Non-Cooperation and Khilafat: How Gandhi Made Nationalism a Mass Movement (Class 12 History)
Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked
After the Rowlatt satyagraha of 1919 made Gandhi a national leader, he launched non-cooperation, joining it with the Khilafat Movement to unite Hindus and Muslims. Indians boycotted schools, courts and taxes; workers struck and peasants and tribals protested. Gandhi called it off after Chauri Chaura in February 1922, but nationalism had become a mass movement.
Understand Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement
Why this topic matters. Non-cooperation is the most frequently set 8-mark Gandhi question: Gandhi's role in it, why it became an unprecedented popular movement, Louis Fischer's 'epoch' remark, and events of 1919-1922. NCERT sections 1, 2, 2.1 and 2.2 with Sources 1-2 and the Khilafat box.
1. A leader announces himself (1915-16).
- January 1915: Gandhi returns after two decades abroad, mostly in South Africa, which historian Chandran Devanesan called 'the making of the Mahatma': there he forged satyagraha, promoted religious harmony and challenged caste and gender discrimination.
- India in 1915: Congress branches in most cities; the Swadeshi movement (1905-07) had produced Lal, Bal and Pal (Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal); 'Moderates' included his mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
- On Gokhale's advice he spent a year travelling around British India.
- February 1916, BHU opening: he contrasted 'richly bedecked noblemen' with absent millions of poor, and said salvation could come only through the farmer. At one level a statement of fact (nationalism was an elite phenomenon of lawyers, doctors, landlords); at another a statement of intent to make it representative of all Indians.
2. Local struggles (1917-18).
| Year | Campaign | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Champaran (Bihar) | Security of tenure for peasants against indigo planters; freedom to grow crops of their choice |
| 1918 | Ahmedabad | Better working conditions for textile mill workers |
| 1918 | Kheda (Gujarat) | Remission of taxes after harvest failure |
They marked him out as a nationalist with deep sympathy for the poor, but were localised.
3. Rowlatt satyagraha (1919). Wartime press censorship and detention without trial were continued on the recommendation of a committee chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt. Gandhi called a countrywide campaign: shops and schools shut in North and West India. Protest was intense in Punjab, whose soldiers had expected reward for war service. Gandhi was detained; in April 1919 at Amritsar a British Brigadier ordered firing on a meeting: over 400 killed at Jallianwala Bagh. The Rowlatt satyagraha made Gandhi a truly national leader.
4. Non-cooperation and Khilafat (1920-22).
- Programme: stop attending schools, colleges and law courts; do not pay taxes; 'renunciation of (all) voluntary association' with the government. Gandhi promised swaraj within a year.
- Khilafat Movement (1919-1920): Indian Muslims led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali demanded that the Khalifa keep control of Muslim sacred places of the former Ottoman empire, that jazirat-ul-Arab stay under Muslim sovereignty, and that the Khalifa keep enough territory to defend the faith. The Caliphate had been abolished by Kemal Attaturk. Congress supported it; Gandhi joined it to non-cooperation so that Hindus and Muslims could together end colonial rule.
5. An unprecedented surge (2.1).
- Students left government schools and colleges; lawyers refused to attend court.
- Workers: official figures for 1921 count 396 strikes; 600,000 workers took part and seven million workdays were lost.
- Countryside: in northern Andhra hill tribes defied the forest laws; Awadh farmers withheld taxes; Kumaun peasants would not carry officials' loads.
- People often acted in defiance of local nationalist leaders, interpreting non-cooperation in ways that suited their own interests.
- Louis Fischer: non-cooperation became 'the name of an epoch'; it was negative enough to be peaceful but positive enough to be effective; training for self-rule.
- The Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since 1857.
6. Withdrawal and trial. In February 1922, peasants burnt a police station at Chauri Chaura (United Provinces); several constables died. Gandhi called off the movement: no provocation could justify such murder. Arrested in March 1922 for sedition; Justice C.N. Broomfield sentenced him to six years while saying he was in a different category from anyone he had tried, a great patriot of high ideals and 'even saintly life'.
