Karatoya: NBU J. Hist. Vol. 7: 105-113 (2014) 

Non-Cooperation Movement and Contai 

Sankar Kumar Das 

ISSN: 2229-4880 

During the First World War, the Allies proclaimed that the War was to defend 
democracy and that after the War all their colonies and peoples would get back their right 
to self-determination. This proclamation of the Allies gave a renewed fillip to nationalism 
in the colonies. But after the War the Allies particularly the English showed no 

indications of putting an end to colonialism; on the contrary they became intent on 
curbing the newly awakened nationalism. The British government now adopted the policy 
of applying a strong dose of repressive legislation. One such virulent application was the 
enactment of the Rowlatt Act - the so-called no court, no jury and no appeal act by virtue 

of which all persons suspected of anti-government activities were subject to arbitrary 
arrest without trial. In Gandhiji's words the Rawlatt Act was an open challenge to all the 
Indians. 

After the Rowlatt Bills were passed in spite of all-India intense opposition 
Gandhiji decided to oppose it with an all-India hartal. The hartal was called for April 6, 
1919. In consequence of this hart al there occurred on April 13, 1919 the Jallianwalla 
Bagh massacre, an unimaginable firing on an unwarned and unarmed crowd who after 

their Baisakhi celebrations assembled in the Bagh to attend a public meeting. The net 
result of the firing was that several hundreds were dead and several thousand were 

wounded. This was not all. The devilish massacre was followed by humiliating orders. 
Besides there were flogging in public, confinement of the arrested in cages, and hand­
cuffing of Hindus and Muslims in pairs demonstrating secular unity and so on. In 
addition to all these the government proclaimed martial law to restrict the free movement 
of the people and their free exchange ot opinions. This was how Amritsar became a hell; 
and a great fear now overpowered all Punjab. This reign of terror stunned all India. But to 
the British Government these were merely the off-shoots of a 'preventive murder'. The 

Hunter Committee appointed by the Government to enquire into the Punjab disturbances 
was merely an eye wash as this was done only with a view to suppressing the eruptive 
outbursts of the nationalists. Now the Congress and its top ranking leaders were to think 
what was to be done. It is striking that this what was to be done, did not convey a passive 
mood as to all the nation it was an active affair. Particularly this time the humiliations and 
indignities of the nation became unbearable and intolerable. At this crucial stage Gandhiji 
was to lead the nation and the movement. It was at this situation the grave Khilafat 
question and the mental anxiety of the Muslims born out of the belying of the war time 
promises of the Allies became very much tense. Now Gandhiji's attention was slowly 

drawn to the Khilafat agitation. 

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During the War the Allies, particularly Britain, to purchase the loyalty of the 
Muslims offered assurances of generous treatment towards Turkey. But during the close 
of the War when Turkey was. totally devastated the Allies decided to dismember the 
Ottoman Empire in the face of Lloyd George's War time promises; and accordingly the 
Greek and Italian army landed in Turkey which foreshadowed the destruction of the 
Empire and the Caliphate and also the irreligious disgrace of the Caliph, the spiritual 
supreme of the Muslim world. Now the Muslims felt sure t~at the poor dishonoured 
position of the Caliph would surely affect their position under imperialist domination. 

I 

This anxiety of the Muslims resulted in the birth of the Khilafat Movement in India. 
• I : • 

The Khilafat agitat_ion drew the sensitive attention of Gandhiji. He felt sure that 
the Khilafat demand to restore the Sultan-Caliph to his former position was a just demand 
and that he was unjustly deprived of his legitimate political and religious authority over 
his dominions. Gandhiji decided to help the Khilafat agitation. In this respect his primary 
aim was to unite the Hindus and the Muslims, and thereby to make the Indians one single 
nation bent on putting joint pressure on the government in order to make it realize the 
justness of their demands and objectives. 

