Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 primarily due to the Chauri Chaura incident. In this incident, a peaceful demonstration in Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh, turned violent when the crowd clashed with police and set a police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. Gandhiji was a staunch believer in non-violence (ahimsa), and this event convinced him that the people were not yet ready for a mass struggle based on satyagraha. He felt the movement was losing its moral high ground and turning violent. Fearing a cycle of further violence and brutal government repression, he believed it was essential to halt the movement and focus on training satyagrahis in the discipline of non-violent resistance before launching another mass campaign.