Rowlatt Satyagraha

The Non-Cooperation Movement was a significant phase of the Indian independence movement from British rule. It was led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. It aimed to resist British rule in India through nonviolent means,"satyagraha". 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. Gandhi feared that the movement might lead to popular violence. The non-cooperation movement was launched on 1st August, 1920.

The Non-cooperation movement was a reaction to the oppressive policies of the British Indian government such as the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. A meeting of civilians held at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple in Amritsar was fired upon by soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, killing 379 protesters and injuring thousands. The outcry generated by the massacre led to thousands of unrests and more deaths at the hands of the police. The massacre became the most infamous event of British rule in India.

Gandhi 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.

Indians who had participated in the Khilafat movement to restore the status of the Caliph gave their support to the non-cooperation movement. In response to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and other violence in Punjab, the movement sought 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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