7. A people's leader (2.2).
- By 1922 nationalism was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers and artisans took part. Many called him 'Mahatma'.
- He dressed, lived and spoke like them: dhoti or loincloth instead of suit or bandgala; in 1921, on a South India tour, he shaved his head and began wearing a loincloth.
- Charkha: daily spinning broke the caste boundary between mental and manual labour; symbol of a society not glorifying machines, and a source of supplementary income (Source 1: he objected to the 'craze for machinery').
- Shahid Amin's study of eastern UP (February 1921 tour): rumours of miracles (a karah splitting at Basti, wheat turning to sesamum at Azamgarh), of punishment for critics, and that he could overrule officials; crowds of 15,000-20,000 at stations (Source 2).
- Organisation: new Congress branches; Praja Mandals in princely states; nationalist message in the mother tongue; provincial committees on linguistic regions.
- Supporters ranged from poor peasants to industrialists like G.D. Birla, for different reasons.
- Associates (1917-22) from many regions and faiths, among them Vallabh Bhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Subhas Chandra Bose, C. Rajagopalachari, J.B. Kripalani, Govind Ballabh Pant and Mahadev Desai.
- Released in February 1924, he turned to khadi, abolition of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim harmony and self-reliance.
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
Our salvation can only come through the farmer
Mahatma Gandhi at the opening of BHU, February 1916: Contrasting richly dressed invitees with the absent poor.
First public statement of his aim to make nationalism represent the people.
the name of an epoch in the life of India and of Gandhiji
Louis Fischer, Gandhi's American biographer (NCERT section 2.1): Describing non-cooperation.
Shows the movement's lasting importance; examined directly in 8-mark questions.
negative enough to be peaceful but positive enough to be effective
Louis Fischer (NCERT section 2.1): On the method of non-cooperation.
Neatly explains how non-cooperation worked as protest.
the making of the Mahatma
Historian Chandran Devanesan (NCERT section 1): On Gandhi's years in South Africa.
Where satyagraha was first forged.
Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement: key facts
- Road to national leadership
1915 Gandhi returns from South Africa (January) 1916 BHU speech: salvation through the farmer (February) 1917 Champaran: security of tenure for peasants 1918 Ahmedabad mill workers; Kheda tax remission 1919 Rowlatt satyagraha; Jallianwala Bagh, over 400 killed (April) - Local struggles first, then a national issue.
- Non-cooperation programme
Boycott schools, colleges and law courts Taxes not to be paid Principle renounce all voluntary association with the government Promise swaraj within a year Ally the Khilafat Movement of Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali - Coupled with Khilafat to unite Hindus and Muslims.
- Mass participation
Students left government schools and colleges Lawyers refused to attend court Workers 396 strikes, 600,000 workers, seven million workdays lost (1921) Peasants Awadh farmers withheld taxes; Kumaun peasants refused to carry loads Tribals northern Andhra hill tribes broke forest laws - Often in defiance of local nationalist leaders.
- The end
February 1922 Chauri Chaura police station burnt; movement withdrawn March 1922 Gandhi arrested for sedition Sentence six years (Justice C.N. Broomfield) February 1924 released - No provocation could justify murder, said Gandhi.
- A people's leader
Dress dhoti or loincloth (from 1921) Charkha dignity of labour, supplementary income Language message in the mother tongue Rumours miraculous powers (Shahid Amin, eastern UP) Organisation new Congress branches, Praja Mandals, linguistic provincial committees - Supported by peasants and industrialists like G.D. Birla, for different reasons.
How to answer Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement questions
Expect 8-mark questions on Gandhi's role in non-cooperation, its mass character, or events of 1919-22; 3-mark questions on the BHU speech, the charkha, or Gandhi's identification with the poor; 1-mark items on Gokhale, Rowlatt, Khilafat and chronology; and the charkha or rumours sources.
- 1Set the stage: return in 1915, BHU speech and its two meanings.
- 2Show the build-up: Champaran, Ahmedabad, Kheda; Rowlatt satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh.
