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Legal & Constitutional History

FACULTY OF LAW
Assignment on
Quit India movement.

Mirza Azhar Hussain

IInd Year

B.A.LLb(hons) self-finance
Roll no. 29
En. No. 16-5180

Under supervision: Dr. Mohammad Khalid.

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Acknowledgement

It gives me immense pleasure and gratitude to thank my Legal


and Constitutional history teacher, Dr. Mohammad Khalid sir,
who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful
project which helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to
know about so many new things. I am really thankful to him.
Secondly, I would also like to thank my class fellows and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the
limited time frame.

Yours sincerely,

Mirza Azhar Hussain.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.
Brief discussion.
Outspread of world war II.
Failure of Cripps mission.
Resolution for immediate independence.
No support to the movement.
State of Suppression.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

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Introduction
At the outbreak of war in 1939 between Britain and Germany,
India was also declared to be at war with Germany as it
constituted part of the British Empire. The Congress took the
view that while it opposed fascism, it could render no support
to the British either: there was little to choose between the
totalitarianism of the Nazis and the colonialism of the British. It
was not with the consent of the Indian people that India was
dragged into the war, nor was this India's war; moreover, the
Congress expected, but could not procure, an unconditional
offer of British withdrawal from India as a condition of its
support. Consequently, neutrality was the official policy of the
Congress. In an effort to bring the British to the negotiating
table, Gandhi launched his 'Quit India' movement in August
1942, and issued from a large meeting ground in Bombay (since
re-named August Kranti [revolution] Maidan) the famous call to
'do or die': Indians were to wage one last struggle to achieve
independence, or die in that attempt.

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QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
‘Quit India’, ‘Bharat Choro’. This simple but powerful slogan
launched in “the legendary struggle which also became famous
by the name of the (‘August Revolution’). In this struggle, the
common people of the country demonstrated an unparalleled
heroism and militancy. Moreover, the repression that they faced
was the most brutal that had ever been used against the national
movement. The circumstances in which the resistance was
offered were also the most adverse faced by the national
movement until then — using the justification of the war effort,
the Government had armed itself with draconian measures, and
suppressed even basic civil liberties. Virtually any political
activity, however peaceful and ‘legal,’ was at this time an illegal
and revolutionary activity. For one, the failure of the Cripps
Mission in April 1942 made it clear that Britain was unwilling to
offer an honourable settlement and a real constitutional advance
during the War, and that she was determined to continue India’s
unwilling partnership in the War efforts. The empty gesture of
the even those Congressmen like Nehru and Gandhiji, who did
not want to do anything to hamper the anti fascist War effort
(and who had played a major role in keeping in check those who
had been spoiling for a tight since 1939), that any further silence
would be tantamount to accepting the right of the British
Government to decide India’s fate without any reference to the
wishes of her people. Gandhiji had been as clear as Nehru that
he did not want to hamper the anti-fascist struggle, especially
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that of the Russian and Chinese people. But by the spring of
1942 he was becoming increasingly convinced of the
inevitability of a struggle.
World war II :
In 1939, Indian nationalists were angry that British Governor-
General of India, Lord Linlithgow, had without consultation
with them brought India into the war. The Muslim League
supported the war, but Congress was divided.
At the outbreak of war, the Congress Party had passed a
resolution during the Wardha meeting of the working-committee
in September 1939, conditionally supporting the fight against
fascism, but were rebuffed when they asked for independence in
return. Gandhi had not supported this initiative, as he could not
reconcile an endorsement for war (he was a committed believer
in non-violent resistance, used in the Indian Independence
Movement and proposed even against Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, and Hideki Tojo). However, at the height of the
Battle of Britain, Gandhi had stated his support for the fight
against racism and of the British war effort, stating he did not
seek to raise an independent India from the ashes of Britain.
However, opinions remained divided. The long-term British
policy of limiting investment in India and using the country as a
market and source of revenue had left the Indian Army relatively
weak and poorly armed and trained and forced the British to
become net contributors to India's budget, while taxes were
sharply increased and the general level of prices of doubled:
although many Indian businesses did benefit from increased war
production, in general business "felt rebuffed by the
government" and in particular the refusal of the British Raj to
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give Indians a greater role in organising and mobilising the
economy for war time production[1].
After the onset of the war, only a group led by Subhas Chandra
Bose took any decisive action. Bose organised the Indian Legion
in Germany and reorganised the Indian National Army with
Japanese assistance, and, soliciting help from the Axis Powers,
conducted a guerrilla war against the British authorities.

Failure of the ‘Cripps’ mission :

Stafford Cripps, on the March 1942, faced with an increasingly


dissatisfied sub-continent only reluctantly participating in the
war and deterioration in the war situation in Europe and with
growing dissatisfaction among Indian troops—especially in
Africa—and among the civilian population in the sub-continent,
the British government sent a delegation to India under Stafford
Cripps, the Leader of the House of Commons, in what came to
be known as the Cripps mission. The purpose of the mission was
to negotiate with the Indian National Congress a deal to obtain
total co-operation during the war, in return for progressive
devolution and distribution of power from the crown and the
Viceroy to an elected Indian legislature. The talks failed, as they
did not address the key demand of a timetable of self-
government and of definition of the powers to be relinquished,
essentially making an offer of limited dominion-status that was
wholly unacceptable to the Indian movement.[2]
1. Raghavan, Srinath, India's War - The Making of Modern South Asia 1939 - 1945, Allen
Lane, London, 2016

2. Barkawi, Tarak. Culture and Combat in the Colonies. The Indian Army in the Second
World War. Journal of Contemporary History. 10000(2). pp. 325–355.

