Examine the ways in which the non-cooperation campaign and the civil disobedience campaign contributed to the movement for Indian Independence.

Candidates must consider the different ways the non-cooperation and civil disobedience campaigns contributed to the Indian Independence movement. Candidates may give examples of the ways the campaigns helped and hindered the movement. They may point out that as a consequence of the campaigns, the Indian National Congress (INC) developed mass support and the British had to consider making concessions.

Indicative content

Non-cooperation campaign 1920–1922

• Gandhi had lost faith in cooperation with the British and called for mass nationwide protest.
• Gandhi asked Indians to withdraw from the police, military, civil service and the courts. British-manufactured goods were also to be boycotted.
• The campaign gained huge support amongst the younger generation of Indian nationalists and the Indian National Congress embraced his idea.
• The scale and success of the campaign surprised the British authorities and was a huge inspiration to millions of Indians.
• However, in 1922, demonstrations became violent and Gandhi ended the movement and went on a fast to encourage the violence to end.
• Gandhi was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment. Many nationalists were left discouraged by events.

Civil Disobedience Campaign 1930

• The Salt Satyagraha resulted in millions of Indians breaking the law by making their own salt or buying illegal salt. In just one month, 60,000 Indians were arrested for these actions.
• Gandhi called for the boycott of British goods and especially British cloth.
• For the first time in the movement’s history women were actively involved. Thousands of women marched and made salt. The British authorities were concerned that this would make the work of their police even more challenging.
• Gandhi was again arrested but was released following an international outcry about British actions in India.
• There were outbreaks of violence from both the British and Indians, which undermined the campaign.
• There were no concessions made by the British as a direct result of the Civil Disobedience Campaign. However, the Round Table Conferences (1930–1932) took place to attempt to address Indian grievances.
• There was disagreement amongst the Indian National Congress regarding the methods adopted and most Muslims did not support the movement.

Quit India 1942

• In 1942, the British sent the (Stafford) Cripps Mission to negotiate with Congress and secure Indian support for the war. Congress was not satisfied with Cripps’s proposals and did not like the idea of British continued control during the war or the offer of secession to any part of the country afterwards.
• Gandhi and Congress supported the Quit India civil disobedience campaign demanding that Britain should leave India immediately.
• The effects of the campaign were that the British responded with mass detentions of Congress members and the use of emergency powers to control unrest. Civil disobedience continued well into 1943.
• Political kudos was gained by Jinnah and the Muslim League, which continued to back the British war effort; support for other smaller political parties grew.
• There are different opinions about the effectiveness of the Quit India Campaign. Some candidates may argue that it paved the way for Archibald Wavell’s actions and the progression towards independence. Others may say that it achieved very little and that it exacerbated the divide between Congress and the League and this ultimately led to the partition of India.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.

Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.

[20 marks]