Gandhian Era II (1928–1934)

A no-tax peasant movement in Gujarat that gave Vallabhbhai Patel his famous title and rehearsed the methods of mass civil disobedience.

• The government had raised the land revenue of Bardoli taluka (in Surat district, Bombay Presidency) by about 22%, which the peasants refused to pay.
• For his leadership the women of Bardoli honoured Vallabhbhai Patel with the title "Sardar" (meaning "chief/leader").
• The movement ended with a government enquiry that rolled back the unjust hike, a major moral victory for the peasants.
• It became a model of disciplined, non-violent mass mobilisation just before the all-India Civil Disobedience Movement.

An all-British commission sent to review constitutional reforms — its lack of a single Indian member united the country in protest.

• All members of the commission were British — there was no Indian member — so the entire country opposed it and called it the "White Commission".
• During its work, Lord Irwin was the Viceroy of India.
• On 3 February 1928, Simon and his colleagues landed in Bombay and were greeted with hartals (strikes) and black-flag demonstrations with the slogan "Simon Go Back".
• The protest movement reached new heights of nationalist enthusiasm and unity.

• While leading an anti-Simon protest at Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was injured in a lathi-charge and died on 17 November 1928 (he succumbed to his injuries).
• His death enraged the youth and inspired revolutionary action; he is remembered as the "Lion of Punjab" (Punjab Kesari).

India's first attempt by Indians themselves to draft a constitution — a direct reply to the all-white Simon Commission.

• It was the first major effort by Indians to draft a constitutional framework for India, with lists of central and provincial subjects and Fundamental Rights.
• Its main demand was Dominion Status with responsible government at the centre and in the provinces — not complete independence.
• It recommended equal rights for women, freedom to form unions, and dissociation of the State from religion.
• The committee included Tej Bahadur Sapru, Ali Imam, M. S. Aney, Mangal Singh, Sohaib (Shoaib) Qureshi, G. R. Pradhan and Subhas Chandra Bose.

The session where the Congress finally raised its goal from Dominion Status to complete independence.

• On 31 December 1929, the tricolour flag was unfurled on the banks of the Ravi, and 26 January 1930 was fixed as the first Independence Day, to be celebrated every year.
• Decisions taken at Lahore:
• Boycott the Round Table Conference.
• Make Purna Swaraj the main aim of the Congress.
• Launch a programme of Civil Disobedience, including non-payment of taxes.
• Ask all members of the legislatures to resign their seats.
• This session marked the turning point — the demand shifted from Dominion Status to Complete Independence.

The dramatic 240-mile march to the sea that launched the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the salt law.

• Gandhi started the march on 12 March 1930 from the Sabarmati Ashram and walked to Dandi (a coastal village in Gujarat).
• On reaching Dandi, he picked up a handful of salt and violated the salt law, calling on Indians to make salt freely.
• The act of making salt was meant to defy the British salt monopoly and salt tax — a symbol of unjust laws.
• The salt law was soon violated in many parts of the country, and the movement spread rapidly.

A nationwide campaign of breaking laws — boycotting foreign goods, refusing taxes, and picketing — that drew in peasants, women, and tribals.

• Foreign liquor and cloth shops were picketed; people refused to buy foreign goods.
• Lawyers gave up practice; forest laws were breached in central regions; chowkidari (chowkari) tax was refused in Bihar.
• Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (the "Frontier Gandhi") led the movement in the North-West Frontier Province.
• Surya Sen's Chittagong Armoury Raid group carried out a raid and declared a provisional government.
• In Sholapur (Maharashtra), textile workers struck, attacked liquor shops, railway stations and law courts, and set up a parallel government for a few days.
• In Manipur, Rani Gaidinliu raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule.

The first of three London conferences on India's constitution — boycotted by the Congress, so it achieved little.

• The Indian National Congress boycotted it (its leaders were in jail), and most business leaders stayed away, so it produced no real result.
• Notable participants and the groups they represented:

A truce between Gandhi and the Viceroy that paused civil disobedience and brought Gandhi to the Second Round Table Conference.

• Tej Bahadur Sapru, M. R. Jayakar and Srinivasa Shastri worked to broker the agreement.
• Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and to attend the Second Round Table Conference.
• The government agreed to release political prisoners and to allow people on the coast to make salt for their own use.
• It was a tactical truce, not a surrender — it opened the door to dialogue while the goal of complete freedom remained.

The only conference Gandhi attended — it broke down over the issue of separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.

• Ramsay MacDonald was the Prime Minister of Britain (under whose chairmanship it was held), and Lord Willingdon was the new Viceroy.
• Gandhi demanded control over defence and foreign affairs; the Hindu Mahasabha demanded federal responsibility, opposed by the Muslim League and the princes.
• B. R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Classes (Dalits), which Gandhi opposed.
• The conference failed — the government refused to concede the basic nationalist demand of freedom on the basis of immediate Dominion Status, and Civil Disobedience was resumed.

Ramsay MacDonald's award of separate electorates to the Depressed Classes triggered Gandhi's fast and the historic Poona Pact.

• Gandhi opposed separate electorates for Dalits, fearing it would divide Hindu society, and began a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail (Pune).
• The Poona Pact was signed on 24 September 1932 between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
• Under the pact, separate electorates for the Depressed Classes were dropped; instead they were given a larger number of reserved seats within the general (joint) electorate.
• It was a compromise that kept Hindu society united while securing political representation for the Depressed Classes.

The final and least significant conference — boycotted by the Congress, it set the stage for the Government of India Act, 1935.

• Britain's Labour Party also stayed away, so attendance was thin and the conference had little impact.
• Its discussions, along with those of the earlier conferences, fed into the framing of the Government of India Act, 1935.

The three London conferences (1930–32) tried to settle India's constitutional future; the Congress took part in only one.

A quick date-wise summary of the milestones of the second Gandhian phase, a favourite of examiners.