The Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement
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| Procession at Bangalore during Quit India movement by Indian National Congress. |
Great fight for freedom
The 'Quit India Movement' or 'August Revolution was the last great battle of the Indian independence movement', which shook the foundations of British rule. The Indians felt deceived when the Cripps Mission returned from India. On the other hand, due to the Second World War, the circumstances were becoming very serious. Japan successfully seized Singapore, Malaya and Burma and started moving towards India, on the other hand, due to the war, prices of all goods were increasing in a big way, which caused dissatisfaction in the Indian public against the British power. Seeing the increasing dominance of Japan, on 5 July 1942, Gandhiji wrote in Harijan, "Englishmen! Do not leave India for Japan, but leave India systematically for Indians."
Arrival of Cripps Mission
By this time the Second World War had broken out, and British forces were defeated in South-East Asia. At one time it was also believed that Japan would attack India. Allied countries, America, Russia and China were continuously pressurizing Britain to take the initiative to get the support of Indians in the hour of crisis. To accomplish this objective, he sent Stafford Cripps to India in March 1942. The British government did not want to give India complete independence. It wanted to keep India's security in their own hands and were also in favor of keeping the Governor-General's veto rights as before. Indian delegates rejected all the proposals of the Cripps Mission in a big way.Cripps Mission Date : From 22 March to 11 April 1942, Stafford Cripps, a member of the War Cabinet, was dispatched to India to discuss the British Government's Draft Declaration on the Constitution of India with representative Indian leaders from all parties.
After the failure of the Cripps Mission, the meeting of the Indian National Congress Committee was held in Bombay on August 8, 1942 AD. It was decided that the British would have to leave India in any case. India will protect itself and remain against imperialism and fascism. If the British leave India, then a temporary government will be formed. The 'Civil Disobedience Movement' will be waged against British rule and its leader will be Gandhiji.
Wardha proposal
Gandhiji challenged the Congress in the event of not accepting his proposal and said that "I will create a bigger movement than the Congress from the sand of the country". At the Wardha meeting of the Congress Working Committee on 14 July 1942, Gandhiji's view was fully supported that the constitutional deadlock in India could be overcome only when the British left India. In Wardha, the Congress Working Committee passed the 'Quit British Resolution India'. 'Tilak Day' was celebrated in Allahabad on 1 August 1942, before the public announcement of the movement. On this occasion, Jawaharlal Nehru said- "We are going to play with fire. We are going to use the double-edged sword, which can hurt us in the back."All India Congress meeting
During the movement, on August 8, 1942, the meeting of the 'All India Congress' was held in the historic 'Gwalia Tank' of Bombay. Gandhiji's historic 'Quit India proposal' was accepted by the Congress Working Committee on August 8, 1942, after some amendments. Along with the proposal to support the war, the government was challenged to take immediate steps. It was said that "With the declaration of India's independence, a permanent government will be formed and independent India will become a friend of the United Nations." The Muslim League was promised that a constitution would be made in which the units joining the Sangh would get maximum autonomy and the remaining rights would remain with them. The last part of the resolution was- "The country has expressed its desire against the imperialist government. Now there is absolutely no justification to return it from that point. So the committee nonviolently, to launch a mass struggle under the leadership of Gandhiji on a wide plane. Accepts the offer. "The motto 'Do or Die'
"A country cannot be free unless the people living in it trust each other."
These words of Gandhiji had a magic effect on the people of India and they jumped into the freedom struggle with new zeal, new courage, new resolve, new faith, determination and confidence. The voice of 'do or die' resonated in every corner of the country, and the same slogan shramana started around.
Arrest of leaders
On 9 August, under the 'Operation Zero Hour', all important Congress leaders were arrested. Gandhiji was placed in the 'Aga Khan Mahal' of Poona and other members of the Congress Executive in the fort of Ahmednagar. By declaring Congress as an illegal body, the British government confiscated the property of this institution and banned the processions together. This act of government created public outrage. The public took out a procession and held meetings on their own. This was the first movement during the independence movement, which reached a climax even after the leadership was not deficient. When the government resorted to lathi and bandook to suppress the movement, the movement of the movement changed to rampage. Rail tracks were uprooted in many places and stations were set on fire. Workers jointly went on strike in Bombay, Ahmedabad and Jamshedpur. In the United Provinces, temporary governments were established during the 'Quit India Movement' in Ballia and Basti, Satara in Bombay, Midnapore in Bengal and some parts of Bihar. The longest government in these autonomous parallel governments was till Satara. The rebellion here was led by Nana Patil. The most important leader of Satara, Y.B. Wanted The first parallel government was formed under the leadership of Chitu Pandey in Ballia.The coalition national government in Tamluk or Tamralipti in Midnapore district of Bengal continued till 1944 AD. The government here is known as ethnic government. This ethnic government, formed under the leadership of Satish Sawant, gave grants to schools and formed the 'Armed Power Corps Military Organization'. The areas most affected by this movement were Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madras and Bombay. Leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Aruna Asif Ali led this movement by going underground. In Bombay, Usha Mehta and some of her colleagues broadcast Congress radio for several months. Ram Manohar Lohia regularly spoke on the radio. In November 1942 AD, the police discovered and seized it.