In November 1919 Gandhiji as President of the All India Khilafat Committee 
suggested that if the Government would do no justice towards Turkey the Khilafat 
Committee would resort to boycott and non-co-operation against the ruling power. Early 
in 1920 deputations of the AIKC were sent to the Viceroy and to the Prime Minister with 

.the demands for restoring the former position of the Caliph-Sultan along with his forme~ 
dominions. To the Khilafat leaders and to Gandhiji also the curt and point blank reply of 
the · Prime Minister was that Turkey would get the same treatment as would get the 
defeated Christian powers. On May 15 the humiliating peace terms of the Treaty of 
Sevres were known. Being sorely aggrieved Gandhiji on May 17 urged upon the Muslims 
to adopt ' non-co-operation' as the only effective remedy for the rude and inconsiderate 
attitude of the British Government towards Turkey and the Muslim world. On May 28 the 
Central Khilafat Committee following Gandhiji ' s advice adopted 'Non-co-ol?eration' as 
the only practical line of action. At this stage Gandhiji decided to start the Non-co­
operation movement on the Khilafat ·issue. It was thus the Non-Cooperati~n Movement 
started on August 1920. 

The non-cooperation phase of the national movement in Contai was very much 
striking for its varied contour and varying configuration. During the short period from 
August I, 1919 to February 12, 1920 Contai along with all Midnapore was agitated and 
constrained by the imperial designs and by the Gandhi-led 'asahayoga satyagraha'. As a 
result the all India Non-Cooperation Movement was provided from the very beginning 
with a solid supporting background. 

The administration of Bengal had been considering since 1904 that the 
Midnapore district was unmanageable for one district magistrate. That is why on the basis 
of the recommendations of the District Administrative Committee the Bengal government 

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• 

decided to make a partition of Midnapore1
• The partition plan was made public on 

January 26, 1915. Since then protests arose and agitations were formed in various circles. 

Land owners and lawyers raised a hue and cry as the partition of the district would 
underm ine their economic interests2

. The nationalists including a section of the prominent 

Congressmen read in the partition scheme the sinister imperial design for crushing the 
political activities of the Midnapore people and for weakening their participation in the 
national movement. This time the local weeklies like Nihar and Medini Bandhab warned 
the people about the evil design of the partition plan and asked them to protest unitedly 
against ' the terrible scheme of partition'. Otherwise ' the satanic government' would 
destroy them3

. 

On August 1, 1920 the Non-Cooperation Movement started. All the nation was 
now filled with a new enthusiasm. On seeing the growth and force and vehemence of the 
Movement in the district of Midnapore the government made it known through an 

announcement that for administrative convenience and also for financial considerations 
the partition scheme of Midnapore would remain suspended4. This announcement of the 

government was a victory for Midnapore. Now the nationalists of Midnapore felt sure 
that their moderate techniques of warfare would surely help them attain their desired end 
swaraj if the non-cooperation methods were sincerely followed. 

The introduction of the Union Boards in the district of Midnapore pushed Contai 

towards a new movement. Along with the Gandhi-led Non-Cooperation Movement which 
was running on in full swim there started in Contai the Sasmol-led Anti-Union Board 

Agitation which had no connection with the all India national movement. 

By the middle of 1920 on the basis of the Bengal Government Actl 919 and on 
the recommendations of the District Board of Midnapore and also of the local Boards of 
Contai and Ramnagar thanas of the Contai sub-division Union Boards were introduced in 
the said two thanas for the general well-being of the village people. The government 
expected that the Union Boards would contribute to rural development and they would 
undertake public utility services. They would promote health of the rural masses. The) 

would build and maintain roads, bridges and waterways. They would take care of primary 
education and free health services plus the general comfort and convenience of the rural 
masses. The official propaganda for all these and many other beneficial works the 
government drive towards the establishment of the Union Boards was welcomed by the 
people and the local weeklies. But very soon it was clear that the government did not 
sanction money for the Boards to discharge the public utility services. So the Boards were 
to raise their resources locally by the imposition of extra taxes. As a result people were 
agitated and their agitations led to the formation of a local movement. 

