Knowledge Nugget: 5 crucial April events in Indian history every UPSC aspirant should know

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Key takeaways:

#1 Dandi March

— The march to Dandi, which began from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12, culminated on April 5, 1930. The 24-day march was a tax resistance campaign against the British salt monopoly, which began with breaking the salt law on April 6.

— Based on Gandhi’s principle of non-violence or Satyagraha, the march marked the inauguration of the civil disobedience movement.

— The 1882 Salt Act gave the British a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. Even though salt was freely available on the coasts of India, Indians were forced to buy it from the colonisers. Gandhi decided that if there was any one product through which the civil disobedience could be inaugurated, then it was salt.

— Gandhi reached Dandi on April 5. The following day (6th April), early morning, he proceeded along with the other marchers to the sea, where he picked up lumps of natural salt lying in a small pit. The act was symbolic, but was hugely covered by the press, and was the beginning of several other acts of civil disobedience in other parts of India.

— In Bengal, for instance, volunteers led by Satish Chandra Dasgupta walked from Sodepur Ashram to the village of Mahisbathan to make salt. K.F Nariman in Bombay led another group of marchers to Haji Ali Point, where they prepared salt at a nearby park. The anti-chowkidari (village police) tax along with non-payment of rent was followed in the raiyatwadi areas.

— In the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as the Frontier Gandhi, raised a band of non-violent volunteers known as the Khudai Khidmatgars (Red Shirts), who played an active role in the movement.

#2 Mahatma Jotirao Phule

— The Government of India is commemorating the 200th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule through year-long celebrations from April 2026 to April 2027.

— Phule was born on April 11, 1827, and belonged to the Mali caste of gardeners and vegetable farmers. He was bestowed with the title of Mahatma on May 11, 1888 by a Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar.

— Phule, along with his wife Savitribai Phule and his followers, formed Satyashodhak Samaj (The Truth-Seeker’s Society) in order to attain equal social and economic benefits for the lower castes in Maharashtra.

— Phule wrote Gulamgiri (1873), an account of the plight of ‘untouchables’ in India. He increasingly used the word ‘Dalit’ (‘untouchables’ or broken people) into the lexicon of anti-caste movements and promulgated his version of the Aryan invasion theory.

— Other important works of Phule include: Shetkaryacha Asood (1883), Sarvajaneek Satyadharma Pustak, and Brahmnanche Kasab.

#3  Jallianwala Bagh massacre

— According to many historians, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a turning point in India’s relationship with their British colonisers, and thus a pivotal moment in the course of India’s struggle for independence.

— On April 13, 1919, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on a large gathering of people in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. The gathering was held to discuss and protest against the confinement of Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two leaders fighting for Independence, and the implementation of the Rowlatt Act.

— Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a global personality, returned his knighthood in protest. Addressing Viceroy Chelmsford, he wrote: “I wish to stand, shorn, of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings.”

— Within months Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation – Khilafat Movement — the first pan-India movement for India’s independence. He wrote in an editorial published in October that year: “No government deserves respect which holds cheap the liberty of its subjects.” (“A Punjab Victim”, Young India, 1919).

#4 Ambedkar Jayanti

— Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated every year on April 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar. Born in 1891 belonging to the Mahar caste, Ambedkar experienced severe caste discrimination throughout his life.

— This day is also known as Equality Day, as Dr Ambedkar spent his life fighting for the rights of women, labour, and oppressed communities in India – eradicating social discrimination and thereby advocating equality for all the citizens of India in the eyes of the law.

— The Mahad Satyagraha of 1927 was the first major collective protest of the Dalits under the stewardship of Ambedkar. It is considered to be the “foundational event” of the Dalit movement. This was the first time that the community collectively displayed its resolve to reject the caste system and assert their human rights.

— Ambedkar championed education as a way to empowerment and societal progress and set up the ‘Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha’ in 1923 to spread education amongst the marginalised communities.

— Annihilation of Caste, a critique of the caste system and calls for its complete dismantling, was one of the most influential texts of Ambedkar on social equality. His other works include: The Untouchables, Who Were the Shudras, States and Minorities, and Buddha and His Dhamma.

— He also wrote books on economics namely, Administration and Finance of the East India Company, The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India and The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution.

#5 First Battle of Panipat

— Panipat, in the state of Haryana, was the scene of three pivotal battles in Indian history. The First Battle of Panipat was fought on 21 April 1526 between Ibrahim Lodhi, Sultan of Delhi, and the Timurid warlord Zaheeruddin Babur.

— This laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India after its first ruler, Babur, and ended the rule of the Delhi Sultanate, led by the Lodi dynasty.

— According to the NCERT, this battle relied heavily on gunpowder, field artillery, and matchlock guns, which had recently been introduced in warfare in India.

— The Second Battle of Panipat, in 1556, cemented Mughal rule when Akbar fought off a threat from the king Hemu ‘Vikramaditya’.

— The Third Battle of Panipat was fought between Maratha forces and invading armies of Afghan general Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1761. The Marathas were defeated in the battle, with 40,000 of their troops killed, while Abdali’s army is estimated to have suffered around 20,000 casualties.

Ninety years later, Lodhi Garden, as it has been known since Independence, has become a refuge for those who want to go on a peaceful morning walk. (Tashi Tobgyal)

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Mahavir – Jainism philosophy

1. On the last day of March (30-31st March, 2026), Mahavir Jayanti, or Mahaveer Janma Kalyanak, one of the most important festivals of Jainism, marking the birth of Lord Mahavir, was celebrated. Also known as Vardhamana, Lord Mahavir established the fundamental principles of Jainism, which continue to guide millions of followers today.

2. Lord Mahavir was born to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala in Kundalagrama in Bihar in 599 BCE. His mother, Trishala, was the sister of Licchavi chief Chetaka. He renounced his royalty and spent 12 years as an ascetic away from all kinds of worldly pleasures at the age of 30.

3. Mahavir spent 30 years travelling across India to teach his philosophy of Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (chastity), and Aparigraha (non-attachment), which later became the fundamental principles of Jainism.

4. The Jaina doctrine of anekantavada (manifold nature of reality) and syadavada (the doctrine of maybe) insists that reality cannot be grasped entirely as it is complex and has multiple aspects. Everything that exists has three aspects – substance (dravya), quality (guna), and mode (paryaya).

5. The triratna (three gems) of Jainism, also called the path of liberation, consists of right faith (samyag-darshana), right knowledge (samyag-jnana), and right conduct (samyag-charitra).

Post Read Questions

(1) During the Indian Freedom Struggle, why did Rowlatt Act arouse popular indignation? (UPSC CSE 2009)

(a) It curtailed the freedom of religion 

(b) It suppressed the Indian traditional education 

(c) It authorized the government to imprison people without trial 

(d) It curbed the trade union activities 

(2) Consider the following statements:

1. B.R. Ambedkar established all India Scheduled Castes Federation and the Independent Labour Party.

2. Satya Shodhak Samaj organized an anti-caste movement in Maharashtra.

3. The First Battle of Panipat was fought between Ibrahim Lodhi and Zaheeruddin Babur.

Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

(Also Read: How the Independence movement altered the ‘dream’ of a casteless society )

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