Question
How did the Civil Disobedience Movement come into force in various parts of the country? Explain with examples.
Solution
The civil disobedience movement started with the salt march from Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi. This was almost a 240 mile long march. The symbol of disobedience soon caught fire pan-India.
- Abdul Ghaffar Khan rose into revolt in Peshawar. He was soon arrested and the angry mobs broke into demonstrations in the city.
- Later, when Mahatma Gandhi was arrested, workers in Sholapur started attacking police posts and other government buildings.
- In the country side, rich peasant communities like the Patidars of Gujarat, and Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. Being producers of commercial crops, they were very hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices. As their cash income disappeared, they found it impossible to pay the government’s revenue demand.
- And the refusal of government to reduce the revenue demand led to widespread resentment. These rich peasants became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience movement, organising their communities and at times forcing reluctant members to participate in the boycott programmes.
- The industrial working classes did not participate in the Civil Disobedience movement in large numbers except in Nagpur region.