It was at this time Birendranath Sasmol on realizing the Anti-Union Board 
sentiment of the people, organized powerful agitations through general meetings and the 
local weeklies against the introduction of the Union Boards. In the meetings Sasmol held 

out before the public that the taxes likely to be imposed under the Act might be seven 

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times higher than the prevailing Chowkidari rate. In the meetings people told in one voice 
that they would not pay the Union Board taxes, and they were ready to face any sort of 
punishment that the government would inflict on them for not paying the newly imposed 

union rates5
. 

In this situation th~ government officers applied armed pressure on the tax-payers 
who refused to pay new upion rates. The officers started attaching the movable articles of 
the ~ax-payers in Septemper 1921. The attaching operations went on unabated for about 
three months. During the operations the tax-payers submitted to attachment their articles 
without any violence as this was the dictate of their leader Sasmpl. The operations met a 
ludicrou.s end as the cart men and labourers were in the beginning unwilling to carry the 
articles to places of auction. Besides it was an irony that there was nobody to bid the 
attached articles. After a thorough study of this tense situation the District Magistrate 
reported to the Bengal Government that it would not be wise to continue Union Boards in 
the district; and it was also the report that to delay any longer in respect of the withdrawal 
of the Union Boards would be to throw Midnapore in the arms of the non-co-operators 

altogether. In view of these considerations and reports the Union Boards were dissolved 
in the district of Midnapore.6 

The Contai Union Board Boycott Movement was a grand success. Truly it was a 
great victory for Contai and so also for Midnapore. The boycott movement though 
passive by nature, was a direct challenge to the British administrative authority, and made 
the authority surrender to the peaceful non-violent boycott movement of Contai. The 

movement had a great bearing on the subsequent history of Contai. the movement 
brought new actors on the political scene, and it expanded the constituency of national 
politics. lt is striking to note that the women of Contai gladly and willingly submitted 
their articles to attachment, and they became much gladder when the attachment 
operations were stopped by government notices, and they got back their attached .goods. 
This is how the women of Contai learned the first lessons of being the /avan-heroines of 
the 1930 movement. It was for thes1:. , ~asons the Anti-Union Board Agitation remains 
unparalleled in the history of the contemporary mass movements of Bengal. 

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Punjab tragedy, the proclamation of the 
Martial Law in Punjab and its consequent bestial indignities and inhuman humiliations 
led discontented India towards the st?ge_ of a volcano before eruption. In addition to all 
these there were the Khilafat wrongs which unbearably hurt the Indian Muslims. The 

dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the dishonour of the Sultan-Caliph, the 
spiritual supreme of the Muslim world, deeply aggrieved the Muslims. In this situation 
the age-old maxim 'Reject the ruler who misrules' seemed to them the only pointer to 
their future course of action. Under the circumstances Gandhiji by making an ingenious 
blending of the Moderate and Extremist ideologies drew the attention of the Congress to 
the justness of the Khilafat issue. He also suggested that to vindicate national honour and 
to prevent reptition of similar wrongs it was an utmost necessity to attain Swaraj. This 

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• 



time Gandhiji clearly asserted that this Swaraj would be attained within the Empire by 
means of asahayoga i. e. by no co-operation with the demonic ruler i. e. to the colonial 
government. It was in this context on August, 1920 Gandhiji started the non-co-operation 
Satyagraha on the Khilafat issue. This time he assured that if the people would implement 
the non-co-operation programme wholeheartedly and sincerely Swaraj would be ushered 
in within a year. 

