Great Trial of 1922
Also called: Gandhi's sedition trial · Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement"
Meaning
The Great Trial was Gandhi's trial for sedition in March 1922 at Ahmedabad. Sedition means words or acts meant to turn people against the government. He was charged over articles he wrote in his paper Young India. The arrest came weeks after he had called off the Non-Cooperation Movement following the violence at Chauri Chaura. In court, Gandhi did not defend himself. He openly said he had opposed British rule and asked for the heaviest punishment.
Example
Justice C.N. Broomfield sentenced Gandhi to six years in prison. Even so, the judge called him "a great patriot and a leader", and said he lived a noble and even saintly life. Gandhi was released early, in February 1924.
Don't confuse with
- Bhagat Singh's trial: a trial for revolutionary violence, which ended in his execution in 1931. Gandhi's trial was for non-violent sedition.
Related concepts
- Hind Swaraj
- Swaraj
- Khilafat movement
- Ali brothers
- Caliphate
- Jazirat-ul-Arab
- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
- Calcutta special session 1920
- Nagpur session 1920
- Non-cooperation movement