Gandhiji's influence
Quit India Movement was originally a mass movement, which included people from every caste category in India. This movement attracted a large number of youth towards themselves. The youth left their colleges and started adopting the path of jail. During the time when the Congress leaders were in jail, at the same time Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his companions of the Muslim League started spreading their sphere of influence. In the same year, the Muslim League got an opportunity to establish its identity in Punjab and Sindh, where it did not yet have a special identity. In June 1944, when the World War was about to end, Gandhiji was released from prison. After his release from jail, he met several times with Jinnah to bridge the gap between the Congress and the Muslim League and tried to convince them. At the same time in 1945, a 'Labor Party' government was formed in Britain. This government was completely in favor of Indian independence. At the same time, Viceroy Lord Wavell held several meetings between Congress and Muslim League representatives.Criticism of the movement
The 'communist party' in the then Indian political parties criticized this movement. The Muslim League also criticized the 'Quit Movement in India', stating that "the movement is not the goal of Indian independence, but the establishment of a Hindu empire in India, hence this movement is fatal for Muslims." The Muslim League and the Liberals also did not like this movement. Sir Tezbahadur Sapru described this proposal as 'unconstrained and untimely'. Bhimrao Ambedkar termed it as a 'complete and insane act of unresponsiveness'. The 'Hindu Mahasabha' and the 'Akali Movement' also criticized it. This movement could not succeed completely due to lack of organization and organization, loyalty of high officials working in government service and lack of means and power with the activists.Cabinet mission failure
Gandhiji had prepared the outline to run the 'Quit India Movement' in a very planned manner. He said, "We will either liberate India or disappear in this effort." In India, in the beginning of 1946 AD, fresh elections were held for the provincial legislatures.The Congress was a huge success in these elections. The Muslim League won an overwhelming majority on seats reserved for Muslims. At the same time in the summer of 1946 AD, the Cabinet Mission reached India. The Mission tried to persuade the Congress and the Muslim League on a federal system in which limited autonomy was given to various provinces within India. But this attempt of cabinet mission proved unsuccessful. Due to the failure of this mission, Jinnah announced a direct action day in support of the League's demand for the establishment of Pakistan. The day of August 16, 1946 AD was fixed for it, but the struggle started in Calcutta on the same day. The violence spread from Calcutta to Bengal, Bihar and Punjab. Hindus were targeted in many places, Muslims were targeted in many places.
Effect of movement
The 'Quit India Movement' may not have made India independent, but its far-reaching results were pleasant. Therefore, it was called "the last great effort for the independence of India". After the revolt of August 1942, the question was to decide only what should be the form of government after independence? In view of the vastness of the 1942 movement, the British were convinced that they had lost the legitimate right to rule. This movement made many countries of the world stand with the Indian public. The then Marshal of China, Chiang Kai-shek, wrote in a letter to President Roosevelt of the United States of America on July 25, 1942, "The best policy for the British is to give India complete independence." Roosevelt also supported it. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wrote about the movement- "There has never been such an uprising in the history of British Raj in India, as happened in the last three years, we are proud of the response of the people."On February 13, 1943, the government laid the full blame for the rebellions during the Quit India Movement on Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress. Gandhiji, rejecting these baseless faults, said that "my statement was within the limits of non-violence". He said that- "Every non-violent soldier of freedom struggle should stick a piece of paper or cloth with the slogan of 'do or die', so that if he dies while doing satyagraha, then he should use other elements on the basis of this sign To be separated, who do not believe in non-violence. " Gandhiji demanded a fair investigation from the government to prove the charges leveled against him. On February 10, 1943, he started a 21-day fast after the government did not pay attention to this. On the thirteenth day of fasting, Gandhiji's condition became very delicate. The government of British India did not free him and began to wait for his death. Some historians believe that sandalwood was also arranged for his last rites in 'Aga Khan Mahal'. Sir Modi, Sir AN, members of the Viceroy's council, in protest against this barbaric policy of the government. Sarkar and Ane resigned.
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