Civil Disobedience Resumed: Key Events from December 1931, Government Actions, and Popular Response - Study the key milestones and developments in the Civil Disobedience Movement with detailed historical insights and impacts.
Overview: On December 29, 1931, the Congress Working Committee decided to resume the civil disobedience movement following the failure of the Second Round Table Conference.
Government's Considerations: Following the Second Round Table Conference, British officials aimed to reverse the Congress's political gains and maintain control. Key considerations included:
1. Gandhi's Movement: Preventing Gandhi from building up momentum for a mass movement.
2. Confidence of Loyalists: Gaining the confidence of government functionaries and loyalists instead of relying on Congress support.
3. Rural Consolidation: Preventing the national movement from consolidating in rural areas.
Actions: After the CWC's decision to resume civil disobedience, Viceroy Willingdon refused to meet Gandhi on December 31, and Gandhi was arrested on January 4, 1932.
Initial Response: Despite being unprepared, the response was massive. Key actions included:
1. Arrests: Approximately 80,000 satyagrahis, mostly poor, were jailed in the first four months.
2. Forms of Protest: Picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops, illegal gatherings, non-violent demonstrations, celebrations of national days, symbolic flag hoistings, non-payment of chowkidara tax, salt satyagraha, forest law violations, and installation of a secret radio transmitter.
3. Upheavals: This phase coincided with uprisings in Kashmir and Alwar.
Challenges: The movement could not be sustained due to lack of time to build momentum and unpreparedness of the masses.
Withdrawal: Gandhi decided to withdraw the movement in April 1934. Despite repression, people retained their political faith in Congress.
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