History
The Gandhian Era and Independence (1919–1947)
Quit India Movement and the War Years (1939–1945)
Second World War, August Offer, Individual Satyagraha, Cripps Mission, Quit India 1942, parallel governments and Subhas Bose's INA for CGPSC.
Prerequisites
- Swarajists to Civil Disobedience (1922–1934) — the 1935 Act and the 1937 Congress ministries that resigned in 1939
- Gandhi’s Rise and the Non-Cooperation Movement — Gandhi’s method, which Quit India stretched to its limit
The Hook: Two Words That Filled the Jails
Connect
On the night of 8 August 1942, at the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay, Gandhi told the All India Congress Committee: “Karo ya Maro” (करो या मरो), “Do or Die”. Before dawn the whole Congress leadership was in jail. In the days that followed, students in Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg went on strike and young men in Raipur were later tried in a conspiracy case for making explosives. With no leaders outside, who ran the movement?
Why was Quit India the most spontaneous, and most violent, of the Gandhian movements, and how did it change Britain’s calculations?
Why it matters: Prelims tests the war-years sequence (August Offer 1940 → Individual Satyagraha → Cripps 1942 → Quit India) and pairs such as parallel governments and underground leaders. Mains asks about the nature of Quit India and the role of the INA.
The War and the Congress (1939–1941)
| Event | Date | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| India declared at war | September 1939 | Viceroy Linlithgow declared India a belligerent without consulting Indian leaders |
| Congress ministries resign | October–November 1939 | In protest. The Muslim League celebrated “Deliverance Day” (22 December 1939) |
| Ramgarh session | March 1940 | President Maulana Abul Kalam Azad |
| Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League | March 1940 | Demanded independent states for Muslim-majority areas in the north-west and east; popularly called the “Pakistan Resolution” |
| August Offer | 8 August 1940 | Linlithgow offered dominion status as the objective (no date), expansion of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, a war advisory council, and a body to frame a constitution after the war; minorities given a virtual veto. Rejected by the Congress |
| Individual Satyagraha | From 17 October 1940 | Chosen satyagrahis made anti-war speeches and courted arrest. First: Vinoba Bhave; second: Jawaharlal Nehru. Limited, to avoid embarrassing Britain while asserting the right to free speech |
Why only individual satyagraha?
Gandhi did not want to hamper Britain’s war against fascism with a mass movement, yet he wanted to show that Indians did not consent to the war. Individual satyagraha balanced both: a symbolic protest without mass disruption.
The Cripps Mission (March 1942)
By early 1942 Japan had overrun South-East Asia and taken Rangoon (March 1942); India was under threat, and Britain wanted Indian cooperation. Sir Stafford Cripps, a Labour member of Churchill’s War Cabinet, arrived in March 1942.
| Proposals | Why rejected |
|---|---|
| Dominion status after the war, with the right to leave the Commonwealth | Congress wanted immediate national government and real control of defence |
| An elected constituent assembly after the war (provinces elected, princes nominated) | Princely states’ members nominated, not elected |
| Any province could stay out of the new Union and make its own constitution | Congress saw this as opening the door to partition; the League wanted Pakistan explicitly |
| Defence to remain under British control during the war | No real transfer of power now |
Both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected it. Gandhi’s description of it as a “post-dated cheque” is widely quoted (the addition “on a crashing bank” is often attributed to others). Cripps’ failure convinced Gandhi that Britain would not part with power voluntarily.
The Quit India Movement (भारत छोड़ो आंदोलन), 1942
Resolution and arrests
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Working Committee resolution | Wardha, 14 July 1942: accepted the idea of a struggle |
| AICC resolution | 8 August 1942, Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay (now August Kranti Maidan) |
| Demand | Immediate end of British rule; a provisional government to be formed; free India would join the Allies against fascism |
| Slogan | “Do or Die” (करो या मरो): “We shall either free India or die in the attempt” |
| Arrests | Early on 9 August 1942 (“Operation Zero Hour”): Gandhi and the Working Committee arrested; the Congress declared illegal |
| Gandhi held at | Aga Khan Palace, Poona (Pune), where Kasturba Gandhi and his secretary Mahadev Desai died in detention |
| 9 August | Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the tricolour at Gowalia Tank after the arrests; the day is now observed as August Kranti Divas |
Gandhi’s instructions before arrest gave different roles to different groups: government servants were to declare allegiance to the Congress without resigning; soldiers not to fire on their own people; students to leave studies if confident; peasants to refuse to pay rent; princes to accept their people’s sovereignty.