- 3State the programme and the Khilafat alliance with its aim.
- 4Give evidence of mass participation with figures and regional examples.
- 5Explain withdrawal after Chauri Chaura and the trial.
- 6Explain why he became a people's leader: symbols, rumours, organisation, associates.
- 7Conclude: nationalism transformed from an elite to a mass movement (Fischer's 'epoch').
Non-Cooperation and Khilafat 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.
Speaking for the absent
Suppose a guest at a glittering school annual function uses his speech to ask why the cleaners, cooks and bus drivers who keep the school running are not in the hall.
Why would such a speech be both uncomfortable and powerful? Link it to Gandhi at BHU.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- It points out who is missing from a celebration.
- At BHU in 1916, Gandhi contrasted richly dressed nobles with the millions of poor who were absent.
- He said salvation would come through the farmer, not lawyers, doctors or landlords.
Answer: It turns a celebration into a challenge; Gandhi's speech announced his aim to make nationalism represent the whole people.
Memory hook: Notice who is not in the room.
A movement interpreted from below
Imagine a school strike called over exam fees, but different students use it to protest about the canteen, the buses or the hostel rules.
How does this resemble the non-cooperation campaign of the early 1920s?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The leadership gave a broad call to non-cooperate.
- Tribals in Andhra broke forest laws, Awadh farmers refused taxes, Kumaun peasants refused to carry loads.
- People acted on their own interests, sometimes against the wishes of local leaders.
Answer: A broad call drew in many groups with their own grievances, which made non-cooperation a mass movement but also hard to control, as Chauri Chaura showed.
Memory hook: One call, many causes.
Tricks to remember Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
15-16-17-18-19
Return (1915), BHU (1916), Champaran (1917), Ahmedabad and Kheda (1918), Rowlatt and Jallianwala (1919).
Use it when: Year-by-year rise of Gandhi.
396-6-7
396 strikes, 6 lakh workers, 7 million workdays lost in 1921.
Use it when: Statistics of mass participation.
Fischer's two Ps
Non-cooperation was negative enough to be Peaceful, positive enough to be Powerful (effective).
Use it when: Quoting Louis Fischer accurately.
Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: The Khilafat leaders · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The Khilafat Movement of 1919-1920 was led by:
(a) Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali
(b) Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali
(c) Abul Kalam Azad and Hakim Ajmal Khan
(d) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his son
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- NCERT's box names Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali (1 mark).
Answer: (b) Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali
Example 2: The BHU speech · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why is Gandhi's speech at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University in February 1916 seen as both a statement of fact and a statement of intent? (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Content: richly bedecked noblemen versus absent millions of poor; salvation through the farmer (1 mark).
- Fact: Indian nationalism was an elite phenomenon of lawyers, doctors and landlords (1 mark).
- Intent: first public announcement of his aim to make nationalism representative of all Indians (1 mark).
Answer: At the BHU opening, attended by princes, philanthropists and leaders like Annie Besant, Gandhi called the event a gorgeous show but contrasted the richly dressed nobles with the millions of poor who were absent, and said India's salvation could come only through the farmer, not lawyers, doctors or landlords. It was a statement of fact because Indian nationalism at the time really was an elite phenomenon created by professionals and landlords. It was also a statement of intent: the first public announcement of Gandhi's wish to make Indian nationalism represent the Indian people as a whole, which he soon acted on in Champaran.
Example 3: Assertion and reason: Khilafat · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Gandhi joined the Khilafat Movement to the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Reason (R): He hoped that Hindus and Muslims could together bring colonial rule to an end.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- NCERT states this purpose of coupling the two movements (1 mark).
Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Example 4: Why call it off? · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why did Gandhi withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922, and how did the judge at his trial describe him? (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Chauri Chaura, February 1922: police station burnt, constables killed (1 mark).
- Gandhi's view: no provocation justified the murder of defenceless men; non-violence essential (1 mark).
- Trial: arrested March 1922 for sedition; Justice Broomfield's six-year sentence and tribute (1 mark).
