Chauri Chaura incident – UPSC GS1

NOTE: 100 year completed in 2022
About Chauri Chaura incident:
The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province(Uttar Pradesh) in British India.
The sequence of Events:
  • Launch of Non-Cooperation Movement: In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi, launched the non-cooperation movement. It was launched to challenge oppressive government regulatory measures. The movement used non-violent methods of civil disobedience known as Satyagraha protests.
  • National Volunteer Corps: In 1921-22, volunteers of the Congress and the Khilafat movement were organized into a national volunteer corps. In 1922, these Corps appointed peasant officers in Gorakhpur to fill out pledges of non-cooperation, collect subscriptions and lead the picketing of shops selling foreign items.
  • The incident: In 1922, the volunteers participating in the Movement led by Bhagwan Ahir clashed with police, who opened fire. In retaliation, the demonstrators attacked and set the police station on fire. It killed all inside the station. The incident led to the death of three civilians and 22 policemen.
  • Impact: Mahatma Gandhi was strictly against violence. He halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.
  • Consequence:
    • It resulted in disillusionment among many younger Indian nationalists that India would not be able to end colonial rule through non-violence.
    • Hence, after this incident many revolutionaries had arisen— Jogesh Chatterjee, Ramprasad Bismil, Sachin Sanyal, Ashfaqulla Khan, Jatin Das, Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Masterda Surya Sen, and many others.
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