During the viceroyalty of Lord Chelmsford, a sedition committee was appointed by the government in 1918 with Justice Rowlatt which made certain recommendations to curb seditious activities in India. The Rowlatt Act 1919, gave unbridled powers to the government to arrest and imprison suspects, without trial. The act caused a wave of anger among the people. Even before the act was passed, popular agitation began against it. Gandhiji decided to fight against this act and he gave a call for Satyagraha on April 6, 1919. He was arrested on April 8,1919. This led to further intensification of the agitation in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Punjab.
The arrest of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satypal on April 10, 1919, under the Rowlatt Act in connection with Satyagraha caused serious unrest in Punjab. A public meeting was held on April 13, 1919 in a park called Jalliamvala Bagh in Amritsar where thousands of people including women and children assembled. Before the meeting could start General Reginald Edward Harr}' (R.E.H.)Dyer ordered indiscriminate heavy firing on the crowd and the people had no way out to escape. As a result hundreds of men, women and children were killed and more than 1200 people wounded. At that time Miachel O'Dwyer was the lieutenant governor of the Punjab. The massacre was a turning point in Indo-British relations and inspired the people to provide a more unrelenting fight for freedom.
The Caliph (or, Khalifa) Sultan of Turkey, was looked upon by the Muslims as their religious head. During the first World War, when the safety and welfare of Turkey were threatened by the British thereby weakening the Caliph's position, Indian Muslims adopted an aggressive anti- British attitude. The Ali Brothers-Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali-launched an anti-British movement in 1920 - the Khilafat Movement for the restoration of the Khilafat. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad also led the movement. It was supported by Gandhiji and INC which paved the way for Hindu-Muslim unity.
At the Calcutta session in Sep. 1920, the Congress resolved in favour of the Non-cooperation Movement and defined Swaraj as its ultimate aim (according to Gandhi). The movement envisaged : (i) Surrender of titles and honorary offices and resignation from nominated offices; (ii) Refusal to attend government darbars and official functions and boycott of British courts by the lawyers; (iii) Refusal of general public to offer themselves for military and other government jobs, and boycott of foreign goods etc. Gandhijit along with the Ali Brothers (of Khilafat Movement fame) undertook a nationwide tour during addressing of meetings. The educational boycott was specially successful in Bengal with Punjab too, responding under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai. Apart from educational boycott, there was boycott of law courts which saw major lawyers like Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari, Saifuddin Kitchlu, Vallabh Bhai Patel, Aruna AsafAIi, etc. giving up their lucrative practices in their fields. The non-cooperation movement also saw picketing of shops selling foreign cloth and boycott of the foreign cloth by the followers of Gnndhiji. Another dramatic event during this period was the visit of the prince of Wales. The day he landed in India (in Bombay on Nov. 17,1921) he was greeted with empty streets and downed shutters wherever he went.
The attack on a local police station by angry peasants at Chauri - Chaura, in Gorakhpur district of UP, on Feb. 5, 1922, changed the whole situation. Gandhi, shocked by Chauri - Chaura incident, withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement on Feb. 12,1922.
Gandhi's decision to call off the agitation caused frustration among masses. His decision came in for severe criticism from his colleagues like Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das and M.C. Kelkar, who organsied the Swaraj Party. The foundations of the Swaraj party were laid on Jan. 1,1923, as the' Congress Khilafat-Swaraj Party It proposed then an alternative programme of diverting the movement from widespread civil disobedience programme to restrictive one which would encourage its member to enter into legislative councils (established under Mont-ford Reforms of 1919) by contesting elections in order to wreck the legislature from within and to use moral pressure to compel the authority to concede to the popular demand for self government. In the election held in 1923 the Swaraj Party captured 45 of the 145 seats. In provincial elections they secured few seats but in the Central Province they secured a clear majority. In Bengal, the Swaraj Party was the largest party. They followed the policy of undiluted opposition. The Swarajists demanded the release all the political prisoners, provincial autonomy, repealing of the repressive laws imposed by the government. However, after the death of C.R. Das in 1925 they drifted towards a policy of cooperation with the government. This led to dissension and the party broke up in 1926.