History · Modern History
The Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–34) opened with the Dandi March, spread the salt satyagraha across India, and culminated in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact; the Round Table Conferences failed to secure India's constitutional future; and the Communal Award (1932) triggered Gandhi's fast and the Poona Pact — defining the Dalit question for a generation.
The Congress approved the Nehru Report at this session, but the younger faction — Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose, and Satyamurthy — demanded purna swaraj (complete independence), not dominion status. The older leadership (Gandhi, Motilal Nehru) persuaded them to give the government a two-year grace period to accept dominion status. Under youth pressure, this was reduced to one year. If the government did not accept a dominion-status constitution by the end of 1929, Congress would demand complete independence and launch civil disobedience.
Gandhi toured incessantly, preparing the masses for direct action. The CWC launched an aggressive foreign cloth boycott — Gandhi initiated it in March 1929 in Calcutta and was arrested. Other events that kept the political temperature high: the Meerut Conspiracy Case (March 1929), the Assembly bomb by Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt (April 1929), and the coming to power of the minority Labour government under Ramsay MacDonald (May 1929) — with Wedgwood Benn as Secretary of State for India.
Lord Irwin announced, via an official communique in the Indian Gazette, that "the natural issue of India's constitutional progress...is the attainment of Dominion status." He also promised a Round Table Conference after the Simon Commission report. But the declaration contained no time scale — dominion status would not arrive anytime soon. Indian leaders were not impressed.
A conference of prominent national leaders issued conditions for attending the Round Table Conference:
Gandhi met Irwin in December 1929 and asked for assurance that the RTC's purpose was to draft a dominion-status constitution. Irwin refused. The stage was set for confrontation.
Jawaharlal Nehru was nominated president — backed by Gandhi though 15 of 18 Provincial Congress Committees had opposed him — because of the aptness of the occasion (complete independence as goal) and to acknowledge the upsurge of youth in the anti-Simon campaign.
Key decisions:
December 31, 1929: At midnight on the banks of River Ravi, Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the newly adopted tricolour flag amid slogans of Inquilab Zindabad.
January 26, 1930: Public meetings across India; the Independence Pledge (drafted by Gandhi) was read in local languages. Its themes: inalienable right to freedom; British rule has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually; compulsory disarmament made Indians "unmanly"; withdrawal of all voluntary cooperation from British government; preparation for civil disobedience through non-payment of taxes.
Gandhi presented eleven demands to the government, categorised as follows:
Issues of General Interest:
Specific Bourgeois Demands: 7. Reduce rupee-sterling exchange ratio to 1s 4d. 8. Introduce textile protection. 9. Reserve coastal shipping for Indians.
Specific Peasant Demands: 10. Reduce land revenue by 50%. 11. Abolish salt tax and government's salt monopoly.
With no positive response, the CWC invested Gandhi with full powers to launch the CDM at a time and place of his choosing.
Gandhi: "There is no other article like salt, outside water, by taxing which the government can reach the starving millions, the sick, the maimed and the utterly helpless... it is the most inhuman poll tax the ingenuity of man can devise."
Salt was chosen because:
On March 2, Gandhi informed Viceroy Irwin of his plan. Gandhi, with 78 members of Sabarmati Ashram, marched 240 miles through Gujarat villages from Ahmedabad to the coast at Dandi. He broke the salt law by picking up a lump of salt on April 6, 1930.
Gandhi gave advance instructions for action during/after the march: civil disobedience of salt law wherever possible; picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops; refusal to pay taxes if ready; lawyers to give up practice; courts to be boycotted; government servants to resign. Non-violence and truth at all times. Local leaders to be obeyed after Gandhi's arrest.
In Gujarat, 300 village officials resigned in response to Gandhi's call.
Tamil Nadu: C. Rajagopalachari organised a march from Thiruchirapalli to Vedaranniyam (Tanjore coast) to break salt law. Followed by boycott of foreign cloth, anti-liquor campaign in Coimbatore, Madura, Virudhanagar. Violence erupted — police broke the Choolai mill strike; weavers attacked liquor shops at Gudiyattam; peasants rioted at Bodinayakanur.
Malabar: K. Kelappan (of Vaikom Satyagraha fame) organised salt marches. P. Krishna Pillai (future Kerala Communist Party founder) heroically defended the national flag during a police lathicharge at Calicut beach (November 1930).
