Chapter 16: The Civil Disobedience Movement, Dandi March, Gandhi-Irwin Pact & Round Table Conferences (1929–1934 CE) | UPSC Modern History Master Notes | MentorsDaily

Chapter 16: The Civil Disobedience Movement, Dandi March, Gandhi-Irwin Pact & Round Table Conferences (1929–1934 CE)

Comprehensive UPSC GS-1 Master Note on the Epic Phase of Mass Defiance: Lahore Purna Swaraj Resolution (1929), Gandhi's 11 Demands & Dandi Salt March (1930), Dharasana Raid, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Karachi Resolution (1931), Three Round Table Conferences, Communal Award & Poona Pact (1932), and the Resumption/Suspension of CDM (1929–1934 CE).

UPSC GS Paper 1 · Modern Indian History Core Purna Swaraj · Dandi 1930 · Dharasana · Gandhi-Irwin 1931 · Karachi 1931 · Poona Pact 1932 ~85 min master read Mahatma Gandhi · Sardar Patel · Dr. B.R. Ambedkar · Sarojini Naidu · Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Full Interactive PYQ & Mains Test Engine

Ground Zero: Historical Storyline & Analytical Compass (MentorsDaily Formulas)
Strategic Flowchart: From Lahore Purna Swaraj to Poona Pact & Suspension (1929–1934)
Vector Map: Master Epicenters of Salt Satyagraha, Mass Defiance & Theaters of CDM
The Purna Swaraj Resolution, Gandhi's 11 Demands & The Historic Dandi Salt March (1929–1930)
Pan-Indian Spread of CDM: Dharasana, Peshawar Red Shirts, Vedaranyam & Chittagong
The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931) & The Landmark Karachi Congress (Fundamental Rights & NEP)
The Three Round Table Conferences (London, 1930–1932) & The Deadlock on Minorities
The Communal Award (1932), Gandhi's Yerwada Fast & The Historic Poona Pact with Dr. Ambedkar
Second Phase of CDM (1932–1934), State Repression & The Shift to Anti-Untouchability Campaign
Master Diagnostic Matrix: Non-Cooperation (1920–22) vs. Civil Disobedience (1930–34)
Mains Value-Addition: Topper's Exam Visualizers & Strategy Schematics
Mains 360° Analytical Framework: Mass Defiance, Political Rights & Dalit Representation
Multi-Dimensional Contemporary Linkages Matrix (2020–2026): The 5-Pillar UPSC Matrix
Interactive Student Practice Portal Integration
Complete UPSC Prelims PYQ Archive (1995–2026) [Interactive Mock Test]
Complete UPSC Mains GS-1 Archive (1995–2026)
High-Yield Rapid Recall Hub [24 Flashcards]

🎬 Ground Zero Storyline: The Epic Phase of Mass Defiance (1929–1934 CE)

The Salt Satyagraha Era

1. The Purna Swaraj Creed & Salt Catalyst (1929–1930): The Lahore Congress (Dec 1929) under Jawaharlal Nehru adopted Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) and unfurled the tricolor on the Ravi. Gandhi presented his 11 Demands (Jan 1930); upon rejection, he launched the 241-mile Dandi Salt March (12 March – 6 April 1930) with 78 satyagrahis, converting everyday salt into the universal weapon against British colonial monopoly.

2. Pan-Indian Defiance & The Karachi Blueprint (1930–1931): Civil disobedience swept India—from Sarojini Naidu's Dharasana Salt Raid (witnessed by Webb Miller) and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's Khudai Khidmatgars in Peshawar to forest satyagrahas and Surya Sen's Chittagong Raid. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931) halted CDM, leading to the Karachi Congress (1931, Sardar Patel) which adopted the historic Fundamental Rights & National Economic Programme resolution.

