Why Gandhiji Decided to Withdraw From the Non-cooperation Movement

Explain Why Gandhiji Decided to Withdraw From the Non-cooperation Movement?

Answer: The non-Cooperation movement can be defined as the movement of Satyagraha which was launched by Gandhiji on September 5 th 1920. This was launched as a protest against different British atrocities. It was a nonviolent movement that was carried out throughout India against different unjust acts and laws brought forward by the British. The main character of this movement was defined as Swaraj. During this movement, people throughout India refused to buy different kinds of British goods, and the purchase of indigenous handcrafted goods was encouraged. 

There were many reasons why the non-cooperation movement was started. Firstly there is the Rowlatt Act of 1919 in which several fundamental rights of human beings like the freedom of expression were restrained which resulted in increasing the power of the police. Next, there is the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in which thousands of people were killed in Jallianwala Bagh due to an order to open fire by General Dyre.  Another reason for starting the noncooperation movement is the first world war which led to a huge increase in defence expenditure and the concept of income tax was introduced.

In addition, there were several instances of violence that ultimately led to Gandhiji withdrawing from the movement of non-cooperation. Among these several incidents, the Chauri Chaura incident of 1922 when the people clashed with the police and set an entire police station on fire is very important. This incident made Gandhiji realise that people throughout India were not yet prepared for a mass struggle. Moreover, satyagrahis needed to be trained in non-violence before launching a movement of this kind.