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The Cripps' Mission and its disappointment assumed a vital part
in Gandhi's call for The Quit India movement. To end the
dilemma, the English government on 22nd March, 1942, sent Sir
Stafford Cripps (1889-1952). Cripps attempted to keep India
loyal to the British war effort in return for a guarantee of full
self-government after the war. Cripps promised the
establishment of Dominion as well as elections to be held after
the war. Cripps talked about the propositions with the Indian
leaders and declared them. However the Congress rejected his
suggestions and the mission proved a failure. Cripps had
composed the recommendations himself, yet they were
excessively radical for both Churchill and the Indians; no middle
solution was found. As indicated by the Congress these
proposals just offered India a promise that was to be realized in
the future. Gandhi said, commenting on this: “It is a post-dated
cheque on a crashing bank”. The Congress moved toward the
Quit India movement whereby it refused to collaborate in the
war effort, while the British imprisoned almost the entire
Congress leadership along the period of the war
Gandhi's Call for Quit India 1942 .

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Resolution for immediate independence.

The Congress Working Committee meeting at Wardha (14 July


1942) passed a resolution demanding complete independence
from the British government. The draft proposed massive civil
disobedience if the British did not accede to the demands.
Immediately after the departure of Sir Stafford Cripps, Gandhi
declared 'Quit India' as the battle cry for the Indians. Gandhi
said, “The presence of the British in India is an invitation to
Japan to invade India. Their withdrawal removes that
bait.....”Gandhi understood that the time was ready to take some
strong and rapid activities. He started to write a series of articles
in Harijan where he insisted on people to move and resort to
direct action.
This announcement made in May 1942, indicate the restlessness
of Gandhi, who guaranteed Swaraj inside one year and who is
enthusiastic and anxious to see that his central goal of picking
up freedom for India is achieved soon. Sumit Sarkar writes
“though the need for non-violence was always reiterated,
Gandhi‟s mantra of Do or Die represents the militant mood of
Gandhi”15 In the working committee meeting held at Wardha
on 14 July, 1942 the Congress initially agree on the idea of a
struggle. The All India Congress Committee that met in Bombay
in August approved this resolution to go in for a struggle. In his
discourse Gandhi made it clear “I am not going to be satisfied
with anything short of complete freedom. May be, he (the
Viceroy) will propose the abolition of salt tax, the drink evil.
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But I will say nothing less than freedom”16. Gandhi then caught
up with the famous appeal Do or Die. “Here is a Mantra, a short
one that I give you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let
every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is Do or
Die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not
live to see the perpetuation of slavery”. Gandhi additionally
gave a call to all sections of the general population, the rulers,
the propertied and wealthy classes, who infer their riches and
property from the laborers in the fields and factories and
somewhere else, to whom ultimately authority and strength
belong. In the perspective of Sumit Sarkar, the above
explanation of Gandhi shows his social radicalism and move in
the philosophy of the Congress, at this point individuals with the
objectives of communism and socialism have turned into a part
of the broad-based Congress association;
On the other hand, the British too were similarly resolved to
pulverize any movement of the Congress.
Allama Mashriqi (head of the Khaksar Tehrik) was called by
Jawaharlal Nehru to join the Quit India Movement. Mashriqi
was apprehensive of its outcome and did not agree with the
Congress Working Committee's resolution. On 28 July 1942,
Allama Mashriqi sent the following telegram to Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mahatma Gandhi, C.
Rajagopalachari, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad and
Pattabhi Sitaramayya. He also sent a copy to Bulusu
Sambamurti (former Speaker of the Madras Assembly).

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The telegram was published in the press, and it stated:

“I am in receipt of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's letter of 8 July. My


honest opinion is that Civil Disobedience Movement is a little
pre-mature”.
The Congress should first concede openheartedly and with
handshake to Muslim League the theoretical Pakistan, and
thereafter all parties unitedly make demand of Quit India. If the
British refuse, start total disobedience.[3]
The resolution said:
“The committee, therefore, resolves to sanction for the
vindication of India's inalienable right to freedom and
independence, the starting of a mass struggle on non-violent
lines on the widest possible scale, so that the country might
utilise all the non-violent strength it has gathered during the last
22 years of peaceful struggle...they [the people] must remember
that non-violence is the basis of the movement”.

3. Nasim Yousaf Hidden facts behind British India's freedom : a scholarly look into Allama Mashraqi and
Quaid-e-Azam's political conflict, p.137.

