Individual Satyagraha, Quit India Movement and Independence with Partition
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressors, it must be demanded by the oppressed"
Martin Luther King Jr.
Ramgarh Session of INC (1940)
- President - Maulana Azad
- Congress reiterated its position on war (WWII) and declared that nothing sort of complete independence would be acceptable by the people of India.
- It also declared that Congress will resume Civil Disobedience Movement as soon as the organisation is fit enough for the purpose.
Pakistan resolution of Muslim League (1940)
- This historical resolution was passed in Lahore Session of Muslim League.
- In March 1940, Muslim League called for geographical grouping of contiguous areas where Muslims are in majority into an independent nation Pakistan.
Note - Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's Two Nation theory played a decisive role in the demand of a separate nation Pakistan.
August offer of Linlithgow
Hitler's advance and fall of Belgium, Holland and France put England into conciliatory mood. To get Indian's Cooperation in the war efforts, Viceroy Linlithgow made the August offer.
Proposals made by Linlithgow -
- Grant of responsible government to India.
- Expansion of executive council to include more Indians.
- Dominion status as the objective for India.
- Constitution of a war advisory council consisting of British and Indian leaders.
- No further Constitutional development would take place against the wishes of minorities.
- Recognition of Indians right to frame their own Constitution after the end of the war.
INC rejected the August offer.
Individual Satyagraha -
- It was a Civil Disobedience Movement but on individual level.
- It was not to seek independence immediately but to assert freedom of speech and expression.
- It was seen that mass movement may turn violent and Gandhi ji did not want Britain to be embarrassed in such a situation.
- Ahimsha (Non-Violence) was the centre piece of individual satyagraha and satyagrahis were choosed carefully.
- 1st Individual Satyagrahi - Vinoba Bhave
- 2nd Individual Satyagrahi - Jawahar Lal Nehru
- 3rd Individual Satyagrahi - Brahma Dutta
- 1st Individual Satyagrahi (from Bihar) - Sri Krishna Singh
- 1st Individual Satyagrahi (from Tamil Nadu) - T.S.S. Rajan
Dual purpose of Individual Satyagraha
- Giving strong expression to Indian people to generate strong political feeling.
- To give British government further opportunity to peacefully accept Indian's demand.
Cripps Mission (March 1942)
USA President Roosevelt along with Chiang Kai Shek and Winston Churchill came to India in February 1941. Roosevelt raised the question of Indian political reforms and he expressed sympathy towards India's aspiration for freedom.
As such Cripps Mission was sent in March 1942 to seek the full cooperation of Indians in World War II.
Draft proposal of Cripps Mission -
- Dominion Status for India.
- After the end of the war establishment of Constituent Assembly. Members of Constituent Assembly would be elected by provincial assemblies and nominated by he rulers of princely states.
- Pakistan demand was accommodated by the provision that any province which was not ready to accept the new Constitution would have the right to sign a separate agreement with the Britain regarding its future.
- For present, British would continue to control over the defence of the country.
The Congress objected on dominion status, nomination by princely states and the idea of partition (Pakistan).
Quit India Movement (1942)
Due to the failure of the Cripps Mission, country plunged into frustration and anger.
Moreover, there was a remarkable change in the attitude of Gandhi ji. He wrote in Harijan "leave India to the God if that is too much leave it to anarchy, I would risk it".
The historic meeting happened on 08 August 1942 at Gowalia tank, Bombay. Gandhi ji addressed the meeting and urged Indians to follow a non-violent Civil Disobedience Movement.
He told masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the British order. Gandhi ji also gave the famous exhortation, "Do or Die".
Next morning on 09 August 1942, in a single sweep all the major leaders were arrested. Government responded by gagging the press, banning Congress and Harijan. National Herald ceased their publication for the entire duration of the struggle. Martial law was not proclaimed but repression was as severe as it would have been under Martial law.
Underground Movement during Quit Indian Movement
Unable to function in open due to brutal government repression, underground networks began to emerge in various parts of the country.
It was carried out be leaders like Achyat Patwardhan, R.P. Goeka, Birju Patnaik, Ram Manohar Lohiya, Aruna Asaf Ali, Suchita Kriplani, Jay Prakash Narayan, etc.
The most daring underground activity was the start of Congress radio which operated clandestinely from different locations in Bombay city. Ram Manohar Lohiya regularly broadcasted on this radio. Usha Mehta was the announcer of the Congress radio.
The underground activity kept the spirit of Quit India Movement alive even in the phase of brutal suppression.
Gandhi ji's view on violence of masses and his 21 days of fasting -
- Gandhi ji refused to condemn the violence of people in Quit India Movement.
- He further commented that it is leonine violence of the state which provoked masses.
- Further, to register his protest against government repression, Gandhi ji declared 21 days fast on 10 Feb 1943 in Yerwada jail, Pune.
The news of the fast evoked massive response from the people in India and across the world. They started to demand his release.