How it spread: three phases
- Urban revolt (first days): strikes, hartals and clashes in Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Patna and other cities; students and workers in the lead.
- Rural rising (mid-August to September 1942): attacks on symbols of authority: police stations, post offices, railway lines, telegraph wires. Strongest in Bihar and eastern UP, Midnapore (Bengal), Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha.
- Underground and parallel governments (from late 1942): organised activity by those who escaped arrest.
Underground leaders
| Leader | Role |
|---|---|
| Jayaprakash Narayan | Escaped from Hazaribagh jail (November 1942); organised underground resistance |
| Ram Manohar Lohia | Underground organiser; associated with the Congress Radio broadcasts |
| Aruna Asaf Ali | Flag at Gowalia Tank; underground leader |
| Usha Mehta | Ran the secret Congress Radio from Bombay |
| Achyut Patwardhan, Sucheta Kripalani, Biju Patnaik, R.P. Goenka | Other underground activists |
Parallel governments (प्रति सरकार)
| Place | Name | Leader(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballia (eastern UP) | — | Chittu Pandey | August 1942, about a week |
| Tamluk (Midnapore, Bengal) | Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar | Satish Samanta, Ajoy Mukherjee, Sushil Dhara; Matangini Hazra was shot leading a procession | December 1942 – September 1944 |
| Satara (Maharashtra) | Prati Sarkar | Nana Patil, Y.B. Chavan | Mid-1943 – 1945/46: the longest-lasting |
Chhattisgarh angle
In Chhattisgarh, leaders in Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg were arrested after 9 August 1942; students and workers held strikes and processions, and some young people turned to underground activity. The Raipur Conspiracy (dynamite) Case of 1942 is associated with Parsuram Soni, accused of making explosives. Read the state account in Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience in Chhattisgarh and Leaders of the Freedom Movement.
Who stood apart
| Group | Position |
|---|---|
| Muslim League | Opposed; used the period to strengthen itself |
| Communist Party of India | Opposed: after Germany invaded the USSR (June 1941) it called the war a “People’s War” and supported the Allies |
| Hindu Mahasabha | Did not support |
| Princely states | Rulers generally stayed loyal to the British, though people in some states joined |
| Liberals and some others | Did not join; Ambedkar was then a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council |
| C. Rajagopalachari | Had resigned from the Congress over his differences on the Pakistan question and did not take part |
Repression and Gandhi’s fast
- The government used the army, machine-gunning from the air in some places, collective fines and mass arrests. Tens of thousands were arrested within months.
- Linlithgow called it “by far the most serious rebellion since that of 1857” (widely quoted).
- Gandhi began a 21-day fast in February 1943 against the government’s charge that the Congress was responsible for the violence. He was released on 6 May 1944 on health grounds.
Significance
- It put independence on the immediate agenda: after 1942, the question was when and how Britain would leave, not whether.
- It was the most spontaneous and leaderless of the movements, showing how deep nationalism had gone.
- Youth, students, women, peasants and workers were the backbone; women such as Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta, Sucheta Kripalani and Matangini Hazra were prominent.
- Although crushed in about a year, it showed Britain that India could not be held without massive force.
- Its weakness: the Congress was out of action from 1942 to 1945 while the Muslim League grew stronger, which shaped the partition endgame.
Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA (आज़ाद हिंद फ़ौज)
Bose before 1941
- Congress President at Haripura (1938) and re-elected at Tripuri (1939), defeating Gandhi’s candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Differences with the Working Committee forced him to resign.
- Formed the Forward Bloc (1939).
- Escaped house arrest in Calcutta in January 1941, reached Germany via Afghanistan and the USSR; organised the Free India Centre and an Indian Legion from prisoners of war.