3. Round Table Deadlock, Poona Pact & Aftermath (1931–1934): The Second RTC (London 1931) deadlocked over communal electorates. In 1932, British PM MacDonald issued the Communal Award granting separate electorates to Depressed Classes; Gandhi's fast unto death in Yerwada Jail culminated in the landmark Poona Pact (Sept 1932) with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, securing 147 reserved seats within joint electorates and shifting national focus to Harijan welfare.

🏛️ MentorsDaily Pedagogical Formulas: The 5 Laws of Civil Disobedience

Formula 1: The Universal Metaphor Theorem (The Salt Law)

Universal Necessity + Zero Class Division + State Monopoly = Irresistible Mass Mobilization

Salt impacted every single peasant, worker, woman, and merchant, making its illegal manufacture the perfect universally understood symbol of defiance against colonial taxation.

Formula 2: The Qualitative Evolution Paradigm (NCM vs. CDM)

Non-Cooperation (Boycott of Institutions) → Civil Disobedience (Active Deliberate Breach of Colonial Laws)

While NCM refused cooperation with British institutions, CDM actively broke colonial laws (salt, forest, chowkidari taxes), striking directly at state authority and revenue.

Formula 3: The Equal Sovereign Parity Principle (Gandhi-Irwin 1931)

Viceroy (Representative of British Empire) == Mahatma (Leader of Indian Nation) → Imperial Facade Shattered

For the first time in imperial history, the Viceroy negotiated on equal terms with the leader of the national movement, fundamentally destroying the myth of British paramountcy.

Formula 4: The Karachi Socio-Economic Blueprint (1931)

Political Independence (Swaraj) + Socio-Economic Democracy (Fundamental Rights + Labor Rights) = Complete Freedom

Karachi 1931 committed the national movement to democratic socialism, defining the future socio-economic character of independent India's Republic.

Formula 5: The Poona Compromise Equation (1932)

Joint Electorates (National Political Unity) + Doubled Reserved Seats (Social Safeguards for Depressed Classes) = Poona Pact

Averted religious-political fragmentation while guaranteeing institutional affirmative action for Dalits in provincial and central legislatures.

2. Strategic Flowchart: From Lahore Purna Swaraj to Poona Pact & Suspension (1929–1934)

Tracing the 5-year chronological trajectory of the Civil Disobedience Movement, negotiations, communal debates, and constitutional restructuring.

THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT OPERATIONAL LIFECYCLE (1929–1934)

Operational Trajectory

3. Strategic Map: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE & ROUND TABLE THEATERS

Spatial distribution and strategic geographical correlation of key historical hubs, campaigns, and political epicenters.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE & ROUND TABLE THEATERS

Vector Topography

4. The Purna Swaraj Resolution, Gandhi's 11 Demands & The Historic Dandi Salt March (1929–1930)

How the expiration of the Calcutta ultimatum propelled the national movement across the Rubicon into complete independence and universal mass defiance.

4.1 The Epochal Lahore Congress (December 1929)

Presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru: Endorsed by Gandhi as the young socialist president to bridge generational divides.
The Purna Swaraj Creed: With the British ignoring the 1-year deadline for Dominion Status, the Congress passed the historic **Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence)** resolution, declaring the Nehru Report to have lapsed.
Midnight on the Ravi (31 December 1929): Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the newly adopted tricolor national flag on the banks of the River Ravi amidst chants of "Inquilab Zindabad".
First Independence Day (26 January 1930): The Congress Working Committee fixed 26 January 1930 as Purna Swaraj Day, when a solemn pledge was read across thousands of Indian villages and towns affirming that it was a "crime against man and God to submit any longer" to British rule.

