Which was the first nationwide movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi and why?

The first nationwide movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi was the Non-Cooperation movement. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the reason for its launch.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:

Gandhi gave a call to observe 6th April 1919 as a day of “humiliation and prayer” and hartal (strike) in a bid to protest the Rowlatt Act. The government was determined to repress the national uprising. On 13 April 1919, an unarmed crowd gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest the arrest of popular leaders. General Dyer surrounded the area by his army, closed the exit and instructed his troops to open fire on the crowd which led to the death of thousands. This incident met with great criticism from all over the country with Gandhi launching the Non-Cooperation movement on 1 January 1921.

Non-Cooperation movement:

The features of the non-cooperation movement were as follows:

1. It was supposed to be a nonviolent protest based on the ideas of ‘ahimsa.’

2. People were asked to boycott government institutions, schools, law courts, etc.

3. The concept of ‘swadeshi’ was introduced, and there was large-scale boycott of foreign cloth.

4. Voters boycotted the elections; Congress withdrew from it.

5. The Tilak Swaraj Fund was started to finance the Non-Cooperation movement and within six months over a crore of rupees were subscribed.

Later, Gandhiji had called off the non-cooperation movement because of the Chauri Chaura incident. This incident occurred in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. A large number of protesters participating in the Non-Cooperation movement were attacked by the police. In retaliation, the police station was set on fire killing approximately 22 policemen. Gandhiji was strictly against violence, so he halted the movement abruptly.