The INA
| Phase | Facts |
|---|---|
| First INA | Formed in 1942 by Captain Mohan Singh from Indian prisoners of war captured by Japan, with Rash Behari Bose heading the Indian Independence League |
| Bose takes over | Arrived in Singapore (July 1943) and took command; famous call “Delhi Chalo” |
| Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind) | Proclaimed in Singapore on 21 October 1943; recognised by the Axis powers |
| Andaman and Nicobar | Handed over nominally by Japan; Bose renamed them Shaheed and Swaraj islands |
| Rani Jhansi Regiment | Women’s regiment under Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan (later Lakshmi Sahgal) |
| Military campaign | Advanced with the Japanese towards Imphal and Kohima (1944); the INA flag was raised at Moirang in Manipur; the campaign failed with Japan’s defeat |
| Bose’s death | Reported killed in an air crash at Taihoku (Taipei), 18 August 1945; the circumstances have long been disputed and inquiry commissions reached different conclusions |
The INA’s military impact was limited, but its political impact after the war was enormous: the INA trials of 1945–46 united Indians across communities (see Partition and Independence).
Memory Tricks
War-years order: A-I-C-Q
August Offer (Aug 1940) → Individual Satyagraha (Oct 1940) → Cripps (March 1942) → Quit India (Aug 1942).
“All Indians Cried Quit.”
Parallel governments: B-T-S (shortest to longest)
Ballia (a week, Chittu Pandey) → Tamluk (about 2 years, Jatiya Sarkar) → Satara (longest, Nana Patil). “Brief, Two years, Stayed longest.”
Individual satyagrahis: V before N
Vinoba first, Nehru second: alphabetical order works here.
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| August Offer (8 Aug 1940): Linlithgow’s offer | vs | Quit India resolution (8 Aug 1942): AICC, Bombay |
| Cripps (1942): constituent assembly after the war | vs | Cabinet Mission (1946): constituent assembly elected at once |
| Mohan Singh: founded the first INA (1942) | vs | Subhas Bose: revived and led it (from 1943) |
| Usha Mehta: Congress Radio | vs | Aruna Asaf Ali: flag at Gowalia Tank |
| Tamluk: Jatiya Sarkar (Bengal) | vs | Satara: Prati Sarkar (Maharashtra) |
Common Mistakes
Trap 1: The CPI did not support Quit India
After June 1941 the CPI called the war a “People’s War” and opposed the movement. Options that list the Communists among Quit India’s supporters are wrong. The Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha also stayed away.
Trap 2: Quit India was launched by the AICC in Bombay, not at Wardha
Wardha (14 July 1942) was the Working Committee resolution. The movement was launched by the AICC in Bombay on 8 August 1942.
Trap 3: Bose did not found the INA
Mohan Singh formed it in 1942. Bose took command in July 1943 and proclaimed the Azad Hind government on 21 October 1943 in Singapore (not Rangoon or Tokyo).
Practice
These are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The first individual satyagrahi chosen by Gandhi in October 1940 was ______.
- The Quit India resolution was passed at ______ maidan, Bombay, on 8 August 1942.
- The parallel government at Tamluk was called the ______.
Answers
- Vinoba Bhave (Jawaharlal Nehru was second).
- Gowalia Tank (now August Kranti Maidan).
- Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements about the Cripps Mission (1942):
- It offered dominion status to India after the war.
- It proposed that a constituent assembly be elected immediately to frame a constitution during the war.
- It allowed provinces to stay out of the proposed Indian Union.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 3 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(b) 1 and 3 only. Cripps offered dominion status and a constituent assembly after the war, not immediately. The provincial opt-out clause made the Congress fear partition. An immediately elected constituent assembly came with the Cabinet Mission (1946).
Q2. Match List-I (Parallel government) with List-II (Leader):
| List-I | List-II |
|---|---|
| A. Ballia | 1. Nana Patil |
| B. Tamluk | 2. Chittu Pandey |
| C. Satara | 3. Satish Samanta |
- (a) A-2, B-3, C-1
- (b) A-3, B-2, C-1
- (c) A-2, B-1, C-3
- (d) A-1, B-3, C-2
Answer and explanation
(a) A-2, B-3, C-1. Chittu Pandey at Ballia (August 1942); Satish Samanta among the leaders of the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar at Tamluk (1942–44); Nana Patil’s Prati Sarkar at Satara, the longest-lasting.