4.2 Gandhi's 11 Demands (31 January 1930)

Before launching mass civil disobedience, Gandhi addressed an ultimatum to Viceroy Lord Irwin presenting **11 Specific Demands**:

💰 Economic Relief Demands:

50% reduction in Land Revenue
50% reduction in Military Expenditure
Reduction of Rupee-Sterling ratio to 1s 4d
Protective tariff on foreign cloth
Reservation of coastal shipping for Indians

⚖️ Civil Liberties Demands:

Release of all political prisoners
Abolition of the CID police department
Right to carry firearms for self-defense (Arms Act)
Acceptance of Postal Exemption Bill

🧂 Specific Mass Demands:

Total abolition of the Salt Tax & Government Salt Monopoly
Total prohibition of alcohol and intoxicating drugs

4.3 The Dandi Salt March (12 March – 6 April 1930)

Why Salt? Salt was an indispensable, daily physiological necessity for every Indian peasant and artisan; the British tax and monopoly on sea salt symbolized the absolute moral bankruptcy of colonial fiscal extortion. Gandhi famously stated: "There is no other article like salt, outside water, by taxing which the State can reach even the starving millions."
The 241-Mile March: On **12 March 1930**, 61-year-old Gandhi set out on foot from **Sabarmati Ashram** to the coastal village of **Dandi** (Navsari district, Gujarat) with 78 chosen ashramites. Over 24 days, traversing hundreds of villages, the march electrified the world press (covered extensively by the American Associated Press).
The Symbolic Breach (6 April 1930): At dawn on 6 April 1930, after bathing in the Arabian Sea, Gandhi bent down and picked up a handful of natural salt crust on the beach, declaring: "With this salt, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." The Civil Disobedience Movement was officially launched!

5. Pan-Indian Spread of CDM: Dharasana, Peshawar Red Shirts, Vedaranyam & Chittagong

5.1 The Dharasana Salt Raid (May 1930) & Webb Miller's Dispatch

The Plan: Following Gandhi's arrest on 4 May 1930, the non-violent raid on the government salt depots at **Dharasana** (Gujarat) was led by poetess **Sarojini Naidu**, **Imam Saheb**, and Gandhi's son **Manilal Gandhi**.
Heroic Non-Violence: Over 2,500 unarmed satyagrahis marched wave after wave into rows of police carrying steel-tipped lathis. Not a single hand was raised in self-defense. American journalist **Webb Miller** published an eyewitness account syndicated in over 1,000 newspapers worldwide:
"In eighteen years of my reporting in twenty countries, during which I have witnessed innumerable civil riots and armed clashes, I have never seen such harrowing scenes of brutality as at Dharasana... The discipline of the volunteers was sublime."

5.2 Peshawar & The Khudai Khidmatgars (Red Shirts)

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ('Frontier Gandhi'): Founded the **Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God)** or *Surkh Posh* (Red Shirts), transforming the traditionally martial Pashtun society into a disciplined cadre of non-violent satyagrahis.
Royal Garhwal Rifles Mutiny (23 April 1930): When massive unarmed crowds filled the Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar, two platoons of the Hindu **2/18 Royal Garhwal Rifles**, commanded by **Havildar Chandra Singh Garhwali**, refused orders to open fire on their Muslim brothers, facing severe court-martial and imprisonment.

5.3 Peninsular & Eastern Theaters

Tamil Nadu (Vedaranyam Salt March): **C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)** led a 150-mile march from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam on the Tanjore coast in April 1930, defying Collector J.A. Thorne's bans.
Kerala (Payyanur Salt March): **K. Kelappan ('Kerala Gandhi')** and P. Krishna Pillai led marchers from Calicut to Payyanur, combining the salt campaign with temple entry agitations.
Chittagong Armoury Raid (18 April 1930): In Bengal, **Masterda Surya Sen** and the Indian Republican Army (including **Pritilata Waddedar** and **Kalpana Datta**) seized the police and auxiliary force armouries, cut off telegraph and railway links, and proclaimed a Provisional Revolutionary Government before fighting the Battle of Jalalabad Hill.
Bihar & UP (No-Chaukidari & No-Revenue Campaigns): In landlocked Bihar, salt satyagraha transformed into a mass refusal to pay oppressive **Chaukidari taxes**; in UP, a massive **No-Revenue (peasants to landlords) and No-Rent (landlords to government)** campaign was coordinated by Jawaharlal Nehru.

6. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931) & The Landmark Karachi Congress (Fundamental Rights & NEP)

6.1 The Gandhi-Irwin Pact / Delhi Pact (5 March 1931)

Context: Following the total failure of the First Round Table Conference (Nov 1930 – Jan 1931) boycotted by Congress, Viceroy Lord Irwin released Gandhi and the CWC unconditionally to initiate peace talks mediated by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and M.R. Jayakar.
Terms Conceded by the British Government:
1. Immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted of violent crimes.
2. Remission of all uncollected fines and return of confiscated lands not yet sold to third parties.
3. Right of peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.
4. Permission for poor coastal villagers to manufacture salt for their personal domestic consumption.
5. Withdrawal of all emergency repressive ordinances.
Demands Rejected by Irwin:
- Refused independent public inquiry into police brutalities during CDM.
- Refused commutation of the death sentences of **Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru** to life imprisonment.
Terms Conceded by Congress: Suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement and agreement to participate in the **Second Round Table Conference** in London.

6.2 The Historic Karachi Congress (26–31 March 1931)

Presided over by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: Met amidst an atmosphere of profound national grief and anger, occurring just six days after the executions of **Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev (23 March 1931)** at Lahore Central Jail. Black flags were waved at Gandhi by radical youth upon his arrival.
Endorsement of Delhi Pact: While admiring the bravery of Bhagat Singh and his comrades, the Congress ratified the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and authorized Gandhi to represent the nation at the Second RTC.
The Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights & National Economic Programme: Drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru with inputs from M.N. Roy, this resolution laid the foundational socio-economic charter of free India:
- Fundamental Rights: Free speech, free press, freedom of assembly, universal adult franchise, equality before the law irrespective of religion, caste, sex; state neutrality in religious affairs (Secularism); free and compulsory primary education.
- Labor & Peasant Safeguards: Living wage for industrial workers, limitation of working hours, healthy working conditions, protection of women workers, right to form labor unions.
- Agrarian Reforms: Substantial reduction in land revenue and agricultural rent, moratorium on peasant debts, relief from usury.
- State Ownership of Key Resources: State ownership or control of key industries, mines, mineral resources, and public transport infrastructure.

7. The Three Round Table Conferences (London, 1930–1932) & The Deadlock on Minorities

7.1 The First Round Table Conference (November 1930 – January 1931)

Inaugurated by King George V & Chaired by Ramsay MacDonald: Boycotted by the Indian National Congress. Attended by 89 delegates including Princely States (Princes accepted the idea of an All-India Federation), Muslim League (Jinnah, Aga Khan), Liberals (Sapru, Jayakar), Justice Party, and Depressed Classes (**Dr. B.R. Ambedkar**).
Outcome: In the absence of Congress representing the vast majority of Indians, the conference was described as "staging Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark."

7.2 The Second Round Table Conference (September – December 1931)

Gandhi as the Sole Representative of Congress: Accompanied by Sarojini Naidu, Madan Mohan Malaviya, G.D. Birla, and Mahadev Desai.
The British Political Shift: In Britain, a Conservative-dominated 'National Government' under Samuel Hoare had taken over. Winston Churchill ridiculed Gandhi walking up the steps of the Viceroy's palace as a "seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a half-naked fakir."
The Minorities Deadlock: Gandhi claimed that the Congress alone represented all of India, including Hindus, Muslims, and the Depressed Classes. However, the British orchestrated a united front of minority delegates (**The Minorities Pact**) led by the Muslim League, Anglo-Indians, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanding separate communal electorates for their respective communities.
Failure & Return: Deadlocked on the communal question and British refusal to concede immediate Dominion Status with control over defense and foreign affairs, Gandhi returned to India empty-handed in December 1931.

7.3 The Third Round Table Conference (November – December 1932)

Low Participation: Attended by only 46 delegates; boycotted by Congress and the British Labour Party. Formulated recommendations that were published as the **White Paper of March 1933**, which formed the direct basis for the **Government of India Act 1935**.

