The Jalandhar district in Punjab was one of the major centers of the Non-Cooperation movement. In 1921, the district witnessed the emergence of a new initiative called the Panchayat movement, with the objective of cutting away the dependency on the imperial court.
The boycott of government offices and institutions was a significant feature of the Non-Cooperation movement. To fulfill this aim, the Jalandhar District Committee of the Indian National Congress came up with the Panchayat movement in March 1921. The purpose of this initiative was to settle private disputes between the people themselves rather than resorting to the imperial court. This scheme became more successful than expected. It provided people with speedy and efficient justice and saved them from the unnecessary expenses of litigation filing. The success of this panchayat system annoyed the authorities. The Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar issued an order proclaiming all such panchayats as illegal and instructed the police to take strict actions against them. The local officials notified the village leaders not to hold any panchayat meetings without prior approval. However, these measures were not enough to restrict the movement's growing popularity. The immense support for the movement can be gauged from the fact that the Deputy Commissioner’s proposal to the Jalandhar District Board to prohibit such panchayats had to be withdrawn due to lack of support.
Through measures like the Panchayat movement, the Indian National Congress successfully communicated the message of nationalism was effectively communicated to the masses.
Source: Indian Culture Portal