Civil Disobedience MovementCivil Disobedience Movement

The failure of the Simon Commission and the rejection of the Nehru Report set the stage for radical action under younger leadership.

• Nehru Report Deadline: The British government was given until December 31, 1929, to accept the Nehru Report for Dominion Status, failing which India would demand complete independence.
• Lahore Session Presidential Address: Jawaharlal Nehru presided over the historic Lahore session of the Indian National Congress in December 1929.
• Purna Swaraj Resolution: The 'Purna Swaraj' (Complete Independence) resolution was passed, declaring complete severance from British rule.
• First Independence Day: January 26, 1930, was fixed as the first Independence Day, to be celebrated nationwide with the hoisting of the tricolour flag.

Gandhi chose salt as the symbolic nucleus of the protest, uniting all sections of society against a universal tax.

• Eleven Demands: Before launching the movement, Gandhi presented 11 administrative reforms to Lord Irwin, including abolition of salt tax and reduction of land revenue.
• The Dandi March Route: Commencing on March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 chosen volunteers walked 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, reaching on April 5.
• Violation of Salt Law: On April 6, 1930, Gandhi picked up a lump of natural salt, formally inaugurating the Civil Disobedience Movement across India.
• Regional Spread: C. Rajagopalachari led salt satyagraha from Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu; K. Kelappan in Malabar; and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan formed the Khudai Khidmatgars (Red Shirts) in the NWFP.

Political negotiations altered the trajectory of the movement, leading to temporary suspensions and intense debates within the nationalist camp.

• Delhi Pact (Gandhi-Irwin): Signed on March 5, 1931; government agreed to release political prisoners (except those guilty of violence) and permit peaceful picketing; INC agreed to suspend Civil Disobedience.
• First Round Table Conference (1930): Held in London (Nov 1930 - Jan 1931); boycotted entirely by the Indian National Congress; ended inconclusively.
• Second Round Table Conference (1931): Attended by Mahatma Gandhi as the sole representative of the INC aboard S.S. Rajputana; failed due to deadlocks over communal representation and minority rights.
• Karachi Session (1931): Presided over by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; endorsed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and passed landmark resolutions on Fundamental Rights and National Economic Programme.

Uttar Pradesh played a stellar role in the movement, particularly through no-rent campaigns among peasantry and radical student participation.

• No-Rent Campaign in UP: In late 1930, the UP Provincial Congress Committee sanctioned a no-tax/no-rent campaign, advising tenants not to pay land revenue to the British or rent to zamindars due to the Great Depression.
• Allahabad's Role: Allahabad (now Prayagraj) served as a major hotbed of nationalist planning; leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru directed mobilization efforts from Anand Bhawan.
• Massive Women Participation: Unlike the Non-Cooperation Movement, women participated in large numbers, picketing liquor shops, foreign cloth stores, and facing police batons.
• Business Class Support: Indian merchant and industrialist classes gave financial and moral backing, seeking protection against British colonial economic exploitation.