Prince of Wales Riots and Mass Protest

The British Crown dispatched Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), on a tour of British India in November 1921. The objective of the royal tour was to strengthen loyalist sentiments, project imperial authority, and counter the growing influence of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922).

Congress Boycott Call

• On July 28, 1921, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) resolved to boycott the royal tour completely.
• The Congress instructed citizens to observe a nationwide general strike (hartal), organize public bonfires of foreign cloth, and abstain from all official reception ceremonies on the day of the Prince’s arrival.
• Mahatma Gandhi linked the boycott of the Prince’s visit directly to the demand for Swaraj and the redressal of the Punjab wrongs and the Khilafat grievance.

Outbreak of the Bombay Riots (November 17–20, 1921)

Prince Edward landed at Apollo Bunder in Bombay on November 17, 1921. While imperial officials, loyalist elites, and minority communities organized a grand reception, Congress and Khilafat activists observed a total hartal across the city.

Nature of the Violence

• Initial Clashes: As attendees returned from the official reception at Apollo Bunder, crowds of non-cooperators targeted transport vehicles, public trams, and individuals wearing European attire or loyalist symbols.
• Communal Friction: Pro-boycott Hindu and Muslim activists targeted minority loyalist groups, predominantly Parsis, Anglo-Indians, and Indian Christians, who had attended the royal reception or refused to observe the hartal.
• Destruction of Property: Angry crowds burned public transport infrastructure, private cars, and Parsi-owned liquor shops across Parel, Girgaon, and central Bombay. Three Parsi Zoroastrian temples were attacked during the clashes.
• Counter-Attacks: Parsi and Anglo-Indian groups organized retaliatory mobs armed with sticks (lathis), launching counter-assaults on Non-Cooperation volunteers under the slogan “Down with the Gandhi caps”.

Fast and Response of Mahatma Gandhi

Distressed by the sudden outbreak of violence in Bombay, Mahatma Gandhi arrived at the riot-affected zones to restore peace and appeal for communal restraint.

First Political Hunger Strike

• Peace Mission: Gandhi toured the affected neighborhoods alongside C.R. Das, M.R. Jayakar, and local Khilafat leaders to pacify opposing factions.
• Fast Decision: On November 19, 1921, Gandhi initiated the first political hunger strike of his career, vowing to refrain from food and water until complete communal harmony was restored in Bombay.
• End of Riots: The fast brought the violence to an abrupt end on November 20, 1921, after leaders from Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, and Anglo-Indian communities signed a joint peace pledge.

Mass Protests Across India During the Royal Tour

The boycott of the Prince of Wales was not confined to Bombay. As the royal train traveled across British India between November 1921 and March 1922, major urban centers met his arrival with closed markets, deserted streets, and mass arrests.

Regional Protest Highlights

• Calcutta (December 24, 1921): When the Prince arrived in Calcutta on Christmas Eve, the city observed a complete strike organized by the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. Streets were completely deserted, leading imperial newspapers to describe Calcutta as a “city of the dead”.
• Northern India: The Prince faced widespread student boycotts in Allahabad, Lucknow, and Varanasi. Students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) refused to attend a special convocation where an honorary degree was conferred upon the Prince.
• Madras: Protests turned into violent clashes between police and demonstrators during the Prince’s visit, prompting police firings and large-scale arrests.

Imperial Repression and Escalation

The success of the boycott and the eruption of public violence alarmed the colonial administration, driving Lord Reading’s government to abandon its moderate policy toward the Non-Cooperation Movement.

State Repression Measures

• Outlawing Volunteers: The government declared the Congress Volunteer Corps and Khilafat Volunteer Organizations illegal under the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908.
• Mass Arrests: By the end of December 1921, over 30,000 political activists and national leaders were imprisoned across British India.
• Prominent Arrests: C.R. Das, Basanti Devi, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Subhas Chandra Bose were arrested during the post-November crackdown. Gandhi was left unarrested until March 1922 to avoid triggering further mass violence.

Essential Historical Facts

The Bombay Provincial Committee of the Indian National Congress officially sanctioned the Bombay hartal and foreign cloth bonfires on October 7, 1921. A total of 58 people died during the Bombay riots from November 17 to November 20, 1921, including five police officers, three Europeans, an American citizen, and two Parsis. Out of 600 licensed liquor outlets in Bombay, 135 were damaged and four were completely destroyed by anti-liquor protesters during the riots. Following the Bombay riots, Mahatma Gandhi expanded his slogan for communal harmony from “Hindu-Muslim Unity” to “Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Parsi-Christian-Jew Unity” to reassure minority groups regarding their safety within the national movement. The total expenditure incurred by the imperial government for the Prince of Wales’s tour was over 10 million rupees, with 1.6 million rupees spent strictly on policing and security operations. The Duke of Connaught had undertaken a similar tour in early 1921 to inaugurate the reformed central and provincial legislative councils under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, which was also boycotted by the Indian National Congress.