Flag Satyagraha (Marathi:झेंडा सत्याग्रह) was a campaign of peacefulcivil disobedience inBritish-ruled India during theIndian independence movement that focused on exercising the right and freedom to hoist the nationalist flag and challenge the legitimacy of theBritish Rule inIndia through the defiance of laws prohibiting the hoisting of nationalist flags and restricting civil freedoms. Flag Satyagrahas were conducted most notably in the city ofJabalpur andNagpur in 1923 but also in many other parts of India.
The hoisting of nationalist flags over private and public buildings (including sometimes government buildings) had been a common nationalist act of defiance, especially with theRevolutionary movement for Indian independence and the members of the revolutionaryGadar Party. Such acts of defiance gained currency across India with the rise of nationalist leaders such,Bipin Chandra Pal andLala Lajpat Rai.
TheFlag Satyagraha was a term coined to describe the hoisting of the flag as a defiance against British-imposed restrictions on civil freedom and also the legitimacy of British rule in India altogether. Proliferating during theNon-cooperation movement (1920-1922) and a prominent element of theSalt Satyagraha (1930) and theQuit India movement (1942), this means of revolt combined the hoisting of the nationalist flag with the technique ofSatyagraha — non-violent civil disobedience — as pioneered byMahatma Gandhi. Nationalists were encouraged to violate the law and hoist the flag without resisting arrest or retaliating against police.
Flag satyagrahas were one of the most common acts of defiance during the nationalist rebellions led by Gandhi and theIndian National Congress throughout the struggle. The nationalist flag was regularly heralded by large processions and nationalist crowds. On 31 December 1929 the Congress concluded the adoption of thePurna Swaraj declaration of independence with Congress PresidentJawaharlal Nehru hoisting the nationalist flag along the banks of theRavi River. The flag was also hoisted at the commencement of the Quit India rebellion on 7 August 1942 atGowalia Tank inMumbai (then Bombay).
The flag satyagraha of Nagpur (which was initiated bySardar Vallabhbhai Patel) andJabalpur occurred over several months in 1923. The arrest of nationalist protestors demanding the right to hoist the flag caused an outcry across India especially as Gandhi had recently been arrested. Nationalist leaders such asSardar Vallabhbhai Patel,Jamnalal Bajaj,Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, Dr.Rajendra Prasad andVinoba Bhave organised the revolt and thousands of people from different regions including as far south as the Princely state of Travancore[1] traveled to Nagpur and other parts of theCentral Provinces (now inMaharashtra andMadhya Pradesh) to participate in civil disobedience. In the end, the British negotiated an agreement with Patel and other Congress leaders permitting the protestors to conduct their march unhindered and obtaining the release of all those arrested.
Other notable flag satyagrahas were organised inMysore (now inKarnataka) in 1938 known as Shivapur Dhwaja Satyagraha. Under leadership of T.Siddalingaih president of Mysore Congress. As a part of state-wide Satyagraha organised byIndian National Congress leaders, the flag was hoisted atVidurashwatha in Kolar district of Mysore state, 33 people were killed and more than 100 injured in open police firing. This incidence happened on 25 April 1938 also called as Vidurashwatha massacre.[2]
Several commemorations and reenactments of the rebellions have occurred as part of anniversary celebrations, theIndependence Day (15 August) andRepublic Day (26 January).