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The Chauri Chaura incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province, British India on 5 February 1922, when a large group of protesters participating in the Non-cooperation movement turned violent, leading to police opening fire. In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants. The incident led to the deaths of three civilians and 22policemen. The Indian National Congress halted the Non-cooperation Movement on the national level as a direct result of this incident. ==Background== In the early 1920s, Indians, led by Mahatma Gandhi, were engaged in a nationwide non-violent movement that later became known as the non-cooperation movement. Using non-violent methods of civil disobedience known as ''Satyagraha'', protests were organized by the Indian National Congress to challenge oppressive government regulatory measures such as the Rowlatt Act with the ultimate goal of swaraj or independence from British rule. The incident Two days before the incident, on 2 February 1922, volunteers participating in the Non-cooperation Movement protested against high meat prices in the marketplace. The demonstrators were beaten back by local police. Several of their leaders were arrested and put in the lockup at the Chauri Chaura police station. In response, a protest against the police was called for 4 February, to be held in the local marketplace.〔Event, Metaphor, Memory - Chauri Chaura 1922-92 by Shahid Amin〕 On 4 February, approximately 2,000 to 2,500 protesters assembled and began marching towards the market at Chauri Chaura. They had gathered to picket a liquor shop in the market place. One of their leaders was arrested. Part of the crowd gathered in front of the local police station shouting slogans demanding the release of their leader. Armed police were dispatched to control the situation while the crowd marched towards the market and started shouting anti-government slogans. In an attempt to frighten and disperse the crowd, the police fired warning shots into the air. This only agitated the crowd who began to throw stones at the police.〔〔〔 With the situation getting out of control, the Indian sub-inspector in charge ordered the police to open fire on the advancing crowd, killing three and wounding several others. Reports vary on the reason for the police retreat, with some claiming that the constables ran out of ammunition while others claimed that the crowd's unexpectedly assertive reaction to the gunfire was the cause. In the ensuing chaos, the heavily outnumbered police fell back to the shelter of the police ''chowki'' while the angry mob advanced. Infuriated by the gunfire into their ranks, the crowd took revenge by setting the ''chowki'' ablaze, killing the 23 Indian policeman trapped inside. Most were burned to death though several appear to have been killed by the crowd at the entrance to the chowki and their bodies thrown back into the fire. The death count is reported variously in the literature as 22 or 23 policemen killed, possibly due to the subsequent death of an additional burn victim.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chauri Chaura incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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