a sense of belonging to the nation and the national struggle developed. But it also led to some conservatives who were opposed to mass participation in the struggle to leave the Congress. Thus the Congress under Gandhi was shedding its elitist character, becoming a mass organization and in a real sense ‘National’. Non-Cooperaors with Gandhi (d) Impact of Gandhi’s Leadership Thousands of schools and hundreds of colleges and vidyapeethas were established by the natives as alternatives to the government institutions.
Several leading lawyers gave up their practice. Thousands of school and college students left the government institutions. The Ali brothers were arrested and jailed on sedition charges. The Congress committees called upon people to launch civil disobedience movement, including no tax movements if the Congress committees of their region were ready.
The government as usual resorted to repression. Workers were arrested indiscriminately and put behind bars. The visit of Prince of Wales in to several cities in India was also boycotted. The calculation of the colonial government that the visit of the Prince would evoke loyal sentiments of the Indian people was proved wrong.
Advent of Gandhi and Mass Mobilisation There was another group which opposed council entry and wanted to continue Gandhian line by mobilizing masses. This team led by Rajagopalachari, Vallabhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad was called ‘No changers.’ They argued that electoral politics would divert the attention of nationalists and pull them away from the work of mass mobilization and their issues. They favoured the continuation of the Gandhian constructive programme of spinning, temperance, Hindu-Muslim unity, removal of untouchability and mobilise rural masses and prepare them for new mass movements. The pro-changers launched the Swarajya party as a part of the Congress.
A truce was soon worked out and both the groups would engage themselves in the Congress programmes and their work should complement each other’s activities under the leadership of Gandhi, though Gandhi personally favoured constructive work. The Swarajya party did reasonably well in the elections to Central Assembly by winning of the