Non-cooperation Movement

The Non-Cooperation Movement was a significant phase of the Indian independence movement from British rule. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. It aimed to resist British rule in India through nonviolent means. Protestors would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts and picket liquor shops. The ideas of Ahimsa and nonviolence, and Gandhi's ability to rally hundreds of thousands of common citizens towards the cause of Indian independence, were first seen on a large scale in this movement through the summer 1920. They feared that the movement might lead to popular violence. The non-cooperation movement was launched on 31 August, 1920.

Among significant causes of this movement was resentment to actions considered oppressive such as the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre. A meeting of civilians was being held at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The people were fired upon by 90 soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. He also ordered the only exit to be blocked. Some 369 protesters were killed and over thousands of other people injured. The outcry in Punjab led to thousands of unrests, and more deaths at the hands of the police during protests. The massacre became the most infamous event of British rule in India.

Gandhiji was horrified. He lost all faith in the goodness of the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to cooperate with the "satanic" government.

The movement was undertaken to (a) restore the status of the ruler of Turkey; (b) to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and other violence in Punjab; and (c) to secure Swaraj (independence) for India. Gandhi promised Swaraj in one year if his Non Cooperation programme was fully implemented. The other reason to start the non-cooperation movement was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator.

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