100 Years of Chauri Chaura Incident

• 05 Feb 2022

For Prelims: Chauri Chaura incident, Non-Cooperation Movement, Khilafat movement.

For Mains: Incidence of Chauri Chaura, its background and its aftermath effects, Indian national movement.

Why in News?

Recently, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the heroes of freedom struggle on completion of the hundred years of Chauri Chaura incident.

• Chauri Chaura is a town in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
• On 4^th February, 1922, this town witnessed a violent incident - a large crowd of peasants set fire to a police station that killed 22 policemen. Due to this incident, Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22).

What is the Background of the Incident?

• On 1^th August, 1920, Gandhiji had launched the Non-Cooperation Movement against the government.
  • It involved using swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods, especially machine made cloth, and legal, educational and administrative institutions, "refusing to assist a ruler who misrules".
• In the winter of 1921-22, volunteers of the Congress and the Khilafat Movement were organized into a national volunteer corps.
  • Khilafat Movement was a pan-Islamic force in India that arose in 1919 in an effort to salvage the Ottoman caliph as a symbol of unity among the Muslim community in India during the British raj.
  • The Congress supported the movement and Mahatma Gandhi sought to conjoin it to the Non-Cooperation Movement.

What was the incidence of Chauri Chaura and the Aftermath reactions?

• Chauri Chaura Incident:
  • On 4^th February, volunteers congregated in the town, and after the meeting, proceeded in a procession to the local police station, and to picket the nearby Mundera bazaar.
  • The police fired into the crowd killing some people and injuring many volunteers.
  • In retaliation, the crowd proceeded to set the police station on fire.
  • Some of the policemen who tried to escape were caught and battered to death. A lot of police property, including weapons, was destroyed.
• Reaction of the British:
  • The British Raj prosecuted the accused aggressively.
  • A sessions court quickly sentenced 172 of the 225 accused to death. However, ultimately, only 19 of those convicted were hanged.
• Reaction of Mahatma Gandhi:
  • He condemned the crime of the policemen's killing. The volunteer groups in nearby villages were disbanded, and a Chauri Chaura Support Fund was set up to demonstrate "genuine sympathy" and seek atonement.
  • Gandhi decided to stop the Non-Cooperation Movement, which he saw as having been tainted by unforgivable violence.
  • He bent the Congress Working Committee to his will, and on 12^th February, 1922, the satyagraha (movement) was formally suspended.
    • Gandhi on his part, justified himself on grounds of his unshakeable faith in non-violence.
• Reaction of Other National Leaders:
  • 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.

What did the suspension of the Movement result into?

• The disillusionment resulting from the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement nudged many of the younger Indian nationalists towards the conclusion that India would not be able to throw off colonial rule through non-violence.
• It was from the ranks of these impatient patriots that some of India's most of the revolutionaries came into picture like Jogesh Chatterjee, Ramprasad Bismil, Sachin Sanyal, Ashfaqulla Khan, Jatin Das, Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Masterda Surya Sen, and many others.
• Besides, sudden termination of the Non-Cooperation Movement disillusioned the Khilafat movement leaders that created a rift between Congress and the muslim leaders.

Source: PIB