Civil Disobedience Movement (Second Phase, 1931–1934)

The Civil Disobedience Movement (Second Phase), covering the period from 1931 to 1934, marked a crucial stage in India’s struggle for independence. This phase followed the temporary suspension of the movement after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931) and witnessed renewed campaigns of resistance against British colonial authority. Despite facing severe repression, arrests, and internal political challenges, it played a pivotal role in sustaining nationalist momentum and deepening mass political consciousness across India.

Background and Resumption of the Movement

The First Phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–1931), initiated by Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March, had stirred nationwide enthusiasm and forced the British government to negotiate with Indian leaders. As a result, the Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed in March 1931, leading to the release of political prisoners, the suspension of the movement, and Congress’s participation in the Second Round Table Conference in London.
However, the conference, held from September to December 1931, failed to achieve any agreement on constitutional reforms or India’s demand for dominion status. Gandhi, representing the Indian National Congress (INC), found himself isolated as British officials and representatives of various communal and minority groups—supported by the British—rejected Congress’s claims to represent all Indians.
Disappointed by the failure of negotiations and provoked by the government’s repressive actions upon his return, Gandhi announced the resumption of the Civil Disobedience Movement in January 1932.

Course of the Movement (1931–1934)

The second phase of the movement was marked by intense repression, reorganised resistance, and the widening of political awareness among Indians.

• Renewal of Civil Disobedience (1932): On his return from London, Gandhi found that the British had resumed harsh measures against nationalists, reimposed bans on the Congress, and restricted public gatherings. In response, he called for the revival of the Civil Disobedience campaign. Demonstrations, boycotts, and acts of non-cooperation resumed across the country.
• Repressive Policies of the Government: The British Government, now under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, adopted a ruthless approach. The Congress was declared illegal, its offices sealed, and leaders arrested. Gandhi and other senior leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, and Rajendra Prasad were imprisoned. Over 120,000 people were detained in the early months of 1932 alone.
• Communal Award (1932): In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award, granting separate electorates for the “Depressed Classes” (later known as Scheduled Castes), Muslims, Sikhs, and other minorities. Gandhi vehemently opposed this decision, viewing it as an attempt to divide Hindu society and weaken national unity.
• Gandhi’s Fast and the Poona Pact (1932): Gandhi began a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail on 20 September 1932 to protest the separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. The crisis led to negotiations between Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, culminating in the Poona Pact on 24 September 1932. The pact replaced separate electorates with reserved seats for the Depressed Classes within a joint electorate framework, ensuring political representation without dividing the community.
  Gandhi’s fast and the subsequent pact drew global attention and reaffirmed his moral leadership within the national movement.

Popular Participation and Regional Activities

Despite government suppression, civil disobedience continued in various regions, sustained largely by local leaders and volunteers:

• In Eastern India: Volunteers in Bengal and Orissa organised salt satyagrahas, picketing of liquor shops, and boycotts of British goods.
• In Gujarat and the United Provinces: Peasant participation remained strong, especially in the boycott of land revenue and forest laws.
• In the North-West Frontier Province: The Khudai Khidmatgar movement led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan actively supported the Congress’s programme through non-violent resistance.
• In Tamil Nadu and Kerala: Protesters continued the boycott of foreign cloth, despite police crackdowns and confiscation of properties.

Women, students, and youth participated with remarkable enthusiasm, reinforcing the social base of the nationalist movement.

Changes in Strategy and Decline

By 1933, the movement began to lose momentum due to several factors:

• Exhaustion and Repression: Continuous arrests and confiscations demoralised activists, while harsh laws restricted public activities.
• Leadership in Jail: The imprisonment of top Congress leaders created organisational disarray.
• Shift in Focus: Gandhi decided to suspend mass agitation temporarily and concentrate on constructive programmes, including the promotion of Harijan welfare, Khadi, and village sanitation.

In May 1933, Gandhi announced a three-week individual Satyagraha to protest the government’s failure to honour civil liberties. The government responded with further arrests, but localised civil disobedience continued sporadically.
By April 1934, Gandhi formally withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement, recognising the need for reorganisation and consolidation of nationalist energies for future struggles.

Consequences and Significance

Although the second phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement did not achieve immediate political concessions, it had far-reaching consequences for the Indian freedom struggle:

• Strengthening of National Unity: Despite communal divisions and repression, the movement reaffirmed the unity of Indians under the banner of non-violent resistance.
• Mass Political Education: Millions of peasants, workers, women, and students gained political awareness and a sense of participation in national affairs.
• Moral Leadership of Gandhi: Gandhi’s fasts, moral authority, and insistence on non-violence re-established him as the central figure in India’s freedom movement.
• Shift in Colonial Policy: The British government realised the limitations of repression and the growing impossibility of governing India without political reforms.
• Preparation for Future Phases: The experience gained during this period strengthened the Congress’s organisational framework, paving the way for the Government of India Act of 1935 and later the Quit India Movement (1942).