Mahatma Gandhi, a well-known figure of the Indian nationalist movement, was a leading figure in almost all freedom movements, be it India or South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi followed the ideology of non-violence on which all his movements were based. Gandhiji always stood for human rights through freedom movements, non-cooperation movement, civil disobedience movement or movements like Champaran. Mahatma Gandhi shed his blood and sweat to liberate India from the clutches of colonial rule (British rule). With the support of millions of Indians, Mahatma Gandhi finally took his step towards success and participated in India's independence movement.
Gandhiji has been a true inspiration for the past and future generations for his ideas on non-violence, tolerance, truth and social welfare. On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, let us take a look at some of the major nationalist movements led by him during his lifetime.
1. Champaran Movement (1917)
The Champaran movement in Bihar was Mahatma Gandhi's first active involvement in the Indian freedom struggle. When Gandhiji returned to India in 1915, the country was under the tyrannical British rule. The British forced farmers to grow indigo and other cash crops on their fertile lands and then sold these crops at very cheap prices. Due to bad weather conditions and high taxes, farmers had to face extreme poverty due to which the condition of farmers became more miserable.
Hearing about the miserable condition of farmers in Champaran, Gandhiji immediately decided to visit this district in April 1917. Gandhiji adopted the approach of the Civil Disobedience Movement and started demonstrations and strikes against the British landlords and forced them to bow down. As a result, the British signed an agreement in which they provided control and compensation to the farmers and canceled the increase in revenue and collection. Due to the success of this movement, Gandhiji received the title of Mahatma.
2. Kheda Movement or Kheda Satyagraha (1918)
Kheda Movement was a movement of farmers in Kheda district of Gujarat against the tax collection of the British government. In 1918, Kheda village was greatly affected by flood and famine as a result of which the ready crops were destroyed. The farmers requested the British government to give them exemption in payment of taxes, but the British officials refused. Under the leadership of Gandhiji and Vallabhbhai Patel, the farmers launched a crusade against the British government and pledged not to pay taxes. As a result, the British government threatened the farmers to confiscate their land, but the farmers remained firm on their stand. After this struggle that continued for five months, in May 1918, the British government stopped collecting taxes from the poor farmers until the deluge ended and also returned the confiscated property of the farmers.
3. Khilafat Movement (1919)
After World War I, many humiliating accusations were made against the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. The Muslims became very afraid for the safety of their Caliphate and started the Khilafat Movement under the leadership of Gandhiji to improve the miserable condition of the Caliphate in Turkey and to fight against the British government. Gandhiji approached the Muslim community for his political support in the Indian independence struggle in 1919 and in return the Muslim community cooperated in starting the Khilafat movement. Mahatma Gandhi became a notable spokesperson of the All-India Muslim Conference and returned the medals he had received from the British Empire in South Africa. The success of this movement made Mahatma Gandhi a national leader in a short time.
4. Non-cooperation Movement (1920)
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the sole reason behind starting the non-cooperation movement in 1920. This massacre shook the conscience of Gandhiji. He realized that the British were succeeding in establishing their dominance over the Indians, then this was the time when he decided to start a non-cooperation movement. With the support of the Congress and his invincible spirit, he was successful in convincing those who knew him that following the non-cooperation movement in a peaceful manner was the key to achieving independence. Subsequently, Gandhi formulated the concept of Swaraj and since then it became a central part of the Indian freedom struggle. This movement gained momentum and soon people started boycotting British-run institutions like schools, colleges and government offices. This movement was soon ended by Gandhiji himself. After this the Chauri-Chaura incident took place in which 23 police officers were killed.
5. Quit India Movement (1942)
Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 during World War II to end the British Empire from India. Due to Gandhiji's insistence, the Indian Congress Committee on behalf of India demanded the British to leave India on a large scale and Gandhiji gave the slogan of "Do or Die". As a result, the British authorities immediately arrested all the members of the Indian National Congress and imprisoned them without trial. But protests continued across the country. The British may have been somehow successful in stopping the Quit India Movement, but they soon realized that their days of ruling India were over. By the end of World War II, the British gave clear indications of handing over all rights to India. Ultimately, Gandhiji had to end this movement which resulted in the release of thousands of prisoners.
6. Civil Disobedience Movement: Dandi March and Gandhi-Irwin Pact
The Civil Disobedience Movement was an important part of the Indian independence struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi against the ruling colonial government.
While addressing the nation in the Young India newspaper in March 1930, Gandhiji had expressed his desire to suspend the movement if his eleven demands were accepted by the government. But Lord Irwin's government did not give him any reply. As a result, he started this movement with full enthusiasm.
This movement began with the Dandi March which was led by Gandhiji on 12 March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat to Dandi village. After reaching Dandi, Gandhi and his supporters violated the salt tax law by making salt from salty sea water. After this, breaking the British law became a widespread phenomenon in India. People started selling banned political propaganda booklets in violation of Section 144. Gandhiji urged Indian women to take up spinning and soon people started protesting in front of government offices and shops selling foreign goods. Indian women started participating in the Indian freedom struggle. Sarojini Naidu came forward prominently during this movement. In the north-west, the most popular leader was Abdul Ghaffar Khan, often called “Frontier Gandhi”.
Lord Irwin's government demanded a Round Table Conference in London in 1930 and the Indian National Congress refused to be a part of it. To ensure that the Congress would participate in the second round of the conference, Lord Irwin signed an agreement with Gandhi in 1931. This was called the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. This agreement called for the release of all political prisoners and the repeal of all repressive laws.
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