Even as an anxious nation pleaded for Gandhi ji's life, the British went ahead making arrangement for his funeral.
Three members of Viceroy executive council, Miss Annie, N.R. Sarkar and H.P. Mody resigned and said that they would not be the party to Gandhi ji's death.
Parallel Governments -
At many places, state control was temporarily lost and people established parallel government or Swaraj.
- In Ballia, UP a parallel government was established in August 1942 under the leadership of Chitu Pandey but it was suppressed within few months only.
- Tamluk in Midnapore, Bihar - A parallel government with the name of Jatiya Sarkar was established. They established many departments like agriculture, health, education, etc. They also established an armed forced named Vidhut Vahini whic undertook cyclone relief work.
- In Satara, Maharashtra, Prati Sarkar a parallel government was established which was longest surviving and most effective parallel government. It had two important leaders, Nana Patil and Y.B. Chavan. They created Nyayadan Mandal for dispensing justice and conducting Gandhi Marriage (a type of simple marriage without pompousness).
C.R. Formula (1944) -
In March 1944, C. Rajagopalachari evolved a formula to bring about Congress and Muslim League cooperation. The provisions of C.R. Formula are -
- The league must endorse the demand for independence and cooperate with the Congress in framing the provincial government for the transitional period.
- At the end of the war a plebiscite would be held in all Muslim majority areas in North-West and North-East that would decide whether or not these areas should form a separate state.
- In the event of partition agreements would be made on all the essential matters.
- The above terms shall be binding only in the case of full transfer of power by the Britain to the Government of India.
Muslim League did not accept the C.R. Formula.
Desai-Liaquat Pact (January 1945) -
It was another attempt to end the deadlock between Muslim League and INC.
As per the deal Muslim League will gave the demand for Muslim State and in return Muslims would be given parity in the Council of Ministers.
Later on, Liaquat Ali denied such a pact and Bhola Bhai was ridiculed.
Wavell's Plan (1945) -
Winston Churchill was keen to reach a solution on the constitutional question in India.
In June 1945, Congress leaders were released from jail. The keenness of Churchill was based in general election to be held in England in 1945 and moreover there was also pressure from USA to do so.
Shimla Conference (1945) -
In it all the major political leaders of India participated. It was conducted by Viceroy Wavell. The proposals of Shimla Conference are -
- Except Governor General and Commander-in-Chief, all the members of the executive council were to be Indians.
- An interim government should be formed within the premise of Government of India Act 1935.
- Hindus and Muslims to have equal representation.
- Governor General can exercise veto on the advise of the ministers.
- Negations on new constitution after the war is over.
On 19 February, British PM Clement Atlee declared in the House of Commons to dispatch a Cabinet Mission to India which included 3 British officers -
- Stafford Cripps
- A.V. Alexander
- Pethick Lawrence
Cabinet Mission (1946)
The agenda of the Cabinet Mission was to device a machinery to draw a constitution of independent India and make arrangement for an interim government.
The Cabinet Mission rejected the demand of Muslim League for a separate nation and recommended an undivided India.
It also recommended that all the members of the interim cabinet would be Indian and there would be minimum interference by the viceroy.
It also provided for the formation of Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution. It was based on idea to create a weak union and strong federation.
The Union government and its legislature were to have limited powers dealing with defence, finance, foreign affairs and communication. All the residuary powers shall be vested with the provinces.
The representation of provincial legislation was to break up into following 3 sections -
- Group A - (Hindu Majority province - Bombay, Madras, United Province, Central Province, Bihar and Odisha)
- Group B - (Muslim Majority province in North-West - Sindh, Punjab and North-West Frontier Province)
- Group C - (Muslim Majority province in East - Bengal and Assam)
Commissionery province like Delhi, Ajmer, Marwar and Coorg to join Group A and Baluchistan to join Group B.
Both Muslim League and INC rejected it.
After the rejection of Cabinet Mission, interim government was formed on 02 September 1946, headed by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
Viceroy Wavell secretly brought the members of Muslim League on 26 October 1946 to join the interim government which included Liaquat Ali Khan, Gazanaffar Khan, II Chundrikar, Jogendra Nath Mondal and Abdul Rashid Nishtar.
The Constituent Assembly which established to frame a Constituent of India held its first meeting on 09 December 1946.
Atlee's declaration
He declared that 30 June 1948 would be the date of withdrawal of British from India but it seemed very distant.
As such on 04 July 1947 British government introduced India Independence Bill which was enacted on 19 July 1947 and the date of withdrawal was set 15 August 1947.
In this regard Mountbatten Plan was forwarded. As per the Mountbatten Plan, if India was to be divided so as the Punjab and Bengal to retain maximum unity with Indian land. To enact the partition boundary, a commission was created under Sir Redcliff. The report was available by 10 August 1947 but it was made public after independence, so that responsibility should not fall on the British.
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