Gandhi’s Leadership after Non-Cooperation

Following the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi faced immediate state action. British authorities arrested him on March 10, 1922, at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

The Ahmedabad Trial

• Gandhi was tried on March 18, 1922, before Judge C. N. Broomfield on charges of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.
• During the trial, Gandhi pleaded guilty and described Section 124A as the “prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen.”
• Judge Broomfield sentenced Gandhi to six years of imprisonment in Yervada Central Jail, Poona.
• Gandhi served less than two years of his sentence. He was released early on February 5, 1924, following an emergency appendicitis surgery performed by Colonel Maddock.

Reconciliation and the Belgaum Session (1924)

Upon his release, Gandhi encountered a deeply divided Congress split between the Swarajists (Pro-Changers) who favored entering legislative councils and the No-Changers who opposed council entry.

The Gandhi-Das Pact

• Gandhi initially disapproved of council entry, considering it contrary to non-cooperation.
• To prevent an organizational rift, Gandhi signed the Gandhi-Das Pact with Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru in November 1924.
• The pact recognized the Swaraj Party as an integral legislative arm of the Congress while keeping the main organization committed to constructive work.
• Gandhi presided over the 39th Annual Session of the Indian National Congress at Belgaum in December 1924. This was the only annual Congress session where Gandhi served as President.
• At Belgaum, the Congress formally endorsed the Gandhi-Das Pact and made hand-spinning a requirement for party membership.

Focus on the Constructive Programme (1924–1928)

Between 1924 and 1928, Gandhi withdrew from active parliamentary politics to focus on social reform, economic self-reliance, and village organization.

Key Pillars of the Programme

• Communal Harmony: In September 1924, Gandhi undertook a 21-day fast at Maulana Muhammad Ali’s residence in Delhi to promote Hindu-Muslim unity following communal riots in Kohat.
• Economic Self-Reliance: Gandhi established the All India Spinners’ Association (AISA) in September 1925 at Patna to organize rural spinners and standardize hand-spun khadi production.
• Eradication of Untouchability: Gandhi traveled across India to campaign against caste discrimination. He supported local initiatives like the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–1925) in Travancore, which sought road access around the Mahadeva temple for lower castes.
• Journalism and Communication: Gandhi used his weekly journals, Young India (in English) and Navajivan (in Gujarati), to articulate his socio-political philosophy and direct rural cadre operations.

Transition Back to Mass Politics (1928–1929)

Developments in late 1927 pushed Gandhi back into the political spotlight as national momentum against British rule revived.

Re-entry and Strategy

• The appointment of the all-British Simon Commission in November 1927 united diverse political factions against imperial policy.
• Gandhi supported Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel during the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928, which demonstrated the power of non-violent peasant resistance against land revenue hikes.
• At the Calcutta Session of the Congress in December 1928, Gandhi brokered a compromise on the Nehru Report.
• He proposed a resolution giving the British government a one-year deadline (until December 31, 1929) to grant Dominion Status, failing which the Congress would demand complete independence (Purna Swaraj) and launch mass civil disobedience.
• At the Lahore Session in December 1929, chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj as its goal and authorized Gandhi to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Key Historical Facts

Gandhi wrote his famous autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, while serving time in Yervada Jail and during his post-release recovery period. The text was serialized in his Gujarati journal Navajivan between 1925 and 1929. During Gandhi’s imprisonment, the Civil Disobedience Enquiry Committee was set up under Hakim Ajmal Khan in June 1922 to evaluate whether the country was ready for civil resistance. The committee submitted a divided report that directly led to the formation of the Swaraj Party on January 1, 1923. In 1925, Gandhi turned over the management of the Congress’s political activities largely to Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das, dedicating his own efforts to the All India Spinners’ Association. The headquarters of this association operated from Ahmedabad before shifting to Wardha. Gandhi’s 21-day fast in September 1924 led to the convening of an All-Parties Unity Conference in Delhi, attended by national leaders including Motilal Nehru, Swami Shraddhanand, and the Ali brothers. At the Calcutta Session of December 1928, younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose demanded an immediate declaration of complete independence. Gandhi persuaded them to accept the one-year grace period for Dominion Status to maintain party unity.