Answer: In February 1922 a group of peasants attacked and set fire to a police station at Chauri Chaura in the United Provinces, and several constables died. Because non-violence was central to his method, Gandhi called off the movement, insisting that no provocation could justify the brutal murder of defenceless men. In March 1922 he was arrested and charged with sedition. Justice C.N. Broomfield sentenced him to six years, as the law required, but said he was in a different category from anyone he had tried, a great patriot in the eyes of millions, and a man of high ideals and saintly life even to political opponents; he would be pleased if the government could release him early.
Example 5: Source-based: rumours of the Mahatma · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level
Read the source (summarised for this page from Shahid Amin's study quoted in NCERT) and answer.
During Gandhi's tour of eastern Uttar Pradesh in February 1921, local papers recorded stories that anyone who doubted him was shown his power: a gur-maker's pan of cane juice split in two after he demanded a sign, and a farmer's wheat turned into sesamum overnight. Other tales said that those who mocked the charkha or broke a vow to give up liquor met with misfortune.
(i) Which historian studied these rumours, and in which region? (1)
(ii) What did peasants believe Gandhi could do for them, according to NCERT? (1)
(iii) What do such rumours tell historians about Gandhi's appeal? (2)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) Shahid Amin; eastern Uttar Pradesh (1 mark).
- (ii) Rescue them from high taxes and oppressive officials; restore dignity and autonomy; overrule officials (1 mark).
- (iii) Reflect peasants' hopes and beliefs; his ascetic life and symbols; mass, almost religious devotion; spread of nationalism among peasants on their own terms (2 marks).
Answer: (i) Shahid Amin, who traced Gandhi's image among the peasants of eastern Uttar Pradesh through reports and rumours in the local press. (ii) Peasants looked to him to free them from heavy taxes and harsh officials and to give them back dignity and control over their lives; some believed he had been sent by the King and could overrule all local officials, or that his power exceeded the English monarch's. (iii) Rumours reveal the minds of those who believed them: peasants saw Gandhi as a holy figure with miraculous powers, an image strengthened by his ascetic life and his use of the dhoti and charkha. They show that his appeal was genuine and massive, but also that peasants understood him in their own terms and hopes, not necessarily as the Congress leadership intended.
Example 6: Long answer: from elite to mass nationalism · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"Between 1916 and 1922, Gandhi turned Indian nationalism from the concern of a few into the cause of many." Examine this statement with reference to the Rowlatt satyagraha and the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement. (8 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Nationalism before Gandhi; BHU speech (1 mark).
- Champaran, Ahmedabad, Kheda (1 mark).
- Rowlatt satyagraha; Jallianwala Bagh; national leader (1 mark).
- Programme of non-cooperation; Khilafat alliance (1 mark).
- Participation: students, lawyers, workers with figures (1 mark).
- Peasants and tribals acting on their own terms; Chauri Chaura and withdrawal (1 mark).
- People's leader: symbols, rumours, organisation (1 mark).
- Judgement: transformation by 1922; Fischer (1 mark).
Answer: When Gandhi returned in 1915, the Congress had spread to most cities and the Swadeshi movement had produced leaders like Lal, Bal and Pal, but nationalism remained largely the work of lawyers, doctors and landlords. At the BHU opening in 1916 he told the elite that salvation would come only through the farmer.
He acted on this in Champaran (1917), where he sought security of tenure for peasants against indigo planters, and in 1918 in Ahmedabad for mill workers and in Kheda for tax remission. These were local struggles. The Rowlatt Act of 1919, continuing wartime censorship and detention without trial, gave him a national issue: shops and schools closed across North and West India, and after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in April 1919, in which over 400 were killed, he became a truly national leader.
He then launched non-cooperation: Indians were to stop attending schools, colleges and courts and not pay taxes, renouncing all voluntary association with the government, with swaraj promised within a year. By joining it with the Khilafat Movement of Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, he sought to unite Hindus and Muslims.