Andhra: Salt marches in Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts; sibirams (military-style camps) served as headquarters. Merchants contributed to Congress funds; Kamma and Raju cultivators defied repression. But mass participation was lower than 1921–22.
Orissa: Under Gopalbandhu Chaudhuri, salt satyagraha was effective in Balasore, Cuttack and Puri coastal districts.
Assam: Divisive factors (Assamese-Bengali tensions, Hindu-Muslim conflicts, Muslim peasant influx from East Bengal) limited the movement. Notable: a student strike against the Cunningham Circular (which banned student participation in politics) in May 1930. Chandraprabha Saikiani incited Kachari villages to break forest laws (December 1930).
Bengal: Bengal Congress was divided (Bose vs J.M. Sengupta factions) — distracted by Calcutta Corporation elections, estranging leaders from rural masses. Communal riots in Dacca and Kishoreganj. Yet Bengal provided the largest number of arrests and highest violence. Midnapur, Arambagh and rural pockets saw powerful salt satyagraha and chaukidari-tax movements. Surya Sen's Chittagong group raided two armouries and declared a provisional government (April 1930).
Bihar: Champaran and Saran started first. Salt manufacture was mostly symbolic in landlocked Bihar; no-chaukidari tax agitation replaced it. Barhee region of Munger saw administration collapse. Tribal Chhotanagpur: Bonga Majhi and Somra Majhi led a Gandhian movement combining social reform and Khadi — though Santhals reportedly distilled liquor "under the banner of Gandhi."
Peshawar (NWFP): Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ("Badshah Khan" / "Frontier Gandhi") had built the Khudai Khidmatgars ("Red-Shirts") — a volunteer brigade pledged to non-violence and the freedom struggle — and started the Pushto monthly Pukhtoon. On April 23, 1930, arrest of Congress leaders triggered mass demonstrations; Peshawar was virtually in the hands of crowds for over a week until May 4. A reign of terror and martial law followed. Here, a section of Garhwal Rifles soldiers refused to fire on unarmed crowds — a remarkable moment. The upsurge in a 92% Muslim province deeply alarmed the British.
Sholapur: Fiercest response to Gandhi's arrest. Textile workers struck from May 7; activists burnt liquor shops, railway stations, police stations, courts. A virtual parallel government was established — dislodged only with martial law after May 16.
Dharasana (May 21, 1930): After Gandhi's arrest, Sarojini Naidu, Imam Sahib, and Manilal Gandhi led a raid on Dharasana Salt Works. Unarmed, peaceful crowds were met with a brutal lathicharge — 2 killed, 320 injured. American journalist Web Miller's eyewitness account ("They marched steadily with heads up...") brought worldwide attention to British repression.
Gujarat: No-tax movement in Anand, Borsad, Nadiad (Kheda), Bardoli (Surat), Jambusar (Bharuch). Villagers crossed into princely states like Baroda with families and belongings to evade police; police destroyed property and confiscated land.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Provinces: Defiance of forest laws — grazing, timber restrictions; public sale of illegally acquired forest produce.
UP: No-revenue campaign; zamindars called to refuse to pay revenue; no-rent campaign (most zamindars being loyalists, it became a virtual no-rent campaign against landlords). Activity peaked October 1930 in Agra and Rai Bareilly.
Manipur and Nagaland: Rani Gaidinliu (age 13), a Naga spiritual leader following her cousin Haipou Jadonang, raised the banner of revolt. She urged people not to pay taxes or work for the British. Jadonang was hanged in 1931; Gaidinliu evaded capture until October 1932, then given life imprisonment. Released only by the Interim Government in 1946.
The government faced a classic dilemma — repression gave Congress the "repression" narrative; leniency gave Congress the "victory" narrative. Gandhi was arrested on May 4, 1930 after announcing a raid on Dharasana Salt Works. After arrest, CWC sanctioned: non-payment of revenue in ryotwari areas; no-chaukidara-tax in zamindari areas; violation of forest laws in Central Provinces.
In July 1930, Viceroy Irwin suggested a Round Table Conference and reiterated dominion status. Tej Bahadur Sapru and M.R. Jayakar were allowed to explore peace. In August 1930, Motilal and Jawaharlal were taken to Yeravada Jail to meet Gandhi; the Nehrus and Gandhi reiterated demands of right of secession, complete national government with control over defence and finance, and an independent tribunal for Britain's financial claims. Talks broke down.
