Quit India Movement

Causes of the Quit India Movement (1942)

• Failure of the Cripps Mission: The failure of the mission to resolve the constitutional deadlock revealed that the British government had not changed its attitude regarding constitutional advancement in India.
• Political Necessity: It was understood that continued silence would be equivalent to accepting the British right to decide India's fate without consulting its people.
• Economic Distress: Wartime conditions led to severe shortages of essential commodities like rice and salt, accompanied by a sharp rise in prices.
• British Reverses in Southeast Asia: News of British defeats in Southeast Asia and the possibility of a British collapse increased the public's willingness to express their discontent.
• Approaching Japanese Threat: Japanese troops were nearing the borders of India, creating a sense of urgency for Indian self-determination.
• Manner of British Evacuation: The evacuation from Malay and Burma significantly angered Indians; British Residents were evacuated while Indians were left behind for the Japanese. This created a fear that the British would similarly abandon India in the event of a Japanese invasion.
• British Policy of Repression: British provocation occurred even before the 'Quit India' resolution was passed, followed by intensive repression after its passage.

The 'Quit India' Resolution (July – August $1942$)

• Wardha Meeting (July $1942$): The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met at Wardha and resolved to authorize Gandhiji to lead a non-violent mass movement.
• Resolution Proponents: The resolution was proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Sardar Patel.
• Ratification at Gowalia Tank (August $8$, $1942$): The resolution was formally ratified at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in Bombay at Gowalia Tank. The meeting resolved to:
  • Demand an immediate end to British rule in India.
  • Ensure a free India could defend itself against Fascism and imperialism.
  • Form a provisional Government of India following British withdrawal.
  • Sanction a civil disobedience movement against British rule.
• Leadership: Gandhiji was officially named the leader of this struggle. He issued the famous call of "Do or Die," stating, "We shall either live in free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery."

Outbreak and Methods of Protest

• Operation Zero Hour: In the early hours of August $9$, $1942$, the government launched a sweep, arresting all top Congress leaders, including Gandhiji, Nehru, Patel, Maulana Azad, and Sarojini Naidu.
• Spontaneous Movement: With the AICC and Provincial Congress Committees (PCCs) banned and leaders imprisoned, the movement became a spontaneous outburst directed by the people themselves.
• Protest Methods:
  • Attacks on symbols of British authority: police stations, railway stations, and post offices.
  • Sabotage of infrastructure: cutting telegraph and telephone wires, disrupting railway lines, and cutting power lines.
  • Symbolic acts: hoisting the national flag on public buildings and offering arrest.
  • Communication: the emergence of 'patrikas' (newsletters).
  • Economic disruption: striking work and disrupting traffic.

Specific Instructions to Various Sections of Society

Gandhiji provided specific guidance for different groups to follow during the struggle:

• Government Servants: They were instructed not to resign from their positions but to openly declare their loyalty to the Congress.
• Soldiers: They were asked to remain at their posts but to refuse orders to fire on their own people.
• Princes: They were urged to accept the sovereignty of their own people rather than that of a foreign power.
• Princely States' People: Support the ruler only if he is anti-government and declare yourselves part of the Indian nation.
• Peasants: If zamindars were anti-government, peasants should pay a mutually agreed rent; if zamindars were pro-government, no rent should be paid.
• Students: They were encouraged to boycott schools and colleges. Many became couriers for underground networks and distributed illegal literature.

The Underground Movement and Resistance Leadership

• Underground Leaders: Prominent members included Achyut Patwardhan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram Manohar Lohiya, Sucheta Kriplani, Chotubahi Puranik, Biju Patnaik, and R.P. Goenka.
• Jayprakash Narayan: He played a pivotal role in the underground movement after his escape from Hazaribagh jail.
• Underground Radio: Usha Mehta started and broadcasted an underground Congress Radio from Bombay.
• Media Suppression: Publications like the National Herald and Harijan ceased publication for the duration of the struggle.
• Textile Strike: At Ahmedabad, a textile strike lasted for $3$ and a half months, leading the city to be called the "Stalingrad of India."