The response was unprecedented. Students and lawyers boycotted institutions; there were 396 strikes in 1921 involving 600,000 workers and seven million lost workdays; hill tribes in northern Andhra broke forest laws, Awadh farmers refused taxes and Kumaun peasants refused to carry loads. People often acted on their own interests, beyond local leaders' control; the violence at Chauri Chaura in February 1922 led Gandhi to withdraw the movement.
Peasants, workers and artisans now called him Mahatma. His dhoti, charkha and simple life helped them identify with him; rumours of his miraculous powers spread; and Congress branches, Praja Mandals and linguistic provincial committees carried the message to new groups.
The statement is valid: by 1922 nationalism had become a mass movement, and non-cooperation, in Louis Fischer's words, had become the name of an epoch in the life of India.
Where students lose marks in Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Mixing the order of early campaigns
Three campaigns in two years.
Wrong working
Gandhi began with Kheda in 1917 and Champaran in 1918.
Right working
Champaran 1917; Ahmedabad and Kheda 1918; Rowlatt satyagraha 1919.
Do this: C-A-K-R: Champaran, Ahmedabad, Kheda, Rowlatt.
Usually costs: 1 mark in chronology items.
Mistake: Explaining Khilafat wrongly
Not knowing its aims.
Wrong working
Khilafat demanded a separate Muslim state in India.
Right working
It sought to restore the Caliphate and protect the Khalifa's control over sacred places and territory.
Do this: Khilafat = Khalifa, not Pakistan.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Describing participation without evidence
General statements.
Wrong working
Everyone joined the movement.
Right working
396 strikes, 600,000 workers, 7 million workdays (1921); Andhra tribals, Awadh farmers, Kumaun peasants.
Do this: Always add the figures.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks in 8-mark answers.
Mistake: Forgetting why the movement ended
Ending the answer at its peak.
Wrong working
Non-cooperation ended when swaraj was won.
Right working
It was called off after Chauri Chaura (February 1922); Gandhi was jailed for sedition.
Do this: Include the end and the trial.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Exam tips
- Asked in: 2024 board paper 61/2/1 Q30(b) and 2025 board paper 61/5/1 Q30(b) (8 marks, Gandhi's role in the Non-Cooperation Movement); 2026 board paper 61/1/1 Q30(a) (8 marks, Louis Fischer's 'epoch'); 2026 board paper 61/3/1 Q30(a) and 61/5/1 Q30(a) (8 marks, its popular, mass character); 2026 board paper 61/4/1 Q30(b) (8 marks, causes and events); 2025 board paper 61/4/1 Q30(a) (8 marks, events of 1919-1922); 2026 board paper 61/2/1 Q26 (3 marks, the charkha); 2024 board paper 61/4/1 Q33 (4-mark source on the charkha); 1-mark items such as 2023 61/4/1 Q17, 2024 61/1/1 Q17, 2024 61/4/1 Q21, 2025 61/2/1 Q20-21 and 61/7/1 Q19. Answers here are our own.
- For 8 marks, cover: build-up, programme, Khilafat link, participation with figures, withdrawal, transformation.
- Quote Louis Fischer and the 1921 strike figures.
- Explain 'people's leader' through dress, charkha, rumours and organisation.
- Always mention Chauri Chaura and the withdrawal.
Practice questions on Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The committee whose recommendations led to the continuation of wartime press censorship and detention without trial in 1919 was chaired by:
(a) Sir John Simon
(b) Sir Sidney Rowlatt
(c) Sir Stafford Cripps
(d) Lord IrwinHint
The Act was named after him.
Answer
(b) Sir Sidney Rowlatt.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
State the three demands of the Khilafat Movement. (2 marks)
Hint
Sacred places, Arabia, territory.
Answer
The Khalifa should keep control of the Muslim holy places of the old Ottoman empire; Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Palestine (jazirat-ul-Arab) should stay under Muslim rule; and the Khalifa must keep enough territory to defend the Islamic faith.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain how Gandhi used dress and the charkha to identify with the common people. (3 marks)
Hint
Dhoti, 1921, mental and manual labour.