Swaraj within a year - this assurance of Gandhiji made India a new land with 

new nationalists and new common people. The assurance awakened India out of years of 
slumber beset with indignation and despondence and dependence. Now it was the 

question how Swaraj would be attained. By this time it was clear that Swaraj could not be 
attained by constitutional and 1 egal means but by peaceful and legitimate means as 
Gandhiji suggested i.e. by the implementation of the Non-Co-operation Programme. And 
this NCP had two aspects: one, positive and the other negative. The important items of 

the positive aspects were constructive works concerned with the promotion of Swadeshi 
like the revival of hand-spinning and weaving, removal of untouchability, prohibition of 

liquor and propagation of national education. And the 'exiting items' of the negative 
aspect were the boycott of legislatures, law-courts and government and semi-government 
educational institutions. 

According to the directives of the AICC, some significant changes were 
introduced in the organizational structure of the Contai Congress. The Congress knew it 
for certain that to conduct the Movement a compact organization was necessary. The 
organizat ion would work round the year and would reach down to villages by the 
formation of village committees. Over the village committees there would have union 
committees, circle committees, sub-divisional committees, and district committees and so 
on in an ascending order. This constitutional change made the Congress a far more 

representative body. Now the Congress was in no way a distant affair. Its membership 
was open to all who were eighteen or above, who had adherence to the Congress 
principles and who paid four annas a: m~mbership subscription per annum7

. As a result 
the members of the Congress rose by leaps and bounds. The Congress was now 
fundamentally changed in respect of outlook and policy. A wave of emotional sensation 
swept over the country. A Congressite was now not merely a member of the Congress but 

one committed for any sacrifice in respect of fulfilling the non-co-operation programme. 

It was in this changed all-India perspective of the national politics Contai 

participated in the Non-Co-operation Movement with high hopes for attaining Swaraj. 
The Contai Congress adopted wholeheartedly the Non-Co-operation Programme as an all 
India phenomenon. From the beginning Contai put much stress on both the constructive 
and boycott aspects of the Movement viz. boycott of law courts, boycott of government 
aided institutions and boycott of British goods particularly Lancashire cloths. 

It was at this time Birendranath Sasmol, an eminent Bar-at Law of the Calcutta 
High Court renounced his lucrative income in response to the implementation of the Non-

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Co-operation Programme, and dedicated himself to the service of the nation. Sasmol's 
example was readily followed by lawyers. In Contai Bipin Bihari Adhikari, a pleader, 
Surendranath Das, a mukhtear, and Udaynarayan Manda) a mohorar (a pleader's clerk), 
all of the Sub-divisional Court, relinquished their practices8

• This was not all. Many 
others of the Contai court followed suit. It was at this situation the Contai Congress set 
arbitration boards/courts."a.nd village panchayets for settling private disputes. This time 
the Congress volunteers dissuaded the litigants from going to law· courts and asked them 
to get their disputes settled in arbitration courts and inpanchayets.9 

Sasmol with some teachers and eminent nationalists undertook a wide tour in the 
district during which he addressed hundreds of meetings explaining the .. aims and 
objectives of the NCP. In his addresses Sasmol stressed mainly on· two particular items of 
the Programme viz. reconstruction of villages and nationalization of education 1°. They 
also appealed to the people to work sincerely for the removal of untouchability and unjust 
caste-distinctions and also for temperance and Hindu- Muslim amity.11 

The appeals of Sasmol in respect of the revival of cottage industries particularly 
hand-spinning and weaving khadi industry greatly impressed the people of Contai. 12The 
non-co-operator nationalists over and again made it clear to them khadi would help them 
attain economic self-sufficiency and it would thus remove their poverty, and build a 
sound village life)n a few months after the adoption of the NCP khadi was introduced in 
the national schools as an extra-curricular subject. The wearing of khadi became a 
condition of Congress membership. In the upper levels of the society men and women in 
khadi costumes were paid high respect. Besides the character of khadi was now greatly 
changed.Khadi n'ow assumed the character of a religious rite. It ·. was seen in every 
C_ongress meeting the spinning-rite (Sutrayanga) was observed.with solemn grandeur for 
at least ~ve minutes. Khadi became a very popular feature in Beng~l life. For the spread 
of the khadi industry the Contai Congress distributed cha.rkhas to needy persons and 
encouraged cotton growing variously. In all the thanas of Contai khadi centres were set 
up. In villages non-co-operator volur1.r. -rs spoke high of the usefulness of the charkha. 
This time Bengali poets like Nazrul Islam and Satyendranath Dutt extolling the merits of 
the charkha wrote: the charkha is the symbol oflndia's desire for self-government i.e. for 
'swaraj'. According to Nazrul, in the mild rattling of the charkhas is sung the arrival of 
the chariot of swaraj. In Dutt's words the charkha is all wealth, all livelihood, and in the 
charkhas of Bengal there is the dazzling flash of gold. In a similar spirit it is sung 
probably by an old woman that the charkha is her dear husband and her son and also her 
grand-son, and it is the benignity of the charkha that has made her so affluent as to keep 
an elephant tied at her door.13 

One exciting item of the Non-Co-operation Movement was the boycott of 
Government aided educational institutions and the establishment of national institutions 
where students after leaving the Government schools might continue their education. In 
response to the call of the Congress students left schools and teachers resigned their 

110 

- . 



services. Practically a wave of nationalization of education began to sweep all over the 
country. This time B. N. Sasmol and some eminent persons of the locality, were dead 
against the prevalent system of the western education. They took the lead in respect of 
introducing a national system of education that would promote the moral and spiritual 
well-being of the students and the welfare of the people of India. In a meeting held on 
February 4, 1921 at Saraswatitala of Contai Sasmol declared that his palatial building at 
Contai would henceforth be used for all the purposes and services relating to the 
nationalization of education. The meeting made a great impact over Contai. Now national 
schools from ten-class high schools to upper and even lower primary schools sprang up 
readily at different places14

• In this connection mention may be made of two national 
schools of importance, one at Kalagachia P.S. Khejuri (March 1, 1921) set up under the 
initiative of Jagadish Chandra Maity and the other at Contai town on March 7, 1921 . In 
the syllabi of the school there were provisions for three types education viz. academic, 
technical and agricultureal education. 

The boycott of law courts created a sort of dead lock in respect of settling civil 
and criminal disputes. That is why private arbitration courts/ boards were set up for the 
settlement of private disputes. Respected and influential local persons were appointed 
arbiters to settle the disputes. After one or two hearings of the appellants and defendants 
the cases were in most cases satisfactorily solved. Iswarchandra Mal, Srinath Chandra 
Jana, Taraknath Pal, Girish Chandra Rana of the Contai arbitration boards made a good 
name for their satisfactory solution of land disputes 15

. As a result Contai arbitration courts 
became very popular in the subdivision. So in Contai it was highly felt that arbitration 
courts were a great contribution of the Non-Co-operation Movement. 

During the movement the Contai Congress took some attempts to uplift the status 
of women in society, particularly in the upper class Hindu society. It was that for some 
social evils like illiteracy, early marriage and polygamy they were reduced to second 
class citizens, and there was developed a sense of inferiority in them. So they were 
mostly indifferent to the national movunent and their participation to the movement was 
negligible16

• The Contai Congress with a view to raising their status in families and their 
place in the society took attempts to provide them with education and means of 
livelihood, and to make them aware of performing their duties towards fulfilling the 
programme of village reconstruction17

• As a result the Contai women were found 
gradually preparing themselves for the coming waves of the national movement. There is 
no denying :.1 the fact that the Contai Congress thus paved the way for making the 
heroines of the Lavan Satyagraha. 

