Mentor’s comment

• It is a direct question. It asks about the various streams of political thinking that had joined the freedom struggle during the Gandhian phase.
• In the intro, briefly state how the freedom struggle evolved differently during the Gandhian phase with different streams coming together in the national moment.
• In the body, list the different philosophies, political ideologies and various persons who joined the moment while maintaining its own existence within the moment and consequently enriching the moment. Mention various personalities, like- Madan Mohan Malviya (Nationalistic education system), Aurobindo Ghosh (Spiritualism), Subhash Chandra Bose (Socialism and Extremism), etc. Also mention the participation of various classes or groups like- Women participation, Working class’ participation, Student participation, Business class participation, etc.
• Conclude by mention how Gandhiji’s uniqueness in leadership lies in his ability to channelize such diverse participants in achieving freedom.

Answer:

The period between 1917 and 1947 is considered as Gandhian phase in the history of the Indian national movement. Gandhian Phase in Indian freedom struggle is undoubtedly remarkable because of the perspective Gandhiji provided to the masses and the way he guided the freedom fighters with the means of truth and non-violence.

But there were numerous other simultaneous factors that further strengthened Gandhi’s efforts and contributed to the nationalist movement.

Voices which strengthened and enriched the nationalist movement:

• Khilafat Movement (1919–24): pan-Islamic force in India that arose in 1919 in an effort to salvage the Ottoman caliph as a symbol of unity among the Muslim community in India during the British raj. The movement was initially bolstered by Gandhi’s noncooperation movement but fell apart after the abolition of the caliphate in 1924.

• Socialist Idea: In this phase, the idea of socialism emerges after the Russian Revolution. The leaders like JL Nehru and SC Bose inclined towards socialist ideology. INC supported the idea of Socialism in their work. INC supported the concept called the Planning Committee. The first attempt to develop a national plan for India came up in 1938 in the Haripur session of INC.

• Swarajists and the No-Changers: No-changers continued their constructive program of spinning, temperance, Hindu-Muslim unity, removal of untouchability, etc whereas Swarajists won the election of Central Legislative Assembly in November 1923 filling the political void while the national movement was regaining its strength.

• Hindu Nationalist: Hindu Mahasabha (1915) and RSS (1925) established themselves with nationalist ideas. They supported the extreme idea of communal nationalism.

• Revolutionaries: such as R.P. Bismil, C.S. Azad and Bhagat Singh among others took the responsibilities of informing people about a necessary revolution to uproot the British Empire. The Revolutionary Movement in Bengal led by Surya Sen is notable because of the role of revolutionary women who participated.

• Workers: Ahmedabad Satyagraha has led to the formation of the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association. They have become a crucial force for the freedom movement later. All the major congress led movements saw the participation of the working class in the form of railway strikes, industry strikes and many.
• Women from all over India were not left alone. They came forward and equally contributed to the national movement. Kasturba Gandhi, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Bhikaji Cama are some of the most prominent who assumed leadership at different fronts. Dharasana Satyagraha led by Sarojni Naidu stands as a famous example of women’s role in INM.
• Even the Business class participated by giving financial assistance and rejecting imported goods Every class, section, age group, political ideology emerged, came forward and contributed to the national movement. 

Conclusion

The Gandhian phase saw the enrichment of the National movement with wider public participation, which was missing during the moderate and extremist phase of the struggle. This multidimensional nature of the movement is one of the reasons for its success in 1947 when finally all the unheard voices till then were heard.