Tag: non-cooperation movement

On April 13, General Dyer opened fire on the public which had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar for the celebrations of Baisakhi Festival. He ordered his troops to attack in lieu of the Martial Law passed by the General to prevent any revolt or protest against the British. Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar became the unfortunate site for the massacre.

In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer.

Motilal Nehru and Chittranjan Das thought of contesting elections to enter the legislative council with a view to obstructing the government. Therefore, in 1922, they formed the Swaraj Party within the Indian National Congress.

• The Punjab region as a whole and Amritsar, in particular, witnessed the worst scenes of violence in 1919.

• In Amritsar, the news of Gandhi's arrest led to mob violence. (Gandhiji was arrested due to Rowlatt satyagraha)

• On 13th April,1919, General Dyer ordered his troops to fire on a peaceful unarmed crowd assembled at Jallianwala Bagh.

Khilafat movement was originally in support of the Caliph who was deprived of all authority. But it was withdrawn when the final blow came with the victory of Mustafa Kemal's forces, which overthrew the Ottoman rule and established a pro-western, secular republic in independent Turkey. He abolished the role of Caliph.

Chauri Chaura is a place located in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The movement was in full swing when in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, the police fired upon a Congress procession of about 3,300 peasants. The angry crowd set the police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. Gandhiji had always emphasised that the entire movement should be non-violent & peaceful. After this incident he called off the movement unilaterally in 1922.

On April 13^th, 1919 in Amritsar, a large but peaceful crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh. Some came to protest against the government's new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being from the outside city, many villagers were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd killing hundreds.

The Sultan of Turkey, who was the Caliph was deprived of all authority. The Caliph was looked upon by large sections of Muslims as their religious head. They felt that any weakening of the Caliph's position would adversely affect the position of the Muslims.

Khilafat committee was organised in March 1919 in Bombay. A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue. Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to brings Muslims under the umbrella of a united national movement.

Mahatma Gandhi, a follower of non-violence saw the spread of violence after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre because of which he called off the movement.