Gandhian era in the Indian nationalist struggle began in 1919 After the draconian Rowlatt Act, which empowered the authorities to arrest and detain without trial, was passed, Gandhi called for a general strike in April 1919 The government suppressed the agitation, and the brutality of colonial masters was evident after the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre of April 13 A large number of Muslims joined the congress after Gandhi’s support of the Khilafat movement, which fought to preserve the authority of the Ottoman sultan With the noncooperation movement under Gandhi’s leadership, a new phase of struggle against the British Raj began A special session of the AICC met in Calcutta in September 1920 to start the movement with a boycott of educational institutions, law courts, elections, and legislatures There was to be the promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity, along with use of homespun garments of khaddar The goal was the attainment of swaraj, or self-government The December annual session held in Nagpur endorsed the idea A large number of students, women, peasants, and workers from different parts of the country participated Demonstrations and strikes greeted the November 1921 visit of the prince of Wales Noncooperation and Khilafat went hand in hand under Gandhi, who had renounced the title of kaiser-i-hind that had been conferred on him by the British Following a policy of repression, the government banned the Khilafat and congress After police fired on demonstrations on February 5, 1922, at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, the police station was attacked, resulting in the death of 22 police personnel Gandhi was stunned by this path of violence and suspended the noncooperation movement He was steadfast in his commitment to nonviolent methods Freedom through violence was not on his agenda People in general and INC leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) and Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) were annoyed by the decision, and some congressmen, like Motilal Nehru (1861–1931), launched a program of council entry through the newly formed Swaraj Party of 1923 Gandhi was arrested in March 1922 and given six years’ imprisonment for treason in an Ahmedabad court Gandhi was not only interested in swaraj, but also in the social and economic emancipation of the people He was a crusader for economic and social reforms His emphasis on swadeshi meant the use of hand-made goods from his home country rather than foreign machine-made goods People were mobilized to boycott foreign goods Handicraft was emphasized Gandhi, Mohandas K 119 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi dominated the Indian political scene for three decades in education also The hand weaving of dresses and the development of handicrafts, Gandhi hoped, would be a panacea for India’s poverty, economic backwardness, and unemployment Gandhi’s economic philosophy was also part of his strategy against colonial rule, as the boycott of foreign goods would adversely affect British industry Gandhi was not opposed to industrial revolution per se, but he desired to create a framework, keeping in mind the economic condition of India under alien rule Gandhi was back on the political scene in 1930 with his movement of civil disobedience He launched the salt satyagraha with his famous Dandi March in March 1930 He and his followers covered a distance of 241 miles to the Arabian Sea to make salt These civil disobedience movements witnessed participation in large numbers by tribal people, peasants, and women Gandhi was arrested in May, but the British government agreed to negotiations The movement was suspended by the pact signed between Gandhi and Viceroy of India Lord Irwin (1881–1959) in March 1931 He also was the INC delegate to the Second Round Table held in London, but the British government refused to grant self-government to the Indians Gandhi was jailed again,