Explanation: Swarajists and No-changers

The ‘Swarajists’ section was led by C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru, and Ajmal Khan. They wanted an end to the boycott of legislative councils so that the nationalists could enter them to expose the basic weaknesses of these assemblies and use these councils as an arena of political struggle to arouse popular enthusiasm.

In other words, they advocate ‘end or mend’ these councils, i.e., if the government did not respond to the nationalists’ demands, then they would obstruct the working of these councils.

The other school of thought led by C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, and M.A. Ansari came to be known as the ‘No changers’.

They opposed council entry and ‘end or mend strategy’. They advocated concentration on constructive work, and continuation of boycott and non-cooperation, and quiet preparation for the resumption of the suspended civil disobedience programme.

The No-Changers argued that parliamentary work would lead to neglect of constructive work, loss of revolutionary zeal and to political corruption. Constructive work would prepare everyone for the next phase of civil disobedience.

Source: NCERT