Explain the attitude of the Indian merchants and the industrialists towards the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The attitude of the Indian merchants and the industrialists towards the Civil Disobedience Movement was:

1. During the 1st World War Indian merchants and industrialists had made huge profits and became powerful.
2. They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods and a Rupee Sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage import.
3. To organize business interest they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress (in 1920) and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries - FICCI ( in 1927).
4. They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.
5. Most businessmen came to see Swaraj as a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.
6. After the failure of the Roundtable conference, business groups were no longer uniformly enthusiastic.
7. They were apprehensive of the spread of militant activities and worried about prolonged disruption of business.