CHAURI CHAURA: AN INCIDENT THAT BROKE A NATIONAL MOVEMENT
More than a thousand peasants had gathered at a village of Chauri and Chaura in Gorakhpur to voice their non-cooperation with the British government. The patriotic spirit was at its peak. The sub inspector came stepped out of his police chowki near the railway station. He was perplexed by the rising number of people. “Vande Mataram” and “ Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai” echoed across the street. It rattled him. “How do I control this crowd if any untoward incident happens?” he thought to himself. It was just two days ago that he managed to keep a much smaller crowd at bay who were protesting against the rising price of meat. The satyagrahis had earlier picketed a liquor shop in Chaura. He had just managed to quell that uprising too. He even jailed a few of the local leaders to maintain peace. “Just another hard day. After all, its a movement based on non-violence. The crowd will be easy to manage,” he thought to himself. Unfortunately, it didnt end up as he thought. As the crowd swelled up to over 2500, he fired warning shots into the air to disperse them.
It was not good enough to scare them. The crowd got even more intense, the chanting grew louder. The ground shook mildly by the mere march of the villagers. Dust rose from under their feet and like a canopy, it enveloped them. He could see that they were inching closer to their temporary barricade. The guards took the stand. Her ordered his men to fire at the crowd. Three Satyagrahis were killed on the spot. Meanwhile, another section of the crowd had gathered in front of the police station of Chauri and Chaura demanding the release of their leader in the prison. Fear was the only tool he had in his armoury to quench this protest. Unfortunately, It didn’t work here. It spiralled into violence.
The news about firing brought out the rage for justice in many. It took hardly any time for a peaceful crowd to turn into an uncontrollable mob. Stones were hurled at the policemen. The crowd cornered the heavily outnumbered policemen into the police station where they locked themselves up for safety. Many among the crowd of peaceful satyagrahis lost their temper. They heeded Gandhi’s repeated warning of staying in the course of non-violence. In no time the Police Chowki was set to flame. 23 policemen succumbed to the fire set by the mob. Little did the folks in this village knew that their action would paralyse the national movement altogether.
THE POWER OF AHIMSA
Under the leadership of Gandhiji, on August 1, 1920, the non-cooperation movement was launched. Railway workers went on strike. Shops were closed. The day to day work came to a halt. It was the first and largest ‘hartal’ the country had witnessed.
“The British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians,” said Gandhiji. “It had survived only due to this cooperation. If Indians refuse to cooperate, British rule will collapse within a year.”
“The temple of freedom is not erected without the blood of the sufferers,” wrote Gandhiji in his publication Young India on July 28, 1921. Gandhi was in the midst of leading the largest non-violent movement that the country had seen. So when millions were beaten up and tortured, no one hit back. The Gandhian principle of Ahimsa reverberated in the hearts of millions.
THE POWER OF AHIMSA
Under the leadership of Gandhiji, on August 1, 1920, the non-cooperation movement was launched. Railway workers went on strike. Shops were closed. The day to day work came to a halt. It was the first and largest ‘hartal’ the country had witnessed.
“The British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians,” said Gandhiji. “It had survived only due to this cooperation. If Indians refuse to cooperate, British rule will collapse within a year.”
The non-cooperation movement witnessed the boycott of government schools and colleges and law courts. Justice was now dispensed through panchayats. Apart from the boycott of the legislative council, there was the boycott of British clothes, and renunciation of government honours and titles. Gandhiji gave up his Khaiser I Hind title and Rabindranath Tagore his British knighthood. Picketing of liquor shops was done across the nation.
The Akali Dal in Punjab joined the movement. The nationalists C R Das, Moti Lal Nehru, M R Jayakar. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vallabhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari. T Prakasam and Asaf Ali left their legal practice and became full-time Congress workers.
Gandhiji wrote an open letter to Englishmen residing in India to join the movement.
The Akali Dal in Punjab joined the movement. The nationalists C R Das, Moti Lal Nehru, M R Jayakar. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vallabhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari. T Prakasam and Asaf Ali left their legal practice and became full-time Congress workers.
Gandhiji wrote an open letter to Englishmen residing in India to join the movement.
Universities like Jamia Milia, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Gujarat Vidyapeeth and Bihar Vidyapeeth sprang up in the country. From Travancore to Delhi and from Ahmedabad to Bengal more than 90,000 students marched out of their institutions in protest.
In his letter addressed to the youth in January 1921, Gandhiji called out to them to fight for ‘Swaraj’. “We propose to sterilise their power of inflicting violence by our non-violence,” he said. “Violence dies when it ceases to evoke a response from its object. Non-violence is the cornerstone of the edifice of Non-cooperation. You will, therefore, not be hasty or over-zealous in your dealings with those who may not see eye to eye with you.”
Meanwhile, Alluri Sitaram Raju from Andhra Pradesh brought the tribals to the fore. In Bengal, Someshwar Prasad Chaudhary led the peasants in their Anti-indigo protest while in Midnapore Birendranath Sasmal waged a protest against taxation.
