Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

Being conscientiously of opinion that the Bills known as the Indian Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill No. I of 1919 and the Criminal Law (Emergency Powers) Bill No. II of 1919 are unjust, subversive of the principles of liberty and justice, and destructive of the elementary right of individuals on which the safety of the community, as a whole, and the State itself is based, we solemnly affirm that in the event of these Bills becoming law and until they are withdrawn, we shall refuse civility to obey these laws and such other laws as a Committee to be hereafter appointed may think fit, and we further affirm that in this struggle we will faithfully follow truth and refrain from violence to life, person or property.

—The Bombay Chronicle, March 4, 1920

(a) What name was given to the two Indian Criminal Law Bills mentioned in the excerpt above? Why have they been described as unjust?

(b) Which movement was started in 1920 after these bills were passed in the Central Legislature? State any two objectives of this movement.

(c) What was the British government's reaction to the movement? How did the movement end?

(a) The two Indian Criminal Law Bills mentioned in the excerpt above were collectively known as the Rowlatt Act.

The Rowlatt Act has been described as unjust because it authorised the Government to imprison any person without trial and convict him in a court. It implied:

1. Arrest of a person without warrant.
2. In camera trial (trial in seclusion).
3. Restrictions on movements of individuals.
4. Suspension of the Right of Habeas Corpus.

(b) Non-Cooperation Movement was launched in 1920 after Rowlatt Act was passed in the Central Legislature.

Two objectives of this movement are as follows:

1. To attain self government within the British Empire if possible and outside if necessary.
2. Annulment of the Rowlatt Act and remedying the 'Punjab wrong', i.e., the British Government should express its regret on the happenings in Punjab, particularly in Amritsar.

(c) The British Government's reaction to the movement was as follows:

1. All important leaders except Gandhiji were arrested and sent to jail.
2. Processions and public meetings were banned.
3. The Khilafat and the Congress volunteer organisations were declared illegal.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was called off by Mahatma Gandhi in February 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident, where a violent mob set fire to a police station in Uttar Pradesh, killing 22 policemen. As Gandhi believed strictly in non-violence, he suspended the movement immediately.