear khadi and to stop drinking. But he also told them that only force would free India. His followers raided police stations and fought a guerrilla war until Raju was caught and executed in 1924. Over time he became a folk hero.

(i) What was begar? (1)
(ii) Why did closing the forests threaten the hill people's livelihood? (1)
(iii) Raju admired Gandhiji, yet the Congress could not approve his movement. Infer why. (2)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. (i) Labour villagers were forced to give without payment (1 mark).
  2. (ii) Their living depended on grazing cattle and collecting fuelwood and fruit in the forest, so closure cut off their daily needs and denied their traditional rights (1 mark).
  3. (iii) Raju borrowed Gandhian symbols (khadi, giving up drink) but held that only force could free India, and his followers raided police stations and fought a guerrilla war (1 mark).
  4. (iii) The Congress movement rested on non-violent satyagraha; armed revolt broke that principle and invited harsh repression, so admiration for Gandhiji was not enough to win Congress approval (1 mark).

Answer: (i) Begar was forced labour without payment. (ii) The hill people lived by grazing cattle and gathering fuelwood and fruit in the forest; once it was closed, these daily needs were cut off and their traditional rights were denied. (iii) Raju used Gandhian symbols such as khadi and giving up liquor, but he held that only force could free India and led raids on police stations and guerrilla war. The Congress movement rested on non-violent satyagraha, so an armed revolt, which also invited harsh repression, could not have its approval, whatever Raju felt for Gandhiji.

Example 6: Boycott, foreign cloth and Indian textiles (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Examine how the boycott programme of 1921-22 affected trade in foreign cloth and Indian textile production, and why it could not be sustained. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Boycott in action: foreign goods boycotted, foreign cloth burnt in bonfires, liquor shops picketed (1 mark).
  2. Impact: imports of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore (1 mark).
  3. Merchants and traders refused to trade in or finance foreign goods; Indian mills and handlooms raised production (1 mark).
  4. Limits: khadi cost more than mill cloth, so the poor could not sustain the boycott; Indian alternative institutions came up slowly (1 mark).
  5. Judgement: a real blow to colonial trade and a boost to Indian industry, but it could last only while affordable alternatives existed (1 mark).

Answer: At first the movement hit the colonial economy hard. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed and foreign cloth burnt in bonfires. Imports of foreign cloth halved, from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore between 1921 and 1922. Merchants and traders refused to deal in or finance foreign trade, and Indian mills and handlooms produced more. But the gains were hard to keep up. Khadi cost more than mill cloth, so the poor could not boycott for long, and Indian replacements for British institutions came slowly. On balance, the boycott proved that withdrawing Indian support could damage colonial trade and help Indian industry, but it lasted only while people had affordable alternatives.

Example 7: Case: Nehru at Rae Bareli · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Early in January 1921, police in the United Provinces opened fire on peasants near Rae Bareli. Jawaharlal Nehru set out for the spot, but the police blocked his way. Angry, he spoke to the peasants who had gathered around him. Later he admitted that, for a moment, he nearly forgot about non-violence. Then he thought of Gandhiji, the leader he trusted to guide India to victory. He looked at the peasants and saw that they were calmer than he was. His anger passed. He spoke to them humbly about non-violence, and said he needed that lesson more than they did. The peasants listened and went away peacefully.

(i) What event made Nehru want to go to the place near Rae Bareli? (1)
(ii) Why did Nehru feel he needed the lesson of non-violence more than the peasants? (1)
(iii) How does this incident show both the strength and the difficulty of keeping the Non-Cooperation Movement non-violent in the countryside? (2)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. (i) The police had fired on peasants near Rae Bareli (1 mark).
  2. (ii) He was the angrier one and almost forgot non-violence, while the peasants stayed calm (1 mark).
  3. (iii) Strength: an appeal to non-violence, backed by faith in Gandhiji, calmed people and they dispersed peacefully (1 mark).
  4. (iii) Difficulty: police firing provoked anger even in a leader; elsewhere in 1921 Awadh peasants attacked talukdars' houses, and in 1922 Chauri Chaura turned violent (1 mark).

Answer: (i) Police firing on peasants near Rae Bareli. (ii) He was the one who almost forgot non-violence in anger, while the peasants remained calm. (iii) It shows the strength of non-violence: a humble appeal, backed by trust in Gandhiji, made the crowd disperse peacefully. It also shows the difficulty: repression stirred anger even in a leader, and elsewhere anger did spill over, as when Awadh peasants attacked talukdars' houses in 1921 and Chauri Chaura turned violent in 1922.

Example 8: Map: the two 1920 Congress sessions · 2 marks · Map workBoard level

On an outline map of India, locate and label the places where the Congress held its two sessions of 1920 linked to the Non-Cooperation Movement. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Calcutta located with a dot on the map and labelled 'Calcutta, Congress session, September 1920' (1 mark).
  2. Nagpur located with a dot in central India and labelled 'Nagpur, Congress session, December 1920' (1 mark). Knowing what each session decided (Calcutta persuaded, Nagpur adopted) helps you pick the right place, but the map mark is for location and label.

