What was the significance of Calcutta and Nagpur sessions of congress held in 1920?
The Rowlatt Act, followed by the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre and the Khilafat issue embittered Gandhi’s feelings towards the British government. Gandhi urged the Congress to launch a Non-Cooperation Movement on these three issues.
In September, 1920, a special session of the Congress, presided by Lala Lajpat Rai was convened at Calcutta to approve the scheme.
The Non-Cooperation resolution garnered mixed responses. Pt. Motilal Nahru and Anil Ali Brothers supported the resolution, whereas Mrs Annie Besant, Pt. Malaviya and Shri C. R Das vehemently opposed. They feared that large scale mass action against the British government would lead to violence on a wide scale, as occurred during Rowlatt satyagraha.
In December 1920, at the Nagpur Congress, the resolution on Non-Cooperation was repeated again. This session garnered greater support in favor of the resolution.