HPAS/ N.T. Allied Mains 2022-23 Answer Writing Challenge: Model Answer

Question: Gandhi’s well-known Dandi March served as the catalyst for the Civil Disobedience Movement. What led to the drive toward civil disobedience? Analyze its Significance in detail.

Answer: 

Introduction:-

• The Dandi March, also known as the Salt March, and the Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi-led Dandi Satyagraha are credited with giving rise to the civil disobedience movement.
• The British salt monopoly was the target of a direct-action campaign of tax resistance and peaceful protest.
• Gandhi and his supporters there make salt from saltwater in defiance of British policy.
• At Dandi, hundreds more people followed his example, and Indian nationalists inspired large crowds of residents to make salt in the coastal towns of Bombay and Karachi.
• The civil disobedience Movement grew as a result of this act of defying the salt rule.

Body

• Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) causes include: The Dandi Salt March, which began as a result of the government’s monopoly over the production and sale of salt and the imposition of a salt tax on all citizens, is responsible for the founding of CDM.
• Because of the severe restrictions, picking up a handful of sea salt that was lying on the sand may result in a fine.
• Additionally, the Simon Commission of 1928 refused to involve any Indian in the constitutional deliberations, denied dominion status, and unlawfully detained social revolutionaries, which contributed to the emergence of a nationalistic sentiment among the general populace.
• As a result, the civil disobedience movement had a rapid upsurge as a result of this sensitive circumstance.

Significance of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM):

• Imports from Britain had fallen considerably:For example, imports of cloth from Britain had fallen by half.
• Pan India Participation:The movement had started in India’s west coast and had nearly completely covered the entire nation. Large-scale protests were held in Madras, Calcutta, Karachi, Bombay, Delhi, and Sholapur in response to the arrests of Nehru and Gandhi in April and May, respectively.

• Participation of Various Sections of the Society: The movement was more widespread than the previous one. It includes the mass participation including women, peasants, workers, students, urban elements like merchants, shopkeepers provided the Congress a new all-India status.
• The support that the movement had garnered from the poor and the illiterate both in the town and countryside was remarkable.

• Global Recognition:At the beginning of the movement, nobody realized the significance of breaking the salt law. Even Viceroy Load Irwin believed that it would have little effect on the general masses, yet while travelling to Dandi, Gandhi spoke to tens of thousands of people, inspiring many of them to join the march.
• The iconic march elevated the Indian independence struggle to the top of the international news agenda. Even the front page of the American weekly magazine Time included a picture of Gandhi along with a description of the British government’s cruelty and the strength of nonviolence.

Women Participation: Another important aspect of this movement was the participation of women.

• For the first time, women had a substantial impact on the picketing of opium dens, liquor stores, and stores carrying foreign clothing.
• Rani Gaidinliu, a naga spiritual leader, hoisted the flag of rebellion against British occupation

Evaluation:

• Though foreign imports of clothing and cigarettes were cut in half and Government revenue from land revenue and liquor excise were also reduced. But there was very little rise of Indian domestic industry and further Indian exports didn’t rise substantially.
• Finally, truce was declared, which was formalized in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Paving the way for Gandhi, representing the Indian National Congress, to attend the second session (September–December 1931) of the Round Table Conference in London.

Conclusion:- The civil disobedience movement was the first to work on a nationwide scale; preceding groups were limited to urban regions. Rural residents had the opportunity to participate in this movement. Additionally, it led the Indian Independence Struggle toward full independence; without a doubt, it was a turning point in the movement.