Discuss. List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement.

Question:

Discuss

‍

List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement.

Answer:

The following social groups from India participated in the 1921 Non-Cooperation Movement:

Middle : classes people (students, headmasters, teachers, lawyers, etc.)
Political parties, except the Justice Party of Madras, the party of non Brahmins.
Merchants and traders.
Peasants of Awadh led by Baba Ramchandra.
Tribals of Andhra Pradesh led by Alluri Sitaram Raju.
Plantation workers in Assam.

(a) Peasants of Awadh :

The poor peasants of Awadh had tough times. They didn’t have land, therefore, they had to cultivate the landlord’s fields.
The latter asked for rents, which if not paid at times led to the confestication of the rented land as well as crops.
This incurred credit to the poor peasants, and they got trapped into the debt cycle. They had to beggar and work at landlords farms without any payment.
But Baba- Ramchandra, a Sanyasi led the poor peasants movement and with the help of Jawahar Lal Nehru established “Oudh Kisan Sabha”in 1920.
This movement was later merged with the Non- Cooperation – Khailafat Movements of 1921.

(b) Tribals of Andhra Pradesh :

The tribals of Andhra Pradesh were a disturbed lot. They could not enter the forests as those were reserved by the colonial government.
Tribals could not collect firewood from forests. Also tribal people depended upon cattle which grazed in the Jungles. But this activity ended as soon as forests were reserved. Therefore the lives of tribals came to a standstill.
Led by Alluri Sitaram Raju, who firmly believed in Gandhi except his non – violent methods of attaning freedom, tribes rebelled against the oppressive British government. They joined the Non-Cooperation – Khailafat movements, but violently.

They assumed that non-Cooperation movement meant that they could reunitre with their families, by overruling the terms and conditions of their contracts.
Therefore many of them defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed home.
They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages.
But their plans failed as they could not reach their destinations due to railway and steamer strikes and were caught by the police and brutally beaten up.