8. The Communal Award (1932), Gandhi's Yerwada Fast & The Historic Poona Pact with Dr. Ambedkar

8.1 The Ramsay MacDonald Communal Award (16 August 1932)

Statutory Announcement: British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the **Communal Award**, extending separate communal electorates to Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, and crucially—**for the first time, to the 'Depressed Classes' (Scheduled Castes)**.
Double Voting Mechanism: Depressed Class voters were given two votes: one to elect their own separate representative in designated communal constituencies, and another to vote in the general constituency.
Gandhi's Fundamental Objection: While Gandhi accepted separate electorates for Muslims and Sikhs as an established political reality, he viewed separate electorates for Depressed Classes as a lethal colonial conspiracy to permanently sever Dalits from the Hindu fold, perpetuating untouchability forever.

8.2 Gandhi's Fast Unto Death at Yerwada Jail (20 September 1932)

The Moral Stand: Incarcerated in Yerwada Central Jail (Pune), Gandhi declared a **Fast Unto Death** starting 20 September 1932:
"My fast is not against the Depressed Classes, but against the British attempt to vivisect Hinduism... I would far rather that Hinduism died than that untouchability lived."
National Crisis & Mediation: Terrified by the prospect of Gandhi's demise, national leaders (Madan Mohan Malaviya, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari, M.C. Rajah, and G.D. Birla) held intense, day-and-night negotiations with **Dr. B.R. Ambedkar** at Poona.

8.3 The Poona Pact (24 September 1932): Terms & Compromise

Abandonment of Separate Electorates: The system of separate electorates for Depressed Classes was discarded; all seats would be filled through **Joint Electorates**.
Doubling of Reserved Legislative Seats: In exchange, the number of seats reserved for the Depressed Classes in Provincial Legislatures was more than doubled—from **71 under the Communal Award to 147 seats** in the Poona Pact.
Central Legislature Reservation: In the Central Legislative Assembly, **18% of the general seats** were reserved for the Depressed Classes.
Primary Electoral Mechanism: A primary election system was established where Depressed Class voters would elect a panel of 4 candidates, from whom the entire joint general electorate would choose the final winner.
Educational & Public Employment Grants: Guaranteed non-discrimination and specific budgetary quotas for the educational advancement of Dalits.

*Signed on 24 September 1932 by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on behalf of the Depressed Classes and Madan Mohan Malaviya on behalf of caste Hindus.*

9. Second Phase of CDM (1932–1934), State Repression & The Shift to Anti-Untouchability Campaign

9.1 Ruthless Colonial Repression under Lord Willingdon (1932)

Return to Conflict: When Gandhi returned from the Second RTC in January 1932, new Viceroy Lord Willingdon unleashed unprecedented draconian ordinances: Congress was declared an unlawful association, all CWC members were arrested, funds and party offices were confiscated, and civil liberties were completely suspended.
Over 120,000 Arrests: Over 120,000 patriots were thrown into prison within months; however, with leadership behind bars, the second phase lacked the cohesive mass momentum of 1930.

9.2 Gandhi's Constructive Pivot: The Anti-Untouchability Campaign

Harijan Sevak Sangh (1932): Following the Poona Pact, Gandhi founded the *All India Anti-Untouchability League* (later renamed **Harijan Sevak Sangh**) and launched the weekly newspaper **Harijan**.
The Historic 20,000-Mile Harijan Tour (1933–1934): Gandhi undertook a 9-month nationwide walking tour across India, promoting inter-dining, opening wells and temples to Dalits, and facing violent orthodox Sanatanist opposition.
Formal Withdrawal of CDM (May 1934): Gandhi formally withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement at the Patna AICC meeting in May 1934, clearing the way for Congress to enter legislative politics under the forthcoming Government of India Act 1935.

