Changing political relationships, 1920–30 — Edexcel A-Level History
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Changing political relationships, 1920–30 explained
Changing political relationships, 1920–30 covers 4 specification points, including Gandhi’s aims and beliefs; his becoming leader… and Membership and organisation; political….
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Gandhi and civil disobedience, 1920–22: Gandhi’s aims and beliefs; his becoming leader of Congress 1920; the non- cooperation campaign; significance of his imprisonment.
Gandhi’s aims and beliefs fused swaraj, Hindu-Muslim unity, and satyagraha (truth-force) with non-violence and self-reliance. In 1920 he became Congress leader, reshaping it into a mass movement with a new constitution and khadi. The non-cooperation campaign (1920–22) involved boycotts of councils, courts, schools, and foreign cloth, with strikes and resignations. It ended after Chauri Chaura violence in February 1922. Gandhi’s imprisonment (1922–24) removed him from politics, but his moral authority and mass mobilisation persisted, influencing later campaigns.
Congress reorganised, 1922–30: membership and organisation; political participation and ‘back to basics’; the ‘young hooligans’; the Nehru Report; the Lahore Congress and purna swaraj; the salt satyagraha and consequences of civil disobedience.
After 1922, Congress reorganised: membership expanded, provincial committees strengthened, and a permanent organisation built. ‘Back to basics’ meant Gandhi's constructive programme, focusing on hand-spinning (khadi), untouchability, and village self-reliance, while the Swaraj Party pursued political participation via council entry. The ‘young hooligans’ like Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru pushed for complete independence. The Nehru Report (1928) proposed dominion status, but the Lahore Congress (1929) adopted purna swaraj (complete independence). The salt satyagraha (1930) challenged the British salt tax, sparking mass civil disobedience. Consequences included mass arrests, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, and the Round Table Conferences.
The Muslim League: the Khilafat movement; re-emergence of Muslim values; the concept of separateness; breakdown of relations with Congress; Jinnah’s beliefs and aims; the significance of failed attempts to reunite with Congress.
The Khilafat movement (1919–24) saw Muslims and Congress campaign together to defend the Ottoman Caliph, but its collapse after Turkish abolition of the Caliphate left many Muslims feeling betrayed and exposed. Muslim values re-emerged through defence of Urdu, Islamic education and personal law, while the concept of separateness held that Muslims formed a distinct community needing its own safeguards. Relations with Congress broke down over Nehru Report proposals and the 1928–29 split, and Jinnah, once a Congress ally, now demanded constitutional guarantees for Muslims. His aim was parity, not partition. Failed reunification attempts, such as the 1928 All Parties Convention, showed that shared anti-colonial protest could not settle communal representation, so the League gained standing as a separate voice.
British response: control and concession; reasons for and reception of the Simon Commission; the Labour government and the significance of the Irwin Declaration.
British policy in the 1920s combined control with concession: repression of unrest alongside reforms such as the 1919 Government of India Act. The Simon Commission (1927) was sent to review that Act, but because it contained no Indian members it was boycotted and met with protests, uniting Congress and the League in opposition. The minority Labour government from 1929 favoured conciliation, and the Irwin Declaration (1929) promised dominion status and a Round Table Conference. This concession split opinion: Indian nationalists wanted immediate progress, while British conservatives feared surrender. The Declaration therefore showed both the limits of British control and the potential of negotiated concession, setting the agenda for the 1930s.
Your focus
- Explain Gandhi’s aims and beliefs in the context of Indian nationalism.
- Describe the non-cooperation campaign and its methods.
- Evaluate the significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment for the nationalist movement.
Show all 12 objectives
- Explain how Congress reorganised between 1922 and 1930.
- Describe the roles of the ‘young hooligans’ and the Nehru Report.
- Assess the consequences of the salt satyagraha and civil disobedience.
- Explain the causes, course and consequences of the Khilafat movement for Muslim politics.
- Analyse how the concept of separateness and re-emerged Muslim values affected League aims.
- Evaluate the significance of failed attempts to reunite with Congress for the League’s development.
- Explain the reasons for the Simon Commission and how it was received in India.
- Analyse the Labour government’s aims and the content of the Irwin Declaration.
- Evaluate the significance of the Irwin Declaration for the changing political relationship.