Parallel Governments (Prati Sarkars)

During the movement, parallel governments were established in several locations:

• Ballia (East U.P.): The first parallel government was established in August $1942$ under Chintu Pandey, who successfully secured the release of many Congress leaders.
• Tamluk (West Bengal): The Jatiya Sarkar existed from December $17$, $1942$, to September $1944$. Its activities included:
  • Cyclone relief work and grants to schools.
  • Redistributing paddy from the rich to the poor.
  • Organizing the Bhagini Sena Shibir and Vidyut-Vahinis (Lightning Armies).
  • Vidyut-Vahinis consisted of fighting branches, intelligence branches, and an ambulance corps (trained as doctors, nurses, and stretcher-bearers).
• Satara (Maharashtra): The Prati Sarkar functioned from August $1942$ until $1945$ under leaders like Nana Patil, Y.B. Chauhan, and Achyut Patwardhan. They established Kanyadan Mandals (peoples' courts) to dispense justice.

Patterns of Participation and Support

• Industrial Workers: Contributed via non-cooperation and significant strikes.
• Women: Played a proactive role; key figures included Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kripalani, and Usha Mehta.
• Businessmen: Provided economic support, shelter, and material help.
• Government Officials: Small officials like clerks and teachers supported the movement. Even some police officials passed secret information to activists.
• Pilots and Train Drivers: Assisted by delivering bombs and other materials.
• Zamindars: While the movement was generally pro-peasant, small zamindars participated, and even the Raja of Darbhanga supported the movement. Notably, there was a total lack of anti-zamindari violence.

Non-Participants and Opposition

• The Muslim League: Condemned the movement and supported British war efforts to increase their influence.
• The Hindu Mahasabha: Condemned the movement as "sterile, unmanly and injurious to the Hindu cause." Leaders like V.D. Sawarkar, B.S. Munje, and Shyama Prashad Mukherjee supported the war effort.
• Communist Party of India (CPI): Officially opposed the movement due to their support for the Allies (including the Soviet Union). Socialists later accused them of "treachery."
• RSS: Remained a non-participant.
• Note on Communalism: Despite no mass participation from the Muslim community, there was a complete absence of communal clashes during the movement.

Government Repression and Casualties

• State Violence: The government used lathi charges, floggings, firings, and burning of villages/Congress offices. Machine guns were used against demonstrating crowds.
• Legal Measures: Banning of the press and the imposition of the Defense of India rule.
• Prisoner Treatment: Prisoners were tortured, and punitive fines were levied on residents of areas where violence occurred.
• Statistics: By the end of $1943$, more than $90,000$ people were arrested and more than $1,000$ were killed in police firings. The scale of repression was compared to the events of $1857$.

Congress Stance on Violence and Gandhi's Fast

• Refusal to Condemn: The Congress and Gandhiji refused to take responsibility for the violence, holding the government's repression responsible for inciting the people.
• Gandhiji's Fast: On February $10$, $1943$, while in Aga Khan Palace, Gandhiji began a $21$-day fast to protest state violence. After $13$ days, his condition became critical.
• Political Fallout: The Viceroy refused to release him during the fast, leading to the resignation of three members of the Viceroy’s Executive Council: H.P. Mody, N.R. Sarkar, and M.S. Aney.
• Release: Lord Wavell, who became Viceroy in October $1943$, eventually released Gandhiji in $1944$.

Role of the Muslim League and Pakistan Day

• Consolidation: While Congress leaders were in jail, the League grew in influence, promising an "Islamic state" and a "peasant-utopia" to Muslim villagers.
• Pakistan Day: Observed on March $23$, $1943$, where Jinnah declared Pakistan the final national goal for Indian Muslims.
• Slogan: The League adopted the slogan "Divide and Quit."
• Electoral Growth: In $1937$, the League could not form a single ministry; by $1945$, it successfully formed ministries in five provinces.

Significance and Evaluation

• Erosion of Loyalty: The movement broke the illusion that the majority of Indians were loyal to British rule.
• Ultimate Aim: Independence became non-negotiable; Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) was established as the immediate agenda.
• Nationalism Depth: The struggle showed how deeply nationalism had reached the common people, who displayed unparalleled heroism despite brutal repression.
• Shift in British Policy: The British realized they could no longer rule India against the wishes of its people and began considering negotiated settlements over further confrontation.
• Legacy of Imprisonment: Imprisonment helped Congress avoid taking a public stand on the Japanese war issue, which could have been embarrassing when Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA reached the Indian border in $1944$.
• Conclusion: The movement officially ended following the Wavell Plan and the Shimla Conference in $1945$, which brought about the release of the leadership.