ested. News of this incident spread. Gandhi realized that people didn’t understand the satyagraha persuasion should be nonviolent. He punished himself by fasting for three days. Then came the terrible massacre at Amritsar. The Indian community held a meeting the next day in a large, enclosed courtyard. A massive amount of people surrounded the area. Instead of canceling the meeting, General Reginald Dyer ordered his soldiers to fire at the crowd. For ten minutes the soldiers fired until they ran out of ammunition. Nearly 400 men, women and children were killed, and 11,000 wounded. Gandhi was shocked by the brutality of the British army. He lost all loyalty he had for the British and felt they didn’t have the right to govern. In 1920, Gandhi became president of the All-India Home Rule League. This League wanted independence from the Empire. He also became the leader of the Indian National Congress. He started a massive program of non-cooperation against the British. Cotton cloth made in Britain was boycotted and clothes made of foreign material were burned on bonfires. Hand spinning and weaving were used to made clothes and to remove foreign influence. “Gandhi believed that spinning represented economic progress, national unity and independence from the Empire.” (Hunter, 21). Therefore he spun daily for two hours. The Indian National Congress, led by Gandhi, called on the Indian Soldiers and civilians to quit British Government service. By 1922, 30,000 people, including nearly all Congress Leaders, had been imprisoned for acts of civil disobedience. Then twenty-two policemen who had attacked stragglers of a protest march were viciously slaughtered. Gandhi called of the campaign because he realized that people still didn’t understand satyagraha. He fasted again to punish himself for the violence that occurred. He was then put on trial and accused of causing the chaos. In court, Gandh...