Answer: Calcutta (the September 1920 session) and Nagpur (the December 1920 session), each marked with a dot and labelled.

Example 9: From Rowlatt to Khilafat · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

After the Rowlatt satyagraha, why did Gandhiji feel the need for a new movement, and how did the Khilafat issue help him build it? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Rowlatt satyagraha stayed mostly in cities and towns and was called off when violence spread (1 mark).
  2. He wanted a broad-based movement, which he felt was impossible without bringing Hindus and Muslims closer (1 mark).
  3. Khilafat: anger over the threat to the Khalifa after Ottoman Turkey's defeat gave a shared cause; at Calcutta in September 1920 non-cooperation was agreed for Khilafat and swaraj (1 mark).

Answer: The Rowlatt satyagraha stayed mostly in towns and was called off when violence spread. Gandhiji wanted a broad-based movement, which needed Hindus and Muslims together. Muslim anger over the threat to the Khalifa after Ottoman Turkey's defeat offered a shared cause. At Calcutta in September 1920 he won support for non-cooperation for Khilafat and swaraj.

Where students lose marks in Non-Cooperation Movement

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Swapping the Calcutta and Nagpur sessions

    Both are in 1920 and both concern Non-Cooperation.

    Wrong working

    The Non-Cooperation programme was adopted at Calcutta in December 1920.

    Right working

    Gandhiji convinced leaders at Calcutta in September 1920; the programme was adopted at Nagpur in December 1920.

    Do this: Use 'Calcutta Convinces, Nagpur adopts'.

    Usually costs: 1 mark in MCQ or map.

  • Mistake: Calling Alluri Sitaram Raju a follower of non-violence

    He praised Gandhiji, so students assume he shared his methods.

    Wrong working

    Raju led a non-violent satyagraha in the Gudem Hills.

    Right working

    Raju praised Gandhiji and promoted khadi, but believed India could be freed only by force and led guerrilla warfare.

    Do this: Always write both halves: inspired by Gandhiji, but used force.

    Usually costs: 1-2 marks in source or short answers.

  • Mistake: Listing only successes for 'why did it slow down'

    Students write effects instead of reasons for decline.

    Wrong working

    The movement slowed because foreign cloth imports halved.

    Right working

    It slowed because khadi was costly and alternative Indian institutions were slow to come up.

    Do this: Match your points to the command word.

    Usually costs: Up to 3 marks.

  • Mistake: Writing vague 'everyone wanted freedom' for different strands

    No group-specific fact is given.

    Wrong working

    Peasants and workers joined because they wanted independence.

    Right working

    Awadh peasants wanted an end to begar and lower revenue; Assam workers wanted freedom to leave the tea gardens.

    Do this: Each point: group + grievance + demand.

    Usually costs: 2-3 marks in 5-mark answers.

Exam tips

  • For 5-mark answers, give one paragraph-point per group so the examiner can tick five separate value points.
  • Quote the Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore figure whenever economic effects are asked.
  • In source passages, separate what the passage says (1-mark parts) from chapter knowledge (2-mark part).
  • Practise locating Calcutta and Nagpur on an outline map with their months, since map questions may use them.
  • Keep withdrawal answers tied to two reasons: violence (Chauri Chaura) and need to train satyagrahis.

Practice questions on Non-Cooperation Movement

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

    State two reasons why Gandhiji withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922. (2 marks)

    Hint

    Think of Chauri Chaura and what Gandhiji felt volunteers lacked.

    Answer

    At Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police, and violence was breaking out elsewhere. Gandhiji also felt volunteers needed training in satyagraha before further mass struggles.

  2. Q2 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Explain how the effects of the First World War and the Khilafat issue together prepared the ground for the Non-Cooperation Movement. (5 marks)

    Hint

    Taxes and prices, recruitment, famine and epidemic; then the Khalifa, the Committee and Gandhiji's aim.

    Answer

    The war raised defence spending, paid for by war loans, higher customs duties and a new income tax. Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, causing great hardship. Forced recruitment of soldiers angered villages. Crop failures in 1918-19 and 1920-21 brought food shortages, and influenza followed; according to the 1921 census, 12 to 13 million died. Hardship did not end after the war, so anger grew. Meanwhile, Ottoman Turkey's defeat and rumours of a harsh treaty on the Khalifa led to the Khilafat Committee in Bombay in March 1919. Gandhiji saw Khilafat as a way to unite Hindus and Muslims, and at Calcutta in September 1920 non-cooperation was agreed for Khilafat and swaraj.

  3. Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

    Why was the Congress hesitant about the Non-Cooperation programme in 1920, and how was the issue resolved? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Council elections, fear of violence, two sessions.

    Answer

    Many leaders did not want to boycott the council elections of November 1920. They feared the movement might lead to popular violence. After an intense tussle from September to December, a compromise was worked out at the Nagpur session in December 1920 and the programme was adopted.