Q3. Which of the following did not support the Quit India Movement?
- Communist Party of India
- Muslim League
- Hindu Mahasabha
Select the correct answer:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(d) 1, 2 and 3. The CPI followed the “People’s War” line after the German invasion of the USSR; the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha also stayed away.
Q4. The Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind) was proclaimed by Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943 at:
- (a) Rangoon
- (b) Tokyo
- (c) Singapore
- (d) Berlin
Answer and explanation
(c) Singapore, on 21 October 1943. Rangoon later became the INA’s headquarters for the Burma front; Berlin was where Bose had set up the Free India Centre in 1941–42.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (150–200 words) “The Quit India Movement was a spontaneous mass upsurge.” Examine its nature and significance.
Model answer outline
- Intro: Launched by the AICC at Bombay on 8 August 1942 with “Do or Die”, after the failure of the Cripps Mission and with Japan at India’s borders.
- Body:
- Spontaneity: leaders arrested on 9 August; people acted on their own, with no central direction.
- Phases: urban strikes → rural attacks on communication and police posts (Bihar, eastern UP, Midnapore, Maharashtra) → underground (JP, Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta’s Congress Radio).
- Parallel governments: Ballia, Tamluk, Satara.
- Limits: violence departed from strict Gandhian non-violence; crushed within about a year; CPI, League and Mahasabha stayed away.
- Significance: made independence the immediate issue; showed the Raj could not rule without force; Linlithgow’s “most serious rebellion since 1857”.
- Chhattisgarh angle: arrests and student strikes in Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg; the Raipur Conspiracy Case (Parsuram Soni).
- Conclusion: Quit India was the final mass movement; after it, British withdrawal was a matter of time and terms.
Q2. (60 words) Why did the Congress reject the August Offer and the Cripps proposals?
Model answer outline
Both offered dominion status only after the war, with no date, and gave minorities and provinces a veto or opt-out that threatened unity. Neither transferred real power, especially defence, during the war. The Congress wanted an immediate national government; to it Cripps’ plan was, in the words widely attributed to Gandhi, a “post-dated cheque”.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| India declared at war | September 1939, by Linlithgow without consultation |
| Congress ministries resign | Oct–Nov 1939 |
| Deliverance Day (League) | 22 December 1939 |
| Lahore Resolution (League) | March 1940 |
| August Offer | 8 August 1940 |
| Individual Satyagraha | From 17 October 1940; Vinoba Bhave first, Nehru second |
| Cripps Mission | March 1942; “post-dated cheque” |
| Wardha CWC resolution | 14 July 1942 |
| Quit India resolution | 8 August 1942, Gowalia Tank, Bombay; “Do or Die” |
| Arrests | 9 August 1942; Gandhi at Aga Khan Palace, Pune |
| Parallel governments | Ballia (Chittu Pandey), Tamluk (Jatiya Sarkar), Satara (Nana Patil, longest) |
| Underground | JP, Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta (Congress Radio) |
| Gandhi’s fast | February 1943, 21 days |
| Gandhi released | 6 May 1944 |
| Forward Bloc | 1939, Bose |
| First INA | 1942, Mohan Singh |
| Azad Hind government | 21 October 1943, Singapore |
| Chhattisgarh | Arrests in Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg; Raipur Conspiracy Case (Parsuram Soni) |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- The war, the resignation of the ministries and the failure of the August Offer and Cripps Mission led straight to Quit India.
- Quit India (8 August 1942) was leaderless and spontaneous after the arrests of 9 August; youth, peasants and women carried it.
- Learn the parallel governments (Ballia, Tamluk, Satara) and underground leaders as match-the-following pairs.
- The CPI, Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha stayed away; the League’s growth in these years shaped partition.
- The INA had limited military success but huge political impact after 1945.
What’s Next
- Partition and Independence (1945–1947) — the endgame: INA trials, Cabinet Mission, Mountbatten Plan
- Leaders of the Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh — the state’s Quit India figures
- Crown Rule: 1919 to 1947 — the August Offer and Cripps from the constitutional side
- The Gandhian Era — Quick Revision
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