The Non-Cooperation Movement was led by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi after the Amritsar Massacre. This was the first of the nationwide non-violent campaigns against British rule in India. Indians were encouraged to peacefully protest, abandon their government jobs, and boycott British made goods. The movement was ultimately called off by Gandhi after rioters burned down a police station killing 25 people trapped inside.

The Non-Cooperation Movement developed as a consequence of early inter-war developments. India had contributed men and material to the British war effort and were expected to be given greater political autonomy. It had also experienced a rise in the cost of living as a consequence of the war and this fuelled social unrest. Moreover, war-time repressive measures were extended under the Rowlatt Acts and lethal military force was used against unarmed civilians in Amritsar in 1919. Gandhi, who by now had garnered national renown for his earlier efforts in peasant protests and industrial worker disputes, went on to lead the Non-Cooperation Movement which began in 1920. The campaign advocated a hartal or strike action of public sector workers including lawyers, civil servants, and teachers. He also called for a boycott of British goods.

From left to right: Mohandas Gandhi, Rabrindanath Tagore, and Mrinalini Devi, Ahmedabad, 1920.

(Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Gandhi sought to develop Hindu-Muslim ties by backing the Khilafat Movement which demanded the restoration of the Ottoman Caliphate. The campaign was successful in mobilising a much larger section of Indian society than had previously been the case, for example, during the Swadeshi Movement of 1905.

However, despite success in mobilising the masses, Gandhi called off the movement in 1922 after protestors set a police station alight at Chauri Chaura, killing policeman trapped inside the building. The period also saw a rise in communal or religious violence that threatened the religious unity that Gandhi was seeking to foster. The Khilafat Movement also fizzled out as Turkey itself moved towards a modern secular state making the movement redundant. Although many Congress leaders wanted to continue non-cooperation, Gandhi did not want to make political gains at the cost of violence and unilaterally called off the movement.