Gandhi and all CWC members were released unconditionally on January 25, 1931. After negotiations, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Delhi Pact) was signed on February 14, 1931 — placing the Congress on an equal footing with the British government.
Government conceded:
Government refused: (i) public inquiry into police excesses; (ii) commutation of Bhagat Singh and comrades' death sentence.
Gandhi conceded: (i) suspend civil disobedience; (ii) participate in the next Round Table Conference on the basis of federation, Indian responsibility, and necessary reservations/safeguards.
No — because: (i) mass movements are necessarily short-lived; (ii) the masses' capacity to sacrifice, unlike activists', is limited; (iii) merchants and shopkeepers showed signs of exhaustion from September 1930. The pact placed Gandhi and the Congress on equal political footing with the colonial government — itself a political victory.
Six days before the session (held March 29), Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru were executed (March 23, 1931). Throughout Gandhi's route to Karachi, the Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha staged black flag demonstrations protesting his failure to secure commutation of the death sentences.
Fundamental Rights Resolution guaranteed: Free speech and press; right to form associations; right to assemble; universal adult franchise; equal legal rights irrespective of caste, creed, sex; state neutrality in religion; free and compulsory primary education; protection of minorities' culture, language, script.
National Economic Programme Resolution included: Substantial rent and revenue reduction; exemption for uneconomic holdings; relief from agricultural debt; control of usury; living wage, limited work hours, protection of women workers; right to form unions (workers and peasants); state ownership and control of key industries, mines and transport.
The Karachi Resolution remained the Congress's basic political and economic programme for decades.
Opened by King George V on November 12, 1930; chaired by Ramsay MacDonald. The first conference arranged between British and Indians as equals. The Congress and prominent business leaders refused to attend. Representatives attended from: princely states, Muslim League (Aga Khan III led British-Indian delegation, Jinnah, A.K. Fazlul Huq, etc.), Hindu Mahasabha, Sikhs, Parsis, Liberals (Tej Bahadur Sapru, Srinivasa Sastri, etc.), Depressed Classes (B.R. Ambedkar and Rettamalai Srinivasan), Justice Party, Labour (N.M. Joshi, B. Shiva Rao), Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, women (Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz, Radhabai Subbarayan), universities, landlords, Burma, Sindh.
Outcome: Nothing substantial. General agreement on India developing into a federation with some safeguards on defence and finance. The British realised Congress participation was essential for any meaningful constitutional progress.
The Congress nominated Gandhi as its sole representative (also Rangaswami Iyengar and Madan Mohan Malaviya). A large number of other Indian delegates also attended.
Why little was expected:
Gandhi's positions at the 2nd RTC:
Deadlock: The session got deadlocked on the minorities question. Muslims, depressed classes, Christians, and Anglo-Indians combined in a 'Minorities' Pact' demanding separate electorates. Princes were unenthusiastic about federation after CDM suspension reduced the prospect of a Congress government at the Centre.
Outcome: MacDonald announced: (i) two Muslim-majority provinces — NWFP and Sindh; (ii) setting up of an Indian Consultative Committee; (iii) three expert committees on finance, franchise, and states; (iv) the prospect of a unilateral British Communal Award if Indians failed to agree. Gandhi returned to India December 28, 1931.
Not attended by Congress or Gandhi; ignored by most Indian leaders. Its recommendations were published in a White Paper (March 1933), debated in Parliament, analysed by a Joint Select Committee, and eventually produced the Government of India Act, 1935 (enforced July 1935).
CWC decided to resume CDM on December 29, 1931. Willingdon refused Gandhi a meeting on December 31. Gandhi was arrested on January 4, 1932.
Government repression: A "Civil Martial Law" — Congress organisations at all levels banned; activists, leaders, sympathisers arrested; properties confiscated; Gandhi ashrams occupied; press gagged; nationalist literature banned. Repression was especially harsh on women.
People's response: Despite being unprepared, the response was massive — in the first four months, ~80,000 satyagrahis (mostly urban and rural poor) were jailed. Forms of protest: picketing, illegal gatherings, non-violent demonstrations, national day celebrations, symbolic flag hoistings, non-payment of chaukidara tax, salt satyagraha, forest law violations, and installation of a secret radio transmitter near Bombay.
The movement could not be sustained for long — Gandhi and leaders had no time to build up momentum; the masses were unprepared. Gandhi withdrew the CDM in April 1934. People had been cowed by superior force but had not lost political faith in Congress — "they had won freedom in their hearts."
