Consider the following subjects with regard to Non-Cooperation Programme:
- I.Boycott of law-courts and foreign cloth
- II.Observance of strict non-violence
- III.Retention of titles and honours without using them in public
- IV.Establishment of Panchayats for settling disputes
How many of the above were parts of Non-Cooperation Programme?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Only three
The 1920 programme asked Indians to boycott courts, schools, councils and foreign goods, to stay strictly non-violent, and to settle disputes through their own panchayats instead of British courts. Titles and honours were to be surrendered, not kept, so only item III is wrong.
- ✓ I Boycott of courts and foreign goods was central; lawyers gave up practice and foreign cloth was burnt in public bonfires.
- ✓ II Gandhi promised swaraj within a year only if people kept strictly to non-violence, and he called off the movement after the violence at Chauri Chaura in February 1922.
- ✗ III The first stage was the surrender of titles the government had awarded, not their retention.
- ✓ IV Gandhi's non-cooperation appeal asked people to boycott the law courts and to settle their quarrels before panchayats; the Congress resolution likewise called for settlement of disputes by private arbitration.
Remember · Non-Cooperation (1920–22): surrender titles; boycott schools, courts, councils, foreign cloth; panchayats, national schools, khadi; strict non-violence; withdrawn after Chauri Chaura.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 India and the Contemporary World – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 10 · India and the Contemporary World – II, Chapter 2 “It should begin with the surrender of titles that the government awarded, and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “encouraged non-violent resistance through the boycott of foreign goods, schools, and courts — thus began the Non-Cooperation Movement, with Gandhi promising Swaraj within a year if people adhered strictly to nonviolence.”
- The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XIX (Nov 1920 - Apr 1921), Publications Division, Government of India (Internet Archive scan): Gandhi's speech on the programme (boycott of courts, panchayats) ↗ · reference work “boycott courts of law, schools and colleges. He could ask them to settle their quarrels before panchayats. … boycott by the litigants of law courts and settlement of their disputes by private arbitration”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·