Chapter Overview

Between the Rowlatt Act (1919) and 15 August 1947, the national movement became a mass movement under Mahatma Gandhi (महात्मा गांधी). Three great waves, Non-Cooperation (1920–22), Civil Disobedience (1930–34) and Quit India (1942), were separated by phases of negotiation and constructive work, and ended in a transfer of power that came with partition. This is the most heavily tested period of modern Indian history: Prelims asks dates, sessions and pairs every year, and Mains GS-I asks for comparisons and evaluations.

This chapter is India-wide. The Chhattisgarh story of the same years (Kandel, Gandhi’s visits, jungle satyagrahas, local leaders) is told in detail in Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh; short callouts here link the two.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Explain how Champaran, Kheda, Ahmedabad, the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh and the Khilafat issue made Gandhi the leader of a mass movement
Describe the programme, spread and withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Calcutta and Nagpur sessions
Trace the road from the Swarajists and the Simon Commission to Purna Swaraj, the Dandi March, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Poona Pact
Explain the war-years sequence (August Offer, Individual Satyagraha, Cripps) and the nature of Quit India, its parallel governments and the INA
Explain the endgame: INA trials, RIN mutiny, Cabinet Mission, Direct Action, Mountbatten Plan, Indian Independence Act and integration of the princely states
Write Mains answers comparing the movements and analysing partition, with a Chhattisgarh angle

Prerequisites

National Movement: 1885 to 1919 — the Congress, Moderates, Extremists and Home Rule
Constitutional Development (1773–1950) — the 1919 and 1935 Acts that run in parallel with this chapter

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Gandhi's Rise and Non-Cooperation
1915–1922: Champaran, Rowlatt,
Jallianwala, Khilafat, Chauri Chaura"] --> B["2. Swarajists to Civil Disobedience
1922–1934: Simon, Purna Swaraj,
Dandi, RTCs, Poona Pact"]
    B --> C["3. Quit India and the War Years
1939–1945: Cripps, Do or Die,
parallel governments, INA"]
    C --> D["4. Partition and Independence
1945–1947: Cabinet Mission,
Mountbatten Plan, integration"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]
    E --> F["Chhattisgarh side:
Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Gandhi’s Rise and the Non-Cooperation Movement	Early satyagrahas (1917–18), Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh, Khilafat, Calcutta and Nagpur sessions, NCM programme, Chauri Chaura, Bardoli resolution
2	Swarajists to Civil Disobedience	Swaraj Party, Simon Commission, Nehru Report, Lahore 1929, Dandi March, spread of CDM, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Karachi 1931, RTCs, Communal Award and Poona Pact
3	Quit India Movement and the War Years	War and resignations, August Offer, Individual Satyagraha, Cripps Mission, Quit India, underground and parallel governments, Subhas Bose and the INA
4	Partition and Independence	C.R. Formula, Wavell Plan, INA trials, RIN mutiny, Cabinet Mission, Direct Action, Mountbatten Plan, Independence Act, Radcliffe Line, integration of states
—	Quick Revision	Every date, session, plan and pair on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Chronology questions (arrange these events), session-president pairs, match-the-following (satyagraha and leader, parallel government and place), statement questions on Cripps, the Cabinet Mission and the Independence Act. Modern India is a regular contributor to the history share of the paper
Prelims P-I (Part 2, Chhattisgarh)	Chhattisgarh’s part in each movement: Kandel, Gandhi’s visits (1920, 1933), jungle satyagrahas, merger of the princely states (1948). Study these in the Chhattisgarh chapter
Mains P-III (GS-I), History section	Short answers (Champaran, Poona Pact, Cripps, INA) and long answers (compare NCM and CDM; nature of Quit India; why partition; Patel and integration), ideally with a Chhattisgarh example

Exam focus

High-yield: Calcutta vs Nagpur 1920; Lahore 1929 vs Karachi 1931; Communal Award vs Poona Pact; Cripps vs Cabinet Mission; the three parallel governments; Attlee’s deadline vs Mountbatten’s date.
Common mistakes: putting Gandhi at the first RTC; saying the Cabinet Mission proposed partition; listing the CPI among Quit India’s supporters; making Bose the founder of the INA.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: Kandel (1920) and Gandhi’s first visit; 1930 jungle satyagrahas; the Raipur Conspiracy Case (1942); merger of 14 states on 1 January 1948.

Quick Reference: The Gandhian Era at a Glance

Year	Event	Key fact
1915	Gandhi returns	9 January
1917–18	Champaran, Ahmedabad, Kheda	First civil disobedience, first hunger strike, first non-cooperation
1919	Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh	13 April, Amritsar, Dyer
1920	NCM adopted	Calcutta (September), Nagpur (December); Gandhi in Raipur 20 December
1922	Chauri Chaura; Bardoli resolution	NCM withdrawn (February)
1923	Swaraj Party	C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru
1927–28	Simon Commission	All-white; “Simon, Go Back”
1929	Lahore session	Nehru; Purna Swaraj
1930	Dandi March; first RTC	12 March – 6 April; jungle satyagrahas in Chhattisgarh
1931	Gandhi-Irwin Pact; Karachi session; second RTC	5 March; Fundamental Rights resolution
1932	Communal Award; Poona Pact	Gandhi–Ambedkar, 148 reserved seats
1933	Gandhi’s Harijan tour reaches Chhattisgarh	22–28 November
1940	August Offer; Individual Satyagraha	Vinoba Bhave first
1942	Cripps Mission; Quit India	8 August, “Do or Die”
1943	Azad Hind government	21 October, Singapore
1945	Wavell Plan; INA trials	Simla Conference fails
1946	RIN mutiny; Cabinet Mission; Direct Action	16 May plan; 16 August
1947	Mountbatten Plan; Independence Act; Independence	3 June; 18 July; 15 August
1948	Chhattisgarh’s 14 states merge	1 January

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Gandhi’s Rise and the Non-Cooperation Movement