How did the Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various parts of the country? Explain with examples.
Gandhiji’s ‘Salt March’ marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement all over India.
• Thousands of people in different parts of the country broke the salt law by manufacturing salt and giving demonstrations in front of government salt factories.
The following points state how the Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various parts of the country
(i) With the spread of the movement, foreign cloth was boycotted and liquor shops were picketed. Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes. Village officials resigned from their post. Forest people violated forest law. They went into Reserved forests to collect wood and graze cattle.
(ii) In the countryside, rich peasant communities viz, Patidars of Gujarat and the jats of Uttar Pradesh became the supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. They inspired their communities, sometime forced the reluctant members to participate in the boycott programmes.
The poorer peasantry, often led by the socialist and the communist, joined a variety of radical movements for the remission of their unpaid rent to the landlords. Industrialists led by Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G D Birla supported the Civil Disobedience Movement. Moreover railway workers, dock workers, mine workers from Chotanagpur and large number of women from all over India participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement.