Nagpur Session of 1920

Introduction

The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was held in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city in December 1920. C. Vijayaraghavachariar served as the chairman. The INC passed the key resolution on non-cooperation during this session. Opposition to Gandhi faded, and even detractors like C R Das supported Gandhi’s leadership. While Congress agreed on a nonviolent approach to noncooperation resolution.

Nagpur Session: Resolution

The following resolutions were adopted at the Nagpur Session:

• The non-cooperation movement was approved.
• The Congress underwent a significant transition when it changed its purpose from achieving self-government by constitutional means to achieving swaraj through peaceful and legal methods, committing itself to an extraconstitutional popular uprising.
• Important organizational changes were made, such as the formation of a 15-member Congress working committee to oversee the Congress in the future.
  Additionally, regional congress committees based on languages were organized, ward committees were established, and the entry cost was decreased to four annas. Gandhi predicted that swaraj will be established in a year if the non-cooperation policy was fully carried out.
• Additionally, many revolutionary terrorist groups, particularly those from Bengal, declared their support for the Congress program during the session.
• The Khilafat Committee had previously started the non-cooperation movement, but after the Congress adopted it in 1921, it gained new momentum and experienced an extraordinary upswing in support.

Significance of the Session

• On December 31, 1920, the session came to an end with history being written.
• With the Non-cooperation movement, Mahatma Gandhi rose to become the supreme head of Congress, and a new chapter in the Indian Independence War was about to be written.
• Gandhi Ji made a significant political comeback during the historic Nagpur Session, which also witnessed the passage of a crucial resolution on the non-cooperation campaign.
• During the session, Congress also adopted a new Constitution and modified its guiding principles.
• Mahatma Gandhi, along with Motilal Nehru, Mohd. Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and a host of other notable historical figures.

Impact of the Session

The resolution on non-cooperation had many shades, such as – 

• Refusal to pay taxes
• Boycotting schools aided or controlled by the Government
• Nationalising educational institutions
• Call for lawyers to suspend their practice
• Economic boycott of foreign goods and promoting hand spinning and weaving
• People were asked to popularise Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine by establishing schools, colleges, and hospitals

Conclusion

Congress had agreed to establish a strategy of extra-constitutional mass actions by the Nagpur session. It also brought about a new feeling of accountability and self-reliance, ushering in a new period in Indian history.

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