Non-cooperation was a unique form of protest that combined denial, renunciation, and self-discipline. As Louis Fischer wrote, it was "negative enough to be peaceful but positive enough to be effective." Gandhiji called for a renunciation of all voluntary association with the British Government, asking Indians to stop attending schools, colleges, and law courts, and refuse to pay taxes.

The movement took various forms across different sections of society. Students stopped going to government schools and colleges, while lawyers boycotted British courts. The working class went on strike extensively—official figures show 396 strikes in 1921, involving 600,000 workers and a loss of seven million workdays.

In rural areas, peasants and tribes expressed their protest through violation of forest laws and refusal to pay taxes. Hill tribes in northern Andhra breached forest laws, farmers in Awadh refused to pay taxes, and peasants in Kumaun declined to carry loads for colonial officials. These protests were sometimes carried out in defiance of local nationalist leadership, as people interpreted non-cooperation in ways that suited their own interests.

The impact was significant—the British Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since the Revolt of 1857. The movement demonstrated how non-cooperation could effectively challenge colonial rule through peaceful denial and collective action. However, Gandhiji called off the movement after the violent incident at Chauri Chaura in February 1922, where peasants torched a police station, insisting that no provocation could justify brutal murder.