Noncooperation in India: Nonviolent Strategy and Protest, 1920-22

425 Pages·2021·4.296 MB·English

by  David Hardiman

NONCOOPERATION IN INDIA

DAVID HARDIMAN
Noncooperation
in India
Nonviolent Strategy and Protest,
1920–22
1
1
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Copyright © David Hardiman, 2021
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ISBN: 9780197548301
Printed in India
CONTENTS
Glossary vii
Introduction 1
1. Khilafat 5
2. Strategies of Resistance 1920–22: Ethical or Expedient? 19
3. Struggles Against Landlordism 65
4. Political Action by Industrial Workers 1920–22 109
5. Terrains of Resistance 1920–22 159
6. Braiding the Nation 215
7. Asahyog Andolan: The Noncooperation of the People
1920–22 253
Conclusion 305
Notes 319
Bibliography 349
Index 363
v

GLOSSARY
Acara Transgression of an essential caste duty.
Adi-Dravida Untouchable communities of Tamilnadu,
particularly of the Paraiyar group.
Adivasi Indigenous people considered to be ‘tribal’ by the
British, being now classed as ‘scheduled tribes’ by
the modern Indian state.
Ahimsa Nonviolence.
Akhada Gymnasium.
Amla Rent collector.
Asahyog andolan The Noncooperation Movement.
Avatar A reincarnation of a deity in bodily form on earth.
Baba Elder; learned or saintly person.
Babu Originally a title of respect used in Bengal, but later
applied pejoratively for an anglicised elite.
Baniya Merchant caste.
Begar Corvée labour.
Bhadralok The ‘respectable people’ of Bengal, comprising the
three upper Hindu castes of Brahman, Baidya and
Kayashta.
Bhagat Devotee.
Bhagchasi Sharecropper, generally living in great poverty, in
Bengal.
vii
GLOSSARY
Bhajan Devotional song, hymn.
Bhakti Devotion to the divine.
Bharat India.
Bharat Mata Mother India.
Bhil Adivasi community of western India.
Brahman The highest, or priestly, caste among Hindus.
Burqa Voluminous garment that envelops the body and
the face, as worn by some Muslim women.
Chamar Untouchable caste, chiefly of leather workers.
Charkha Spinning wheel.
Chaukidar Village watchman.
Dacoit Bandit.
Dada Respectful address to an older man, an elder
brother, paternal grandfather, or pejoratively a
bully, lout, neighbourhood boss, or gangster.
Dharma Moral duty, law; more broadly, religion.
Dharmaraj The rule of dharma.
Dharmic Religious duty.
Darshan Auspicious viewing that brings blessings on the
observer.
Dhobi Caste that specialises in washing clothes.
Draupadi Wife of the five Pandava brothers in the
Mahabharata.
Duryodhana Major figure in the Mahabharata – the eldest of the
Kauravas and the chief opponent to the heroes of
the epic, the Pandavas.
Eka / Eki Unity League.
Fakir Religious ascetic who lives on alms, normally
Muslim.
Fatwa Opinion on a point of Islamic law given by a
recognised expert.
Girasia Poor cultivating community of southern Rajasthan.
viii
GLOSSARY
Gurdwara Sikh temple.
Haat Weekly market.
Hartal Form of protest involving a collective refusal to
work or carry on trade for an agreed period.
Hijrat Migration, including mass migration as an act of
protest.
Ho Adivasi community of eastern India.
Jagir Landed estate.
Jagirdar Holder of a jagir estate.
Jaikar Exhortation of ‘Long Live!’
Jat Landholding caste of north-western India.
Jatha Band of militant Sikhs.
Jihad A struggle or striving for Islamic principles that
may involve an outward fight against those seen as
the enemies of Islam, or as an inward struggle for
spiritual perfection.
Jotedar Tenant with security of holding in Bengal.
Ka‘aba Holiest shrine of Islam in Mecca.
Kamma Dominant peasant caste of Andhra.
karmi Worker.
Khadi Handspun and handwoven cloth.
Khatri Middle-status caste of traders, mainly of Punjab.
Khilafat Movement to save the Islamic Caliphate, a position
that was held to be occupied by the Ottoman Sultan.
Ki jai! Exhortation of ‘Long Live!’, preceded by an
appropriate name.
Kirpan Short sword or knife with a curved blade, worn as
one of the five distinguishing signs of the Sikh Khalsa.
Kirtan Devotional hymn.
Koeri Cultivating caste of United Provinces.
Kshatriya Caste of warriors and rulers.
Kurmi Cultivating caste of northern India.
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