The reasons for the participation of various social classes and groups in Civil Disobedience Movement are as follows:
i. Rich peasants- rich peasant communities like patidars of Gujrat & the jats of Uttar Pradesh joined the movement because, being producers of commercial crops they were hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices. Due to the refusal of the government to reduce the revenue demand made them fight against high revenues.
ii. Poor peasants- joined the movement because they found it difficult to pay rent. They wanted the unpaid rent to the landlord to be remitted.
iii. Business class- they reacted against colonial policies that restricted activities because they were keen on expanding their business and for this they wanted protection against imports of foreign goods. They thought that Swaraj would cancel colonial restrictions and trade would flourish without restrictions.
iv. Industrial working class- they did not participate in large numbers except in the Nagpur region. Some workers did participate in, selectively adopting some of the Gandhian programme, like boycott of foreign goods, as a part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.
v. Women- there were large scale participation of women in the movement. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail.