10. Master Diagnostic Matrix: Non-Cooperation (1920–22) vs. Civil Disobedience (1930–34)

Comparative Parameter	Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922)	Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–1934)	Strategic UPSC Analytical Inference
Constitutional Objective	Attainment of Swaraj within 1 year; redressal of Khilafat & Punjab Wrongs	Attainment of Purna Swaraj (Complete National Independence)	Shift from reformist colonial grievance to sovereign statehood
Operational Method	Negative boycott of institutions (schools, courts, titles, foreign cloth)	Active, deliberate breach of colonial laws (Salt, Forest, Chaukidari taxes)	Qualitative escalation from passive non-cooperation to direct law-breaking
Muslim Participation	Unprecedented mass participation due to Khilafat alliance	Significantly lower (except in NWFP Red Shirts); Muslim League aloof	Collapse of Khilafat and communal polarization weakened joint front
Women's Agency	Limited to donating jewelry, spinning charkha, modest picketing	Massive frontline leadership (Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba, picketing liquor shops)	Permanent sociological entry of Indian women into public political life
Peasant & Tribal Base	Localized agrarian revolts (Awadh, Eka, Mappila)	Universal non-tax satyagrahas (Gujarat, UP, Bihar Chaukidari, CP Forest)	Total integration of rural agrarian grievances into national movement
Government Response	Initial hesitation; arrested leaders after movement peaked (1922)	Ruthless pre-emptive repression (Willingdon's Ordinances, >120,000 jailed)	Colonial state realized CDM struck directly at its coercive monopoly

TOPPER'S 30-SECOND EXAM SKETCHES (GS-1 MAINS VALUE-ADDITION)

Exam-Ready Schematics

High-scoring visual schematics to reproduce in Mains answers for immediate structural clarity:

1. The Salt Satyagraha Multi-Dimensional Ripple Model

💡 Mains Caption: The Pan-Indian Diffusion: How the breach of the salt law at Dandi synchronized multi-regional civil defiance.

2. The Poona Pact (1932) Structural Resolution

💡 Mains Caption: The Poona Compromise: Retaining joint electorates while doubling affirmative action representation for marginalized communities.

⚖️ Mains 360° Analytical Framework: Mass Defiance, Political Rights & Dalit Representation

Comprehensive multidimensional dimensions for UPSC GS-1 essays and analytical answers:

1. Semiotics of Salt in Mass Politics

Gandhi's choice of salt demonstrates the zenith of political semiotics: transforming a mundane biological necessity into a potent anti-colonial weapon that bypassed class contradictions and mobilized peasant women on a massive scale.

Universal anti-monopoly metaphor

2. The Karachi Declaration as Constitutional Precursor

The 1931 Karachi Resolution fundamentally redefined Indian nationalism by fusing political independence with socio-economic democracy, directly inspiring Part III (Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (DPSP) of the 1950 Constitution.

Socio-economic charter of free India

3. The Gandhi-Ambedkar Ideological Dialectic

The Poona Pact debate crystallized the fundamental tension between Gandhi's moral-integrationist approach (internal reform of Hinduism) and Ambedkar's rights-based institutional approach (statutory political safeguards for Dalits).

Moral integration vs Statutory empowerment

4. Imperial Limits of Round Table Diplomacy

The failure of the RTCs exposed the British imperial strategy of using minority vetoes to obstruct transfer of central power, while proving that no constitutional settlement was viable without the Indian National Congress.

Imperial exploitation of communal divisions

Multi-Dimensional Contemporary Linkages (2020–2026): The 5-Pillar UPSC Matrix

The rights of Karachi 1931, the electoral affirmative action of the Poona Pact, and the mass discipline of Dandi intersect directly with modern constitutional jurisprudence:

⚖️ Pillar 1: Fundamental Rights & Socio-Economic Directive Principles

The 1931 Karachi Resolution's provisions for living wages, state ownership of core sectors, and secular neutrality serving as the foundational DNA for Articles 38, 39, 43 of Part IV (DPSPs) and labor welfare laws in India.

