Hi, Everyone! Why then did Gandhi wait until the end
of the year of Noncooperation to call off the Movement using Chauri Chaura
incident as an excuse . . . ?
The
answer lies here:
The Noncooperation
Movement was carrying on without any serious reprisals from the Government; the
British watched the antics indulgently. The crunch came with the scheduled
visit of the Prince of Wales to India. It was a matter of pride for the Indian
Government that the Prince of Wales be warmly welcomed and be graciously
received in India. The Congress disagreed. His visit was boycotted by the
Congress.
Now the Government
unsheathed their swords and declared “open war against the noncooperators.” The
Congress was not cowed. The movement grew from strength to strength. At this
point (December 1921), the Viceroy Reading approached C. R. Das with a
proposition. Netaji Subhas Bose’s account of it is recorded in R. C. Majumdar’s
H of F M of I, V III, pages 143-45:
“Bose writes that Pandit Madan
Mohan Malviya, who had kept away from the 1921 movement, ‘came to interview
Deshabandhu Das in the Presidency jail with a message from the Viceroy’, thus
clearly implying that it was the Viceroy who took the initiative. . . .
‘The offer that he [Malaviya]
brought was that if the Congress agreed to call off the civil disobedience
movement immediately, so that the Prince’s visit would not be boycotted by the
public, the Government would simultaneously withdraw the notification declaring
Congress volunteers illegal and release all those who had been incarcerated
thereunder. They would further summon a Round Table Conference of the
Government to settle the future constitution of India. . . .
Rightly or wrongly, he [Deshbandhu
Das] said, the Mahatma had promised Swaraj
within one year. That year was drawing to a close. Barely a fortnight was left
and within this short period something had to be achieved in order to save the
face of the Congress and fulfill the Mahatma’s promise regarding Swaraj. The offer of the Viceroy had
come to him as a godsend. . . .
The above logic was irrefutable and
I felt convinced. . . . a telegram was sent to Mahatma Gandhi recommending his
acceptance of the proposed terms of settlement. A reply came to the effect that
he insisted on the release of the Ali brothers and their associates as a part
of the terms of settlement and also on an announcement regarding the date and
composition of the Round Table Conference. Unfortunately, the Viceroy was not
in a mood for any further parleying . . . Ultimately, the Mahatma did come
round, but by then it was too late. The Government of India, tired of waiting,
had changed their mind. The Deshabandhu was beside himself with anger and
disgust. The chance of a lifetime, he said, had been lost. The feeling . . .
was that the Mahatma had committed a serious blunder.’”
Through 1921, Gandhi
had been reiterating his promise to the Indians of Swaraj in one year. He had
even gone as far as to say “I should not like to remain alive next year if we
have not won Swaraj by then. I am, in that event, likely to be pained so deeply
that the body may perish—I would desire that it should.”[1]
It would be a
disaster for the Congress and Gandhi, to say the least, to have nothing in
hand—never mind Swaraj—to show the Indians at the end of the year.
·
The Congress was clearly looking for an
excuse to end the Noncooperation Movement.
In
the backdrop of this atmosphere in 1922:
·
February
1:
Gandhi wrote a challenging letter to the Viceroy.
·
February
5:
The Chauri Chaura incident took place.
·
February
6:
The Viceroy came out with a press release—which was practically a Declaration
of War—in reply to Gandhi’s letter.
·
February
6:
Gandhi wrote a letter which indicates the Congress displeasure re his actions.
“I observe that my action in writing to the Viceroy has not pleased the
Committee.” CWMG, V 22 page 343.
·
February
9:
Gandhi is strongly urged by prominent Congress members who had been endeavoring
to bring about a Round Table Conference to suspend the Noncooperation Movement.[2]
·
February
10: Gandhi,
in a speech to Congress workers in Bardoli, now declares re the Chauri Chaura
incident that the “country at large has not at all accepted the teaching of
non-violence. I must, therefore, immediately stop the movement for civil
disobedience.”[3]
The Congress rank and file objected to this “Mahatma’s retreat.” They thought
it would disgrace India in the eyes of the world.
·
February
12:
The Working Committee meets at Bardoli and passes the resolution to call off
the Noncooperation Movement.
·
February
25:
The resolution was adopted by the A.I.C.C.
And
the myth was born!
The Congress and Gandhi
had extricated themselves very cleverly from their promise of swaraj in one
year to the Indians.
What
was the consequence of this?
·
The Indian Independence Movement was
brought to a screeching halt for many, many years to come.
·
And the British Raj reigned supreme,
unthreatened.
Anurupa
Mahatma Gandhi Facts: Gandhi Revealed
Dear Ma'am
ReplyDeleteIt will be very easy to reader if you put your posts in a list. It is difficult to find relevant post. Everytime we have to press 'back'. Please make your all post in a list format.
Sir, I will definitely look into it.
ReplyDeleteI have fixed the blog archives such that all posts in a month are listed individually. I haven't been able to list them in the categories yet.
ReplyDelete