Changing political relationships, 1920–30 exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains Gandhi’s aims: swaraj, Hindu-Muslim unity, non-violence, self-reliance, and satyagraha.
- Describes how Gandhi became leader of Congress in 1920, including the Nagpur session and constitutional changes.
- Outlines the methods of non-cooperation: boycotts of councils, courts, schools, foreign cloth, and titles.
- Assesses the significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment: short-term withdrawal, long-term inspiration, and impact on Congress leadership.
- Describes changes in Congress membership and organisation, including provincial committees and mass membership.
- Explains ‘back to basics’ as Gandhi's constructive programme (e.g., spinning, untouchability) and contrasts it with political participation via council entry.
- Identifies the ‘young hooligans’ and their push for purna swaraj.
- Outlines the Nehru Report’s proposals and the Lahore Congress’s adoption of purna swaraj.
- Explains the salt satyagraha and assesses its consequences for civil disobedience.
- Explains the Khilafat movement’s origins, methods and collapse, and links that collapse to Muslim disillusion with joint action.
- Analyses how re-emergence of Muslim values and the concept of separateness shaped Muslim political identity in the 1920s.
- Traces the breakdown of relations with Congress through the Nehru Report, Jinnah’s Fourteen Points and the failure of the All Parties Convention.
- Assesses Jinnah’s beliefs and aims, including constitutional safeguards and Muslim parity, and weighs the significance of failed reunification attempts.
- Explains how Britain balanced control with concession in India during the 1920s, using examples of repression and reform.
- Analyses the reasons for the Simon Commission and why its all-British membership caused protest and boycott.
- Assesses the reception of the Simon Commission by Indian political groups and its effect on nationalist unity.
- Evaluates the Labour government’s approach and the significance of the Irwin Declaration for British-Indian relations.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use specific examples like the Nagpur session, Chauri Chaura, and the suspension of the campaign.
- 💡Link Gandhi’s beliefs to his actions to show understanding of causation.
- 💡Evaluate the significance of imprisonment by considering both short-term and long-term effects.
- 💡Use precise dates and names to show detailed knowledge.
- 💡Link the salt satyagraha to its consequences, such as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
- 💡Link each factor to the changing relationship between the League and Congress rather than narrating events in isolation.
- 💡Use precise dates and terms such as Khilafat, Fourteen Points and All Parties Convention to anchor analysis.
- 💡Reach a judgement on which factor most weakened unity, supporting it with evidence from the period.
- 💡Balance British motives with Indian responses to show interaction rather than one-sided policy.
- 💡Use the terms control, concession, dominion status and boycott precisely to demonstrate secure knowledge.
- 💡Judge the Declaration’s significance by weighing what it promised against what it delivered.
Common Mistakes
- Error: stating that Gandhi became Congress leader in 1919. Correction: he became leader in 1920 at the Nagpur session.
- Error: claiming the non-cooperation campaign achieved immediate swaraj. Correction: it was suspended in 1922 without achieving swaraj.
- Error: saying Gandhi’s imprisonment ended his influence. Correction: it enhanced his moral stature and he remained a key figure.
- Error: confusing the Nehru Report (1928) with the Lahore Congress (1929). Correction: the Nehru Report proposed dominion status; Lahore adopted purna swaraj.
- Error: stating that the salt satyagraha achieved immediate independence. Correction: it led to negotiations and concessions, not independence.
- Error: claiming ‘back to basics’ meant council entry. Correction: it meant Gandhi's constructive programme, whereas council entry was the Swaraj Party's strategy for political participation.
- Treating the Khilafat movement as purely religious; correct by explaining its political anti-British purpose and its alliance with the Non-Cooperation movement.
- Assuming Jinnah always sought Pakistan; correct by showing that in the 1920s he pursued safeguards within a united India.
- Describing the breakdown with Congress as sudden; correct by tracing it through the Nehru Report, Jinnah’s Fourteen Points and failed conventions.
- Confusing the Simon Commission with the Round Table Conference; correct by separating the 1927 review from the 1930–32 talks.
- Treating the Irwin Declaration as immediate independence; correct by explaining it promised dominion status as a goal, not a settled outcome.
- Ignoring Indian reactions; correct by including boycott, protest and cross-party opposition as evidence of reception.