Announced by British PM Ramsay MacDonald on August 16, 1932, based on findings of the Indian Franchise Committee (Lothian Committee). It established:
The national leadership saw this as another manifestation of the British divide-and-rule policy.
Background: At the 2nd RTC, Ambedkar had again raised separate electorates for the depressed classes. He had earlier attempted a compromise with Gandhi (reserved seats in a common electorate) but Gandhi, claiming to represent all of India's oppressed, rejected this and Ambedkar's delegation. Gandhi also tried to build a Muslim-Depressed Classes deal (Muslims to oppose separate electorates for depressed classes in exchange for Gandhi supporting Muslim demands). No consensus was reached among Indian delegates, prompting MacDonald's unilateral award.
Gandhi saw the Communal Award as an attack on Indian unity and nationalism. His reasoning:
To press these demands, Gandhi went on an indefinite fast on September 20, 1932 from Yeravada Jail.
Leaders including B.R. Ambedkar, M.C. Rajah, and Madan Mohan Malaviya hammered out the compromise. Signed by Ambedkar on behalf of the depressed classes:
In September 1932 (while still in jail), Gandhi established the All India Anti-Untouchability League and started the weekly Harijan in January 1933. After his release in August 1933, he shifted to Wardha Satyagraha Ashram (having vowed not to return to Sabarmati until swaraj was won).
From November 1933 to July 1934, Gandhi conducted a Harijan tour covering 20,000 km, collecting funds for the Harijan Sevak Sangh and propagating removal of untouchability. He undertook two fasts — May 8 and August 16, 1934 — to convince followers of his seriousness.
Themes of Gandhi's campaign:
Gandhi's limits: He did not mix untouchability removal with inter-caste marriage/dining reform. He distinguished between removing untouchability and abolishing the caste/varnashram system — here he differed fundamentally from Ambedkar.
Gandhi's programme for Harijans: Internal reform covering education, cleanliness, hygiene, giving up beef and carrion, giving up liquor, and removing untouchability among Harijans themselves.
Impact: Carried the message of nationalism to Harijans (who were mostly agricultural labourers), increasing their participation in national and peasant movements.
| Dimension | Gandhi | Ambedkar |
|---|---|---|
| Path to freedom | Wrested by people from authority | Bestowed by imperial rulers (constitutionally) |
| Democracy | Wary of mass democracy; preferred village republics | Favoured parliamentary mass democracy |
| Village life | "Gramraj = Ramraj"; ideal of self-governance | Villages are strongholds of caste inequality — nothing to be proud of |
| Untouchability | Moral stigma; erase by atonement and persuasion | Legal/constitutional problem requiring structural legal solutions |
| Caste system | Distinguish untouchability from varnashram; purge the system | Annihilate caste to remove untouchability |
| Untouchables' identity | Integral part of Hindu society | Religious and political minority — "minority by force" |
| Machinery/industrialisation | Feared dehumanisation; blamed machinery for exploitation | Machinery is beneficial; evil lies in wrong social organisation |
Similarities: Both sought social transformation through democratic and peaceful means; both opposed violent overthrow; both believed in limited sovereign power of the State; both accepted religion as an agent of social change.
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This chapter covers Background: The Run-up to Civil Disobedience, Lahore Congress Session (December 1929), Gandhi's Eleven Demands (January 31, 1930 ultimatum), The Dandi March and Salt Satyagraha, Spread of the Civil Disobedience Movement. It is organized as revision-ready notes followed by a linked practice quiz.
For Salt, Silence, and Settlements: The CDM Era and Its Aftermath, focus on definitions, dates, places, institutions, distinguishing features, and factual comparisons in the chapter. Then use the quiz to check recall and identify gaps.
Use the Salt, Silence, and Settlements: The CDM Era and Its Aftermath chapter headings to organize an answer framework. Connect causes, consequences, comparisons, examples, and evidence wherever the notes provide them instead of memorizing isolated facts.
| Violence | Absolute opponent of all violence | Absolute non-violence as end; relative violence as means acceptable |
| Ends vs means | Purity of means determines ends | Purity of ends justifies means |
| Language of mobilisation | Plain local vernacular | English |
| Method | Civil disobedience, satyagraha — disobey unjust law | Constitutional and legal methods |
| Naming depressed classes | Called them "Harijans" | Rejected "Harijan" as a "clever scheme"; preferred "Dalits" |