Nationalism: Gandhian Phase

Nationalism: Gandhian Phase

Learning Objectives

To acquaint ourselves with

• Gandhian phase of India’s struggle for independence

• Gandhi’s policy of ahimsa and satyagraha tried and tested for mobilisation of the masses in India

• Non-violent struggles in Champaran and against the Rowlatt Act • The Non-Cooperation Movement and its fallout

• Emergence of radicals and revolutionaries and their part in the freedom movement

• Launch of Civil Disobedience Movement

• Issue of separate electorate and the signing of Poona Pact

• First Congress Ministries in the provinces and circumstances leading to the launch of Quit India Movement

• Communalism leading to partition of sub-continent into India and Pakistan

Introduction

Mahatma Gandhi arrived in India in 1915 from South Africa after fighting for the civil rights of the Indians there for about twenty years. He brought with him a new impulse to Indian politics. He introduced satyagraha, which he had perfected in South Africa, that could be practiced by men and women, young and old. As a person dedicated to the cause of the poorest of the poor, he instantly gained the goodwill of the masses. In this lesson we shall see how Gandhi transformed the Indian National Movement.