Not all social groups were moved by the abstract concept of Swaraj. Support the statement in the light of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Thousands of people in different parts of the country broke the salt laws and boycotted foreign cloth. Liquor shops were picketed by women who participated in protest marches and manufactured salt. But there were many social groups that? did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. These were as given below: Untouchables : Untouchables or dalits or oppressed for long had been ignored by the Congress because of the fear of offending the sanatanis, the conservative high caste Hindus. The result was that the dalit leaders organised themselves and demanded reserved seats in educational institutions and separate electorates for legislature councils. They thought that political empowerment would solve their problems. Dalit participation, was, therefore limited particularly in Maharashtra and Nagpur region where their organisation was strong. Muslim participation : After the Non-Cooperation Movement, a large section of Muslim felt alienated from the Congress. Relations between Hindus and Muslims had wors-ened. There were communal riots in various cities. However, efforts were made to bring two communities closer by solving the question of representation. But due to failure of these efforts, there was an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust between these two communities. Thus, large sections of Muslims remained alienated from the Congress and did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. They feared that the culture and identity of minorities would be in danger under the domination of a Hindu majority.
