Reasons for the launching of the Non-Cooperation Movement:
(i) Indians were very hopeful that their hardships would end after the First World War was over. But that did not happen.
(ii) The enforcement of Rowlatt Act in 1919: The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. Mahatma Gandhi launched a movement against these unjust laws. But seeing the violence spread, he called off the movement. This had been a widespread movement no doubt but was limited to cities and towns. Gandhiji now wanted to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
(iii) The Khilafat issue: The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. As a result, a harsh peace treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor—the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).
Mahatma Gandhi decided to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.
In his famous book Hind Swaraj he declared that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation. He was sure that if Indians refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse and swaraj would come.
Hence, he started Non-Cooperation Movement with full vigour.
