Chap 3.3 - How Participants saw the Movement
Rich Peasants
Small Peasants
Business Class
Industrial Workers
In the countryside. rich peasants were active in CDM
As they were commercial farmers they were badly affected by the depression & falling prices
As their income reduced they found it difficult to pay the taxes
The government refused to lower the tax & so these rich peasants supported CDM enthusiastically
For them the fight for swaraj was a fight for a reduction in revenue
But they were very disappointed when CDM was called off without the reduction of revenue
So when the movement was restarted many of them refused to participate - Limitation of CDM 1
The small peasants had other reasons for joining the movement besides reduction of tax
They found it very difficult to pay rent for their land to the landlord as the economic depression affected them also
They wanted the unpaid rent to be remitted
Many joined movements led by Socialists & Communists
Congress did not support the "no rent" campaign as they did not want to upset the rich peasants & landlords
So the relationship between the poor peasants & Congress was not very good - Limitation of CDM2
During the First World War, the Indian merchants & businessmen became very rich & powerful
They wanted to expand their business more and did not like the government policies that restricted business activities
They were against import of foreign goods & wanted a good rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio to discourage imports
The businessmen formed 2 organizations to protect their interests - IICC & FICCI (Indian Industrial & Commercial Congress & Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industries
They were led by industrialists, Purushottamdas Thakurdas & G D Birla
They joined the CDM as they thought swaraj would end colonial restrictions on business & cause trade & industry to flourish
But after the failure of the Round Table Conference, many business groups became less enthusiastic
They were worried about1) the spread of violence, 2) prolonged disruption of business activities & 3) the growing influence of socialism among the younger members of the Congress - Limitation of CDM 3
They did not participate in CDM in large numbers except in Nagpur
As the industrialists got closer to the Congress, the workers stayed distant
But some workers participated in CDM adopting specific ideas of Gandhiji
They boycotted foreign goods & fought against low wages & poor working conditions
The railway workers went on strike in 1930 & the dockworkers in 1932
In 1930 thousands of workers Chotanagpur tin mines wore Gandhi caps & took part in protest rallies & boycotts
The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of the workers as they didn't want to alienate the industrialists - Limitation of CDM 4