Page 69 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

Non-co-operation also meant reprisals from the Government. Many moderates

in the Congress found non-co-operation distasteful, and left the Congress.

Among them were known leaders like Mohammed Ali Jinnah who later became
the founder of Pakistan. But Gandhi won the day. A tidal wave swept the

country. Students, Lawyers, Government servants and all sections of the people

responded. National educational institutions were set up in many places to
provide education to those who boycotted the Government schools. Gandhi

himself set up the Gujarat Vidyapeeth. People's courts were set up to settle

disputes outside the British courts. Bonfires of foreign goods lit up the sky as
part of the programme to boycott foreign goods.

Gandhi started three weeklies, Young India in English, and Navajivan in Hindi

and Gujarati, to spread the message of Satyagraha and non-cooperation, and to
explain his concept of Swaraj, and the individual and collective Sadhana that

was needed for it. His message reached every nook and corner in India.

Thousands of Indians had been arrested, and were in jail. There was an
insistent demand that Gandhi should launch a Civil Disobedience movement. He

promised at the Calcutta session of the Congress (1920) that India would have

Swaraj within a year if it took to non-violent non-co-operation. He decided to
start mass Civil Disobedience in one district and extend it to others if it proved

successful and remained non-violent. He chose Bardoli in Gujarat, and wrote to

the Viceroy on the 1st of February 1922, telling him of his intention to start

mass Civil Disobedience from Bardoli.

The country was on flash point. Within three days of the despatch of the letter,

something happened in Chauri Chaura in Eastern U. P. which upset all plans and

assessments. A crowd of demonstrators was passing a Police Station. The Police
waited till the tail of the crowd appeared. They then ridiculed and provoked

the participants of the procession. Some of the processionists responded and

the Police opened fire. The crowd returned and set fire to the Police Station.
The constables who tried to escape from the burning building were hacked to

death.

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