Gandhi Jayanti 2023: 7 movements led by Mahatma Gandhi that shaped India’s fight against British

As a result of the movement, the British government was forced to sign an agreement which granted control along with compensation to the farmers and also cancelled the hikes in taxes.

Kheda Movement or the Kheda Satyagraha was a no-tax campaign which was initiated by Mohan Lal Pandey in 1917 who demanded the dismissal of taxes because of the poor harvest and crop failure in Kheda village, Gujarat. Mahatma Gandhi joined the movement in 1918. Soon after his involvement, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik also joined the Kheda Movement. Finally, the demands of the movement were fulfilled by the British government.

After World War I, the Muslims were scared for the safety of their Caliph or the religious leader. The Khilafat movement was then initiated by the Ali brothers to protest against the injustice served in Turkey after the War. The movement was held in India under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi after the Khilafat leaders and Congress joined hands to fight together for Khilafat and Swaraj.

The 1920 movement of Non-Cooperation was launched by Mahatma Gandhi following the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. With the cooperation of Congress, Mahatma Gandhi was able to convince the people. The idea of Swaraj, which Gandhi later defined, played one of the major roles in this movement. People of India began to boycott British government goods and institutions like schools, colleges, and government offices during the Non-Cooperation Movement. Eventually, following the Chauri Chaura event, in which 23 police officers died, Gandhi himself halted the campaign.

Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 addressed the nation through a newspaper Young India and expressed to suspend the movement if his 11 demands were accepted by the government. However, the British government at that time was led by Lord Irwin and he did not respond to Gandhi on his demands. As a result, Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Civil Disobedience movement which is also known as the Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha.

During this movement, Gandhi along with his 78 other supporters travelled on foot from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi to protest against the salt law. Prior to the movement, the government used to have control over the manufacturing of salt to be considered unlawful.

In an effort to abolish British rule in India, Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Quit India Movement which is also known as the ‘Bharat Chhodo Andolan’. Gandhi protested strongly against the British government and claimed that the Indians should be involved in a war which is in favour of democratic purposes while India itself is not a free country. This argument established and exposed the double standards of the British rulers.