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CLAT 2021 21 Year Experienced Team

Chauri Chaura Incident

on the 100th year of the Chauri Chaura event, a postage stamp was released by the Prime Minister.
About:
f The town of Chauri Chaura was the scene of a violent incident with far-reaching consequences during the
freedom struggle a century ago.
f On 4th February 1922, this town of Gorakhpur witnessed a violent incident - a large crowd of peasants
set on fire a police station that killed 22 policemen. Due to this incident, Mahatma Gandhi called off the
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22).

Key Points:
f The incident: On August 1, 1920, Gandhi had launched the
NonCooperation Movement against the government, which
involved a boycott of foreign goods, “refusing to assist a ruler
who misrules”. As the movement gathered momentum over the
next year and a half, large numbers of volunteers became active
across the country.
f A few days before the February 4 incident, police cracked down
on volunteers who were trying to stop the trade in foreign cloth
and enforce a just price for meat and fish, and severely beat up
one Bhagwan Ahir, a demobilized soldier from the British Indian
Army.
f On February 4, 1922, supporters of the Khilafat movement and the Indian National Congress clashed
with local police. An angry mob subsequently set the local police station on fire, killing 22 Indian
policemen who had taken shelter inside.
f The immediate outcome: Severe repression was witnessed immediately by the British authorities on the
suspected volunteers, many were sentenced by session court, etc.
Gandhi's reaction:
f Gandhi, who was deeply disturbed by the incident, condemned the “crime” of the policemen's killing.
f The volunteer groups in the nearby villages were disbanded, and a Chauri Chaura Support Fund was set
up to demonstrate “genuine sympathy” and seek prayashchit.
f Gandhi decided to stop the Non-Cooperation Movement, which he saw as having been tainted by
unforgivable violence. The satyagraha was formally suspended.
f Other Leaders Reaction: Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders leading the Non-Cooperation movement
were shocked that Gandhiji had stopped the struggle when the civil resistance had consolidated their
position in the freedom movement. Other leaders like Motilal Nehru and CR Das recorded their dismay at
Gandhi's decision and decided to establish the Swaraj Party.
Way Forward:
f The Gandhian strategy of non-violence was based on the premise that the use of repressive force against
non-violent protesters would expose the real character of the colonial state and ultimately put moral
pressure on them, but incidents such as Chauri Chaura defeated that strategy.
f Besides, Bipin Chandra opines that withdrawal or shift to a phase of non-confrontation is an inherent part
of a strategy of political action that is based on the masses.
f The disillusionment resulting from the suspension of the NonCooperation Movement nudged many of the
younger Indian nationalists towards the conclusion that India would not be able to throw off the colonial
yoke through non-violence.

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