Non-cooperation Movement - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Non-Co-operation Movement was withdrawn because of the Chauri-Chaura incident. Although he had stopped the national revolt single-handedly, on March 10, 1922, Gandhiji was arrested. On March 18, 1922, he was imprisoned for six years for publishing seditious materials.

Although most Congress leaders remained firmly behind Gandhiji, the disillusioned broke away. The Ali brothers would soon become fierce critics. Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das formed the Swaraj Party, rejecting Gandhiji's leadership. Many nationalists had felt that the Non-Cooperation Movement should not have been stopped due to isolated incidents of violence, and most nationalists, while retaining confidence in Gandhiji, were discouraged.

Contemporary historians and critics suggest that the movement was successful enough to break the back of British rule, and possibly even result in the independence most Indians strove for until 1947.

But many historians and Indian leaders of the time also defended Gandhiji's judgment. If he had not stopped the revolts, India could have descended into a chaotic rebellion which would have alienated common Indians and impress only violent revolutionaries, although a similar type of movement was introduced in 1930 i.e. civil disobedience movement. The main difference was the introduction of a policy of violating the law.