  4. Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

    How did plantation workers in Assam understand swaraj, and what happened when they acted on it? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Inland Emigration Act; a strike stopped them.

    Answer

    The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 stopped them leaving the tea gardens without permission. So swaraj meant being free to move and to stay connected with their home villages; they hoped Gandhi Raj would give them land. Thousands walked out, but a railway and steamer strike left them stuck midway, and the police seized and beat them.

  5. Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    A classmate argues: 'The Non-Cooperation Movement failed because groups like Gudem tribals and Awadh peasants did not follow the Congress programme.' Do you agree? Justify with two points. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Accept part of it, then show the wider link they created.

    Answer

    Partly. Their actions did go beyond the programme: Awadh peasants attacked talukdars' houses and Raju used guerrilla warfare, which the Congress could not approve. But by chanting Gandhiji's name and raising slogans for 'Swatantra Bharat', they linked local struggles to an all-India movement, widening nationalism beyond their localities.

  6. Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Did tying the Khilafat issue to swaraj strengthen or weaken Hindu-Muslim unity in the national movement? Give a reasoned view. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Think about 1920-22, and then what happened after the movement declined.

    Answer

    In the short run it strengthened unity: Gandhiji and Shaukat Ali toured together and Muslims came under one national movement. But the unity rested on one issue. After the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement declined, many Muslims felt alienated from the Congress, riots widened the gap, and many Muslims stayed away from Civil Disobedience. So it helped briefly but did not last.

  7. Q7 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    Compare the Rowlatt satyagraha of 1919 with the Non-Cooperation Movement on three points: social reach, Hindu-Muslim participation and how each ended. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Cities only or countryside too? Khilafat link? Jallianwala Bagh and Chauri Chaura.

    Answer

    Reach: the Rowlatt satyagraha stayed mostly in cities and towns; Non-Cooperation spread from towns to peasants, tribals and plantation workers. Unity: Non-Cooperation was deliberately joined with Khilafat to bring Muslims in. Ending: Rowlatt was called off as violence spread after Jallianwala Bagh; Non-Cooperation was withdrawn in February 1922 after Chauri Chaura.

  8. Q8 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    Why were the council elections not boycotted in Madras during the Non-Cooperation Movement?
    (a) The Congress had no branch in Madras.
    (b) The Justice Party, a party of non-Brahmans, saw council seats as a way to gain power usually held only by Brahmans.
    (c) The British cancelled the elections in Madras.
    (d) Gandhiji asked the Madras Congress to contest them.

    Hint

    Who were the Justice Party and why would they want council seats?

    Answer

    (b) The non-Brahman Justice Party contested the Madras elections because council seats offered a share of power usually held by Brahmans.

  9. Q9 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Describe the events in Punjab in April 1919 and explain how they led Gandhiji to plan a broader movement. (5 marks)

    Hint

    6 April hartal, 10 April firing, 13 April Jallianwala Bagh, repression, then why a new movement.

    Answer

    Gandhiji called a hartal against the Rowlatt Act on 6 April 1919. Alarmed, the government picked up local leaders in Amritsar and barred Gandhiji from Delhi. On 10 April police fired on a peaceful procession, attacks followed, and martial law was imposed under General Dyer. On 13 April Dyer blocked the exits of Jallianwala Bagh, where protesters and Baisakhi visitors had gathered, and fired, killing hundreds. Brutal repression followed: crawling orders, floggings and bombing of villages around Gujranwala. As violence spread, Gandhiji called off the movement. Since it had stayed mostly in towns, he planned a broader movement that would bring Hindus and Muslims together.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.When did the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement begin?Show answer

    January 1921.

  2. 2.Who led the Awadh peasants?Show answer

    Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi who had been an indentured labourer in Fiji.

  3. 3.Which party contested council elections in Madras?Show answer

    The Justice Party, the party of the non-Brahmans.

  4. 4.What is picketing?Show answer

    Protest by blocking the entrance to a shop, factory or office.

  5. 5.When was Alluri Sitaram Raju executed?Show answer

    1924.

  6. 6.Why were Assam workers stranded on the way home?Show answer

    A railway and steamer strike stopped them; police caught and beat them.

Non-Cooperation Movement: frequently asked questions

Why did Gandhiji launch the Non-Cooperation Movement?

He believed, as he wrote in Hind Swaraj, that British rule survived only because Indians cooperated. He also wanted a broad-based movement that brought Hindus and Muslims together, so he joined it with the Khilafat issue.

Why did Gandhiji withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?

In February 1922, after the violent clash at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, he felt the movement was turning violent in many places. He also thought satyagrahis needed proper training before mass struggles.

What does 'swaraj in the plantations' mean?

For Assam tea garden workers, swaraj meant the right to move freely in and out of the gardens and keep links with their home villages. The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 had stopped them leaving without permission.

How is Non-Cooperation different from Civil Disobedience?

In Non-Cooperation people refused to cooperate with the British. In Civil Disobedience they were asked also to break colonial laws, as with the salt law at Dandi. The details of Civil Disobedience are on its own topic page.