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No Support to the movement :
The Viceroy Linlithgow in a letter dated 8 August, 1946
completely made his mind clear “I feel very strongly that the
only possible answer to a declaration of war by any section of
Congress in the present circumstances must be a declared
determination to crush the organization as a whole”. In this
way, the two sides were prepared to act and even before the
formal dispatching of the movement, the government in a single
campaign captured all the top leaders of the Congress in the
early hours of August 9, 1942. This led to a strong reaction of
mass anger against the arrest of leaders.
There was mass upsurge everywhere throughout the nation for
six or seven weeks after the unexpected incident of August 9,
1942. Bipan Chandra said, describing Indians' response on the
arrest of their leaders: People devised a variety of ways of
expressing their anger in some places; huge crowds attacked
police stations, post offices, courts, railway stations and other
symbols of government. National flags were forcibly hoisted on
public buildings in defiance of the police. Towns, villages and
cities testified the people's anger. Farmers, workers and students
effectively took part in demonstrating their disconsent against
the government. By following strategies of brutality, the
government repressed the movement. Gandhi, who was captured
in the early hours of 9 August, began fast on 10 February by

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announcing that the fast would keep going for 21 days. One
more component to be seen in this connection was the refusal of
Gandhi to censure the brutality of the masses and considered the
government in charge of this violence. Everywhere throughout
the nation people reacted positively and effectively towards the
fast of Gandhi. Gandhi was released on 6 May, 1944 on
medicinal grounds. It is to be noticed that the Quit India
movement was the spontaneous involvement of the masses
contrasted with the previous non-cooperation and civil
disobedience movements. Bipan Chandra was of the
perspective: The great significance of this historic movement
was that it placed the demand for independence on the
immediate agenda of the national movement. After „Quit India‟
there could be no retreat. Independence was no longer a matter
of bargain. And this became amply clear after the war.

State of Suppression :
One of the important achievements of the movement was to
keep the Congress party united through all the trials and
tribulations that followed. The British, already alarmed by the
advance of the Japanese army to the India-Burma border,
responded by imprisoning Gandhi. All the members of the
Party's Working Committee (national leadership) were
imprisoned as well. Due to the arrest of major leaders, a young
and till then relatively unknown Aruna Asaf Ali presided over
the AICC session on 9 August and hoisted the flag; later the
Congress party was banned. These actions only created
sympathy for the cause among the population. Despite lack of

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direct leadership, large protests and demonstrations were held all
over the country.
Workers remained absent en masse and strikes were called. Not
all demonstrations were peaceful, at some places bombs
exploded, government buildings were set on fire, electricity was
cut and transport and communication lines were severed.
The British swiftly responded with mass detentions. Over
100,000 arrests were made, mass fines were levied and
demonstrators were subjected to public flogging[4].

Hundreds of civilians were killed in violence many shot by the


police army. Many national leaders went underground and
continued their struggle by broadcasting messages over
clandestine radio stations, distributing pamphlets and
establishing parallel governments. The British sense of crisis
was strong enough that a battleship was specifically set aside to
take Gandhi and the Congress leaders out of India, possibly to
South Africa or Yemen but ultimately did not take that step out
of fear of intensifying the revolt[5].

The Congress leadership was cut off from the rest of the world
for over three years. Gandhi's wife Kasturbai Gandhi and his
personal secretary Mahadev Desai died in months and Gandhi's
health was failing, despite this Gandhi went on a 21-day fast and
maintained his resolve to continuous resistance. Although the
British released Gandhi on account of his health in 1944, Gandhi
kept up the resistance, demanding the release of the Congress
leadership.

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By early 1944, India was mostly peaceful again, while the
Congress leadership was still incarcerated. A sense that the
movement had failed depressed many nationalists, while Jinnah
and the Muslim League, as well as Congress opponents like the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Hindu Mahasabha
sought to gain political mileage, criticizing Gandhi and the
Congress Party.

CONCLUSION :
Indian nationalists were angry that British Governor-General of
India, Lord Linlithgow, had without consultation with them
brought India into the war. The Muslim League supported the
war, but Congress was divided.

For several weeks there was widespread rioting and the British
lost control in some parts of the country.[citation needed] Only
the strongest measures, including the use of machine guns and
aerial bombing, restored their rule – at the cost of thousands of
Indian lives.

Sporadic small-scale violence took place around the country and


the British arrested tens of thousands of leaders, keeping them
imprisoned until 1945. In terms of immediate objectives Quit
India failed because of heavy-handed suppression, weak co-
ordination and the lack of a clear-cut programme of action.
However, the British government realised that India was
ungovernable in the long run due to the cost of World War II,

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and the question for postwar became how to exit gracefully and
peacefully.

4. D, Fisher D; Read A (1998). The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence. WW
Norton. p. 330.

5. D, Fisher D; Read A (1998). The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence. WW
Norton. p. 329..

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BIBLOGRAPHY

Books cited :

 Chandra, Bipan, India's Struggle for Independence,


1857-1947.
 Johnson, Richard L., Gandhi's Experiments with
Truth: Essential Writings by and about
Mahatma Gandhi.

Online sources:
 http://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/quit-india-
movement/3194.
 https://www.upscsuccess.com/sites/default/files/documents/India%
27s_Struggle_for_Independence.
 www.preservearticles.com/201012271756/quit-india-
movement.html.

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