Women too rose to the occasion. In Guwahati, 60 women volunteers propagated the message of burning foreign goods. Tea plantation workers refused to work in Assam. Kasturba Gandhi led the movement from the front. When she was told her sons has been arrested, Kasturbha said, “Only two sons of mine have gone to jail, but there are 20,000 sons of Mother Hind who are in jail. How can I bemoan my lot! Young sons of mother Hind, do the work with such zeal that you may either regain your brothers or join them in jail.”
On July 21, 1921, Maulana Mohammad Ali initiated a resolution at the All India Khilafat Conference in Karachi that no Muslim should serve in the British Indian army.
This was also the period when Gandhiji brought many organisational changes to the Indian National Congress. To reach out to every nook and corner of the country, Gandhiji set up Provincial Congress Committees. He also established a central Congress Working Committee. Gandhiji established Congress Volunteer Corps where many youngsters enrolled.
The British declared the Volunteer corps as illegal. The press was gagged. In November 1921, the Prince of Wales arrived in India. The congress ordered a strike on the very day. Mob violence began to erupt at many places. Gandhiji was displeased by the violence and thought that it would deviate attention from the cause.
On Feb 1, 1922, Gandhiji threatened to launch the civil disobedience from Bardoli if his demand for the release of political prisoners and gagging of the press was not met. He wrote a letter to Viceroy Reading of his intention. Reading rejected the request.
Meanwhile, the volunteers were getting tired due to the long period of unrest. It was at the juncture that at a place called Chauri Chaura, the mob set a police station on fire killing 21 policemen. With a heavy heart, Gandhiji called off the non-cooperation movement abruptly on March 10, 1922.
There was a large opposition against Gandhiji for this move. Yet, he stuck to his stance. In a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, who was in jail Gandhiji described to him how he ‘refused to lead a movement that is half violent and half non-violent, even though it might result in the attainment of so-called swaraj’.
The non-cooperation movement lasted for two years. It was not entirely successful. Yet Gandhiji removed fear from Indians about going to jail. The movement ensured the penetration of the Congress across the nation. Charkha and Khadi became a symbol of resistance.
Gandhiji was arrested on March 1922 and sentenced to six years in jail. Later, he was released from Yervada prison on February 5, 1924, to treat his illness, unconditionally.
In his letter addressed to the youth in January 1921, Gandhiji called out to them to fight for ‘Swaraj’. “We propose to sterilise their power of inflicting violence by our non-violence,” he said. “Violence dies when it ceases to evoke a response from its object. Non-violence is the cornerstone of the edifice of Non-cooperation. You will, therefore, not be hasty or over-zealous in your dealings with those who may not see eye to eye with you.”
Meanwhile, Alluri Sitaram Raju from Andhra Pradesh brought the tribals to the fore. In Bengal, Someshwar Prasad Chaudhary led the peasants in their Anti-indigo protest while in Midnapore Birendranath Sasmal waged a protest against taxation.
Women too rose to the occasion. In Guwahati, 60 women volunteers propagated the message of burning foreign goods. Tea plantation workers refused to work in Assam. Kasturba Gandhi led the movement from the front. When she was told her sons has been arrested, Kasturbha said, “Only two sons of mine have gone to jail, but there are 20,000 sons of Mother Hind who are in jail. How can I bemoan my lot! Young sons of mother Hind, do the work with such zeal that you may either regain your brothers or join them in jail.”
On July 21, 1921, Maulana Mohammad Ali initiated a resolution at the All India Khilafat Conference in Karachi that no Muslim should serve in the British Indian army.
This was also the period when Gandhiji brought many organisational changes to the Indian National Congress. To reach out to every nook and corner of the country, Gandhiji set up Provincial Congress Committees. He also established a central Congress Working Committee. Gandhiji established Congress Volunteer Corps where many youngsters enrolled.
The British declared the Volunteer corps as illegal. The press was gagged. In November 1921, the Prince of Wales arrived in India. The congress ordered a strike on the very day. Mob violence began to erupt at many places. Gandhiji was displeased by the violence and thought that it would deviate attention from the cause.
On Feb 1, 1922, Gandhiji threatened to launch the civil disobedience from Bardoli if his demand for the release of political prisoners and gagging of the press was not met. He wrote a letter to Viceroy Reading of his intention. Reading rejected the request.
Meanwhile, the volunteers were getting tired due to the long period of unrest. It was at the juncture that at a place called Chauri Chaura, the mob set a police station on fire killing 21 policemen. With a heavy heart, Gandhiji called off the non-cooperation movement abruptly on March 10, 1922.
There was a large opposition against Gandhiji for this move. Yet, he stuck to his stance. In a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, who was in jail Gandhiji described to him how he ‘refused to lead a movement that is half violent and half non-violent, even though it might result in the attainment of so-called swaraj’.
The non-cooperation movement lasted for two years. It was not entirely successful. Yet Gandhiji removed fear from Indians about going to jail. The movement ensured the penetration of the Congress across the nation. Charkha and Khadi became a symbol of resistance.
Gandhiji was arrested on March 1922 and sentenced to six years in jail. Later, he was released from Yervada prison on February 5, 1924, to treat his illness, unconditionally.
(Published in The Making of Mahatma' Supplement, The New Indian Express, south India, October 02, 2019)
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