Answer
While other leaders wore Western suits or Indian bandgalas, Gandhi went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth; in 1921, touring South India, he shaved his head and adopted the loincloth to identify with the poor, and it came to stand for asceticism against consumerism. He spent part of each day at the charkha and urged others to do so; spinning broke the caste boundary between mental and manual labour, symbolised a society that did not glorify machines, and offered the poor supplementary income and self-reliance. People appreciated that he dressed, lived and spoke like them.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Besides Gandhi's personal appeal, what organisational steps helped spread nationalism after 1920? (3 marks)
Hint
Branches, princely states, language, associates.
Answer
New Congress branches were set up across India, and Praja Mandals were established to promote nationalism in the princely states. Gandhi encouraged spreading the message in the mother tongue rather than English, so Congress provincial committees were organised on linguistic regions rather than the artificial boundaries of British India. A group of talented associates from different regions and faiths, such as Patel, Nehru, Azad, Sarojini Naidu and Rajagopalachari, inspired countless others to join. In these ways nationalism reached groups previously untouched by it.
Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): The Non-Cooperation Movement was always carried out exactly as the Congress leadership directed.
Reason (R): Peasants, workers and others interpreted the call to non-cooperate in ways that suited their own interests.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.Hint
Defiance of local leaders.
Answer
(d) A is false but R is true.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you were a Congress volunteer in Gorakhpur in February 1922 when news of Chauri Chaura arrived. Would you have agreed with Gandhi's decision to call off the movement? Argue both sides briefly. (3 marks)
Hint
Non-violence versus momentum.
Answer
For the decision: non-violence was the basis of satyagraha; Gandhi held that no provocation could justify killing defenceless constables, and continuing might have invited repression and turned the movement into violence that the British could crush. Against it: the movement had unprecedented support, with strikes, boycotts and peasant protests across India, and the Raj had been shaken as never since 1857; withdrawing because of one local incident disappointed many who felt swaraj was near. A balanced view is that the decision kept the movement true to its method, at the cost of its momentum.
Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Industrialists like G.D. Birla and poor peasants both followed Gandhi. Explain why their reasons were different, and what this tells us about Gandhian nationalism. (4 marks)
Hint
Freedom from British favour versus relief from taxes.
Answer
Indian entrepreneurs recognised that in a free India the favours enjoyed by their British competitors would end, so some, like G.D. Birla, supported the movement openly and others tacitly. Peasants followed Gandhi as a saviour who would free them from high taxes and oppressive officials and restore their dignity; they were drawn by his ascetic life and symbols like the dhoti and charkha. NCERT notes these reasons were different from, and perhaps opposed to, each other. This shows that Gandhian nationalism was a broad coalition held together by opposition to colonial rule and by Gandhi's ability to mediate among groups with different interests.
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.When did Gandhi return to India?Show answer
January 1915.
2.Who was Gandhi's political mentor?Show answer
Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
3.What happened at Jallianwala Bagh in April 1919?Show answer
A British Brigadier ordered troops to fire on a nationalist meeting; over 400 people were killed.
4.Who abolished the Caliphate?Show answer
The Turkish ruler Kemal Attaturk.
5.When was Gandhi released from prison after his 1922 sentence?Show answer
February 1924.
6.What were Praja Mandals?Show answer
Bodies set up to promote the nationalist creed in the princely states.
Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement: frequently asked questions
What was the Non-Cooperation Movement?
A campaign launched by Gandhi in 1920-22 asking Indians to stop attending government schools, colleges and courts and not to pay taxes, renouncing voluntary association with British rule.
Why did Gandhi support the Khilafat Movement?
He hoped that by coupling it with non-cooperation, Hindus and Muslims could together bring colonial rule to an end.
Why was the Non-Cooperation Movement withdrawn?
Because peasants burnt a police station at Chauri Chaura in February 1922, killing several constables, and Gandhi would not accept violence.
How did Gandhi transform the national movement?
By 1922 hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers and artisans had joined what had been a movement of professionals, drawn by his simple life, symbols like the charkha and careful organisation.