🗳️ Pillar 2: Affirmative Action, Electoral Reservations & Delimitation

The Poona Pact (1932) institutionalizing joint electorates with reserved seats as the enduring constitutional model embodied in Articles 330 & 332 (SC/ST legislative reservations) and debates on upcoming Delimitation.

🧂 Pillar 3: Universal Public Goods, Commodity Taxation & GST Exemptions

The Dandi March's moral crusade against taxing essential subsistence items reflected in contemporary fiscal policy exempting unbranded food grains, salt, and essential health commodities from 0% GST bracket.

✊ Pillar 4: Non-Violent Mass Resistance & Democratic Dissent

The disciplined non-violent tactics of Dharasana and Dandi serving as the global standard for Article 19(1)(b) peaceful protest jurisprudence (Shaheen Bagh & Farmer Protest rulings).

🤝 Pillar 5: Anti-Untouchability, Dignity of Labor & Social Justice

Gandhi's 20,000-mile Harijan Tour and Ambedkar's assertion of constitutional rights inspiring contemporary Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and manual scavenging eradication schemes (NAMASTE).

🏛️ Complete UPSC Prelims PYQ Archive (1995–2026)

UPSC Prelims 2024

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress (1931):
1. It was presided over by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
2. It passed the historic resolution on Fundamental Rights and the National Economic Programme.
3. It unanimously rejected the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2021

Q2. Who among the following led a salt march from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam on the Tanjore coast in April 1930?

UPSC Prelims 2019

Q3. With reference to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931, which of the following were agreed to by the British Government?
1. Release of all political prisoners not convicted of violent crimes.
2. Right to make salt for domestic consumption by coastal villages.
3. An independent judicial inquiry into police atrocities during the movement.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

UPSC Prelims 2017

Q4. The famous American journalist who reported on the brutal lathi-charge by police on non-violent satyagrahis at the Dharasana Salt Works was:

UPSC Prelims 2015

Q5. The historic Poona Pact of September 1932 provided for:

UPSC Prelims 2013

Q6. The 'Khudai Khidmatgars' (Red Shirts) movement organized in the North-West Frontier Province during the Civil Disobedience Movement was led by:

UPSC Prelims 2011

Q7. Who represented the Indian National Congress at the Second Round Table Conference held in London in 1931?

UPSC Prelims 2008

Q8. The Chittagong Armoury Raid of April 1930 was planned and executed under the leadership of:

UPSC Prelims 2006

Q9. The famous Garhwal Rifles soldiers who refused to open fire on unarmed Pashtun satyagrahis in Peshawar in April 1930 were commanded by:

UPSC Prelims 2004

Q10. At which one of the following sessions did the Indian National Congress pass the historic resolution declaring 'Purna Swaraj' (Complete Independence) as its goal?

UPSC Prelims 2000

Q11. The 'Cunningham Circular' during the Civil Disobedience Movement was issued in which province to restrict student political participation?

UPSC Prelims 1998

Q12. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, parallel municipal administration was established by radical textile mill-workers in May 1930 at:

UPSC Prelims 1996

Q13. The number of reserved seats for the Depressed Classes in the Provincial Legislatures under the Poona Pact (1932) was:

UPSC Prelims 2026

Q14. Which of the following leaders participated in the famous raid on the Dharasana Salt Works in May 1930?
1. Sarojini Naidu
2. Imam Saheb
3. Manilal Gandhi
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

UPSC Prelims 2022

Q15. In which year was the 'Harijan Sevak Sangh' founded by Mahatma Gandhi following the Poona Pact?

🏛️ Complete UPSC Mains GS-1 Archive (1995–2026)

Exhaustive collection of 5 analytical questions on the Civil Disobedience era with structured model answer frameworks:

UPSC Mains GS-I 2024 15 Marks · 250 Words

Q. "Analyze the significance of the 1931 Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress. How did it define the socio-economic vision of independent India?"