smash-pacifism-zine

Police later intercepted other columns of protesters
marching to the site. The violence, widely reported by the
media, once again caused widespread public anger against
the British. The salt campaign ended with the coming of
the monsoon season in June. It was most successful in
coastal areas and those with salt quarries. In other areas,
local Congress groups focused on other issues, and civil
disobedience continued in various forms. By the end of the
year, some 60,000 people had been arrested and
imprisoned.
“As early as May 1930 it was clear that civil
disobedience was a very severe challenge to the British..
[Viceroy] Irwin recognized that the raj [British rule] faced a
'formidable menace to instituted government' and would
need all its resources to combat it; while his Home Member
confessed that he had gained 'the impression during the last
week or two from various parts of India that in spite of all
that has been done Government may not be retaining that
essential moral superiority, which is perhaps the most
important factor in this struggle'”
(Gandhi and Civil Disobedience,
p. 123)
Although the salt satyagarah was
relatively brief, and had little effect on the
salt market, it had re-ignited popular
enthusiasm for anti-British sentiment. In
addition, the high profile nature of the Salt
March further elevated Gandhi's status as
a 'messiah' and a powerful symbol of
salvation for the poor. The British delayed
arresting him for nearly a month, until
May 4, 1930. The delay itself portrayed
the British as hesitant, and when it
occurred it caused widespread protest, and
in some cases rioting and clashes with
police. Gandhi would be held without
trial and not released until January, 1931.
Compared to the 1920-22 campaign, that of 1930
was marked by far greater control over the protests,
facilitated in part by better organization within the INC.
This time, the concepts of nonviolent civil disobedience
were better understood. The month-long pilgrimage by
Gandhi and his 78 followers also helped set a tone and
example for the orchestrated campaign that followed.
Despite this, violence was a constantly lurking
factor which occasionally erupted during protests. Armed
groups also continued to carry out actions that frustrated the
British and made them appear even more impotent,
including raids on armouries.
Beginning in February 1931, the Viceroy Lord
Irwin began negotiations with Gandhi as the sole
representative of the INC (agreed to by the Moderates), and
on March 5 an agreement was reached known as the
Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Although there were no major
concessions, it proposed a Round Table Conference be held
in London in November. Gandhi's unilateral decision to end
the civil disobedience campaign, as he had in 1922, angered
many Congress members. However,
“Gandhi was less concerned with the contents of
the Pact than with its symbolic importance, seeing his
single-handed negotiations, as if on equal terms [with the
British Viceroy], as a victory in itself... And, indeed, for the
remaining months of 1931, the Congress did assume
something of the character of a parallel government...”
(Gandhi, p. 155)
The London conference, which Gandhi reluctantly
attended, soon became bogged down in constitutional
arguments and division between various religious and
ethnic groups, including the concerns of Muslims (who did
not see the INC as representing their interests, viewing it—
and Gandhi—as primarily concerned with Hindus). Gandhi
socialized with middle-class British progressives outside
the conference and had tea with King George. On his return
to India, he travelled through Europe and included in his
tour a brief and “awkward”
meeting with Mussolini, the
fascist dictator of Italy.
As for the round table
conference, the British were not
interested in Indian
independence or constitutional
reforms. Because of the
economic crisis resulting from
the 1929 Depression, Britain
was more concerned than ever
about retaining its colonial
markets.
When Gandhi returned to
India, he found Irwin replaced
by Willingdon as the Indian
Viceroy. The INC, frustrated by
the lack of progress in
constitutionalism, swung back in favour of renewed civil
disobedience. The INC Moderates, along with Gandhi,
used these campaigns as political leverage in their
negotiations with the British. The Radicals participated
because they saw the increased agitation as contributing to
mobilizing the people into anti-colonial resistance in
general.
Now using a hard line approach, Willingdon
responded with arrests of INC leaders and new laws
targeting civil disobedience, including “unlawful
associations” and boycotts. Gandhi himself was arrested on
January 4, 1932 and imprisoned without trial (under an old
British statute). As in most of his prison experiences in
India, Gandhi was given preferential treatment and was a
model prisoner.
Under his previously communicated directives, the
civil disobedience campaign continued during his
imprisonment. Between January 1932 and March 1933,
Gandhi at round table conference in London,
seated fourth from right at back table, 1931.
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