The Swadeshi Movement declined by 1907. There was also a split in the Congress in 1907 and Tilak was imprisoned and deported in 1908. Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal retired from politics and Lala Lajpat Rai left India for some time.
All these developments led to a decline in the nationalist movement. It remained dormant for a few years but was revived during the First World War. Annie Besant and Tilak started the Home Rule Leagues and the two wings of the Congress united in 1916.
The War also witnessed the Ghadar Movement started in the United States by some Indian revolutionaries which sought to overthrow the British rule in India. However, the most important development was the arrival of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was later popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, from South Africa.
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In South Africa, Gandhi had fought for the rights of the Indians against the racist regime. From 1919 to 1947, when India attained independence, Gandhi remained the foremost leader of the national movement.
Gandhi arrived in India on 9 January, 1915. Initially, he spent a year visiting various places in India to have an understanding of the situation. His political engagement started in the 1917-18 period when he took up the issues of Champaran indigo farmers, the Ahmedabad textile workers and the Kheda peasants.
These struggles witnessed his specific method of agitation, known as Satyagraha, which had earlier developed in the South African context and through which he was partially successful in achieving his goals.
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In Champaran, which was in North Bihar, the indigo planters were forcing the peasants to grow indigo even when it was not profitable for the peasants to do so. In fact, the peasants were suffering losses by cultivating indigo in their most fertile lands. Gandhi was invited by the peasants to lead their struggle against the indigo planters who enjoyed the support of the colonial state. Gandhi went there to lead the struggle of the peasants and was successful to get them relief.
In Kheda district of Gujarat, most of the crops were damaged due to excessive rain. The peasants of Kheda demanded from the government that they should be allowed not to pay the revenue for that particular year. The government, however, refused. Gandhi started a Satyagraha movement on 22 March, 1918 and advised the peasants not to pay revenue. Many peasants participated in the movement. But the government refused to budge.
It was a test for the new method of agitation which Gandhi was trying in India. The agitation continued for some time. But Gandhi realised that it was not possible for the peasants to continue for long. Meanwhile, the government granted some concession to the poorer peasants.
The movement was then withdrawn. In Ahmedabad, Gandhi led the struggle of the workers for an increase in the wages due to rising prices during the War. After a protracted struggle, the workers were able to get 35% raise in their wages.
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The struggles demonstrated to the Indian people Gandhi’s method of political struggle and his principles of non-violent non-cooperation. They, on the other hand, helped Gandhi to familiarise himself with the Indian situation and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian people. They also attracted many political workers who were to prove valuable in the future struggles.
During the First World War, the prices of various commodities rose, the conditions of the people worsened and the government extracted many dues from the people in the name of war efforts. This gave rise to resentment among the Indian people and there were several agitations against the government.
To contain this, the government passed the Rowlatt Act in March 1919 which authorised the government to arrest any person without warrant and to detain him/ her without trial for two years. There were massive protests and demonstrations by the Indian people against this measure of the government. Gandhi also took very active part in this.
He started a Satyagraha Sabha which campaigned against this act asking people to disobey it and court arrest. He also gave a call for countrywide hartal which was observed in various places on different dates. But it was generally a success.
The government responded with repression. Gandhi had decided to simultaneously launch the non- cooperation movement at an all-India level. In September 1920, in a special session of the All India Congress Committee held in Calcutta, it was decided to launch the movement.
The Nagpur Congress held in December 1920 further approved it. The Indian people were asked to boycott foreign goods and adopt Swadeshi, to boycott government schools, colleges and courts and councils, to adopt national schools, arbitration courts and Khadi. The programme also included resignation from government services, non-payment of taxes, and removal of untouchability and promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity.
The movement started at an unprecedented level. Thousands of students left schools and colleges, hundreds of lawyers and many government servants left their jobs, most of the people refused to vote in the elections to the legislatures, the boycott of foreign cloth assumed massive proportions, thousands were involved in the picketing of the shops selling foreign cloth and liquor and in many places, peasants and workers were also involved along with students, middle classes and women.
Its influence was even more far- reaching. Millions of peasants and urban poor became familiar with the ideology of nationalism. Most sections of the Indian population became politicised and women were drawn to the movement. An anti- imperialist feeling spread to wide areas of the country and the movement imbued the Indian people with self- confidence and self-esteem.
Such a big movement, however, did sometimes reach beyond the Gandhian tenet of non-violence. On 5 February, 1922, in Chauri- Chaura, a crowd of peasants burnt the police station killing 22 policemen in retaliation to the police firing. Gandhi condemned this incident and withdrew the movement. This decision shocked many Congress people but Gandhi remained adamant and started a five-day fast as penance. This way the non- cooperation movement came to an end.