Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement

About this unit

This unit traces the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian national movement from his return from South Africa in 1915 to the last years before Independence. It shows how Gandhi turned nationalism into a mass movement by drawing in peasants, workers, women and people from many regions and communities. Through the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the chapter explains the methods of satyagraha and their limits, and it shows how historians use different kinds of sources to understand a political leader.

Key ideas

• Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 after his work in South Africa, where he first used satyagraha.
• Local struggles at Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad made him a national figure.
• Non-Cooperation (1920–22) was the first mass movement, linked with the Khilafat movement.
• The Salt March (1930) launched Civil Disobedience and drew world attention.
• The Quit India movement (1942) was a mass movement during the Second World War.
• Gandhi's writings, government reports and newspapers are key sources.

How to prepare

Make a timeline from 1915 to 1947 with the main events and their dates. Understand why Gandhi chose particular issues (salt, swadeshi, khadi) and why some movements were withdrawn. Practise questions that ask you to compare sources such as police reports and Gandhi's own writings.