Independence Day of 1930
Also called: Purna Swaraj Day · Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement"
Meaning
The Congress declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as its goal at its Lahore session in December 1929. It then asked Indians to celebrate 26 January 1930 as Independence Day. People hoisted the national flag and took a pledge. The pledge said that freedom was an inalienable right of Indians, meaning a right that can never be taken away. It also said that people may change or abolish a government that oppresses them.
Example
On 26 January 1930, meetings across India read out the pledge and raised the flag. But the turnout was thin. Gandhi saw that people needed a real everyday grievance to rally around, and so he chose the salt tax for his Dandi March in March 1930.
Don't confuse with
- Republic Day (26 January 1950): the day the Constitution came into force. The date was chosen to honour the 1930 Independence Day.
- Independence Day (15 August 1947): the day India actually became free.
Related concepts
- Swaraj Party
- C.R. Das
- Motilal Nehru
- No-changers
- Constructive programme
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- Subhas Chandra Bose
- Bardoli satyagraha 1928
- Vallabhbhai Patel
- Simon Commission