GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE History
- Gandhi and Congress, 1919 to 27
Gandhi and Congress, 1919 to 27
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Gandhi turned the Indian National Congress into a mass movement using a new kind of protest.
Gandhi's aims and methods
Aim: swaraj (self-rule) for India.
Method: satyagraha (truth force): non-violent resistance and civil disobedience, such as refusing to obey unjust laws or boycotting British goods.
He lived simply and spun cloth, which made him popular with ordinary Indians.
Method: satyagraha (truth force): non-violent resistance and civil disobedience, such as refusing to obey unjust laws or boycotting British goods.
He lived simply and spun cloth, which made him popular with ordinary Indians.
Non-cooperation, 1920 to 22
Congress backed Gandhi's non-cooperation campaign: boycotting British schools, courts, elections and cloth.
Muslims joined through the Khilafat movement.
In 1922 at Chauri Chaura, protesters killed policemen. Gandhi called off the campaign because it had become violent. He was jailed in 1922.
Muslims joined through the Khilafat movement.
In 1922 at Chauri Chaura, protesters killed policemen. Gandhi called off the campaign because it had become violent. He was jailed in 1922.
Divisions
Jinnah and the Muslim League worried that a Hindu-majority Congress would not protect Muslims; Hindu-Muslim unity faded in the 1920s.
Gandhi campaigned for the Untouchables (Dalits), the lowest group in the caste system, whom he called Harijans, though some leaders felt he did not go far enough.
Gandhi campaigned for the Untouchables (Dalits), the lowest group in the caste system, whom he called Harijans, though some leaders felt he did not go far enough.
Why did Gandhi call off non-cooperation in 1922?
- At Chauri Chaura, protesters killed policemen.
- Gandhi believed the struggle must be non-violent.
- He felt Indians were not yet ready, so he stopped the campaign.
Answer: Because violence at Chauri Chaura broke his principle of non-violence.
Gandhi's aim was swaraj, using satyagraha and civil disobedience. Non-cooperation (1920 to 22), with Khilafat support, was called off after Chauri Chaura. Jinnah and the Muslim League grew wary of Congress; Gandhi campaigned for the Untouchables.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.