During the Civil Disobedience Movement, in the North-Western Frontier Province, the Government continued its severe repression against the non-violent Khudai Khidmatgars (servants of God), also known as Red Shirts, because of the colour of their shirts, and the peasants they led against the Government’s policy of extracting revenue through cruel methods and torture.

Their leader, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, was arrested and Peshawar district was occupied by the army.