Image: Mahatma Gandhi, historical photograph.
In 1919, Mahatma Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign against the Rowlatt Acts, which extended wartime emergency powers after the First World War. The movement became one of the earliest examples of Gandhi attempting to mobilise people across India around a common political demand.
What were the Rowlatt Acts?
The legislation allowed authorities to detain people suspected of political activity and introduced extraordinary powers that nationalist leaders strongly opposed.
Gandhi calls for Satyagraha
Gandhi proposed a nationwide hartal and urged people to resist the legislation through nonviolent means.
Violence and withdrawal
Protests in several places became violent. Gandhi concluded that the country was not sufficiently prepared for disciplined nonviolent resistance and suspended the campaign.
Historical significance
The Rowlatt Satyagraha revealed both the potential and the challenges of nationwide mass mobilisation and preceded the much larger Non-Cooperation Movement.
Read NewsNationOnline’s Champaran Satyagraha feature and Gandhi’s nonviolence feature.
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