Caste-distinctions and untouchability - these two social evils are quite contrary to 
the basic, elemental, moral and religious principles of a society and positively harmful to 
the spiritual and moral growth of the nation. On thinking of this elemental truth and 
bearing in mind the dictates of Gadhiji preached in respect of the Harijans the Contai 
Congress from the very beginning of the movement started campaigning against these 

111 



two social evils. In religious assemblages there were very often told Rarnchandra's love 
for Guhak Chandal, Bhima's loye for the aborigines and Chaitanyadeva's love for all men 
irrespective of their caste and creed and of their touchability and untouchability. Besides, 
they distributed free of cost Digindranarayan Bhattacharya' s works on anti-caste­
distinction and anti-untouchability viz. 'Jatibheda', 'Sudrer Puja and Vedadhikar', 
'Asprsyatabarjan' and 'Sri Gauranga'. This time Contai Congress arranged some inter­
caste marriages and introduced inter-dining. Now temple-entry and use of reserved tanks 
meant only for religious uses of the upper castes were allowed to all. As a result the two 
great social evils were abated18

• 

During the First World War the drinking of wine and the taking of hemp, opium 
and many other articles of addiction became a ruinous habit to the people of C~ntai. The 
number of drug-addicts was gradually increasing. That was why the Contai Congress 
took various measures to put a stop to this practice. Picketing started at liquor shops. 
Some shops were forced to shut down. Drug-addicts were prevented from entering into 
shops meant for selling intoxicating drugs. It is a pity that these attempts of the Congress 
and also of the picketers had little effed9

• 

The Non-Co-operation Movement was withdrawn on February 12, 1922. All 
India was disillusioned, and dismayed on thinking of what worse would happen. But 
Contai did not lose heart on the basis of her experiences. She felt that only the first battle 
was lost and the war of independence would continue. It was because since the fifteenth 
century she had been dashed and ravaged times again by Muslim invasions, Maratha 
inroads and Bargi i'ncursions. She withstood all those attacks. So after this historic 
'retreat' Contai' stood again with new hopes for a new bright future. Particularly like the 
fabulous phoenix that bums itself out of its own accord and creates its new form out of its 
ashes, Contai with new hope and new faith on the foundatipns of its newly constructed 
form and newly awakened national consciousness born out of the revolutionized millions 

. of fighters of freedom d~voutly dedicated herself to attain Swaraj which was deemed as 
the sovereign remedy for all their iii,. The strength, solidarity and coherence of their 
dedication to the service of the nation was historic,,arid this was repeatedly proved during 
the movements of 1930-32, and 1942. It was from the Non-Co-operation Movement they 
learned the lessons of conquering the fear for the Raj and of marching ahead towards the 
path of attaining Swaraj. It may therefore be unhesitatingly opined that the Non-co­
operation Movement revolutionized the people of Contai and also of India with the hope 
of bright Swaraj-days. The three Parallel Governments formed by the Contai people at 
Patashpur (October, 1942 - December, 1942), Khejuri (October, 1942 - December, 1942), 
and Contai (July, 1943 - December, 1943) were ample proofs of their revolutionary zeal 
and conviction. Truly speaking, this was the great contribution of the on-Co-operation 
Movement to the people of Contai. 

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.. 

Notes & References: 

l. Nihar, December 20, 1904, V-4, N-17. 

2. Amtita Bazar Patrika, November 17, 1917. 

3. Medini Bandhab, July 14, 1913, WBSA Report on Native Newspaper (hereafter RNP), Bengal, 
July 26, 1913. 

4. WBSA, Bengal Political Proceedings, December 1921, Nos.-20-5. 

5. Nihar, February 15, 1921, V-20, N-23. 

6. Ibid. , December 27, 1921, V-21 , N-20. 

7. Basanta Kumar Das, Swadhinata Sangrame Medinipur, Vol.- I, Medinipur Swadhinata 
Sangram ltihas Samiti, Calcutta, 1980, pp.328-330. 

8. Ibid. p. 300. 

9. Ibid. pp. 326-27. 

I 0. Ibid. pp. 306-7. 

11. Ibid. p. 308. 

12. Ibid. p. 3 I 8. 

13. Ibid. pp. 318-24. 

14. Ibid. pp. 307-8. 

15. Ibid. pp. 326-27. 

16. Ibid. pp. 331-32. 

17. Ibid. 

18. Ibid. pp. 307-8. 

19. Ibid. pp. 308 & 310-11 

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