✊ Quit India Movement (1942) & Indian National Army (INA) — The Final Push for Freedom

1. Background — Events Between the Two Movements (1935–1942)

Between the end of the Civil Disobedience Movement (1934) and the launch of Quit India (1942), several major developments shaped the political landscape:

1.1 Government of India Act 1935

• The British passed this Act in response to the Civil Disobedience Movement's pressure. Key features:
  • Provincial Autonomy: Elected Indian governments were formed in 11 provinces (1937 elections). Congress formed ministries in 7 provinces (UP, Bihar, Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, Orissa, NWFP).
  • Diarchy at the Centre: The central government remained under British control (defence, foreign affairs, etc. reserved for the Viceroy).
  • Separate electorates: For Muslims, Dalits, and other minorities — the British continued their "divide and rule" policy.
• Significance: For the first time, Indians experienced running provincial governments. The Congress ministries implemented reforms — land revenue relief, prohibition, primary education expansion, and civil liberties. This showed Indians could govern themselves.

1.2 Resignation of Congress Ministries (1939)

• World War II broke out in September 1939. The British declared India as a belligerent (warring) nation without consulting Indian leaders or the provincial governments.
• Congress demanded that Britain declare its war aims — specifically, whether India would be granted independence after the war. The British response was vague and unsatisfactory.
• In protest, the Congress ministries resigned in all 7 provinces (October–November 1939). This was a major political decision — Congress gave up real power to protest British high-handedness.

1.3 August Offer (1940) and Individual Satyagraha

• The Viceroy (Lord Linlithgow) made the August Offer (1940) — promised post-war Dominion Status and a Constituent Assembly after the war. Congress rejected it as too little and too conditional.
• Gandhi launched Individual Satyagraha (1940–41) — selected individuals (Vinoba Bhave, Jawaharlal Nehru) offered civil disobedience one by one. This was symbolic — Gandhi did not want a mass movement during the war (he didn't want to embarrass Britain while it was fighting fascism).
• ~25,000 satyagrahis were arrested. The movement was muted and low-key by design.

1.4 Cripps Mission (March 1942)

• Japan had entered WWII and was rapidly advancing towards India (Singapore fell in Feb 1942, Burma/March 1942). The British needed Indian support desperately.
• Sir Stafford Cripps (a British cabinet minister) was sent to India to negotiate with Indian leaders.
• Cripps Proposals:
  • India would be granted Dominion Status after the war.
  • A Constituent Assembly would be formed to draft India's constitution.
  • BUT — any province could opt out of the Indian Union (this was the deal-breaker — the British had effectively accepted the possibility of Pakistan).
• Rejected by both Congress and Muslim League: Congress wanted immediate independence, not vague post-war promises. The Muslim League felt the proposals didn't explicitly guarantee Pakistan.
• Significance: The failure of the Cripps Mission convinced Gandhi that the British would never voluntarily give up India. He concluded that a final, mass struggle was necessary — this became the Quit India Movement.

2. The Quit India Movement (August 1942) — "Do or Die"

2.1 Causes / Factors Leading to Quit India

1. Failure of the Cripps Mission (1942): The British refusal to promise immediate independence shattered Indian trust.
2. Japanese threat to India's borders: Japan had conquered Burma (Myanmar) and was at India's eastern doorstep. The British seemed incapable of defending India. Indians felt they must defend their own country.
3. War-time hardships: Prices of essential goods skyrocketed. Forced recruitment of Indian soldiers. The British commandeered Indian resources for the war effort. Common people were suffering.
4. Growing demand for independence: By 1942, the Indian National Congress had been fighting for freedom for 57 years. The time for a final, decisive struggle had come.
5. Gandhi's belief: A free India would be more willing to help the Allied war effort than a colonised India. He wanted Britain to "Quit India" so that a free India could fight the fascist threat with true spirit.

2.2 The Launch — Bombay Session (8 August 1942)

• The All India Congress Committee (AICC) met at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay (now Mumbai) on 8 August 1942.
• The Congress passed the "Quit India" resolution — demanding an immediate end to British rule in India.
• Gandhi gave his famous "Do or Die" speech: "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."

2.3 Immediate British Response — The "August Revolution"

• The British government acted within hours. In the early morning of 9 August 1942, all top Congress leaders were arrested:
• Arrested: Gandhi (sent to Aga Khan Palace, Pune), Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad, all members of the Congress Working Committee.
• The Congress was banned as an unlawful organisation. The entire top leadership of the Indian National Congress was wiped out in one day.
• Because the leaders were arrested before the movement could be planned, the Quit India Movement became spontaneous and leaderless — which made it both more violent and more widespread than any previous movement.

2.4 Spread of the Movement — The People's Revolt

2.5 British Repression — The Response

• The British responded with extreme brutality — the worst in the history of the freedom struggle.
• Violence against protestors: Police and military opened fire on unarmed crowds. In some areas, aircraft were used to machine-gun protestors from the air.
• Collective fines: Villages that participated in the movement were imposed heavy collective fines.
• Physical punishment: Public floggings were common. Protestors were tied to the backs of military trucks and dragged through villages as a warning.
• Official figures: ~60,000 people arrested, ~10,000 killed (many estimates say the actual death toll was much higher), ~1,000+ injured in police firing.

2.6 The "Parallel Governments" — A Unique Feature

• Ballia (UP): Chittu Pandey took control of the district. The British administration collapsed for a week.
• Tamralipta (Midnapore, Bengal): The Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar was formed in December 1942. It ran schools, organised supplies, maintained law and order, and settled disputes. It survived for nearly 2 years before the British crushed it.
• Satara (Maharashtra): The Prati Sarkar was set up by Krantisinh Nana Patil. It had its own courts, revenue system, and volunteer force. It continued functioning even after the Quit India Movement officially ended — lasting until about 1945–46.
• Significance: These parallel governments showed that Indians were capable of self-governance — that British rule was not needed for law and order.

2.7 Role of Women in Quit India

• Aruna Asaf Ali: Called the "Heroine of Quit India." She hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan on 9 August 1942 (after leaders were arrested) and went underground. She edited Inquilab magazine and ran Congress Radio.
• Usha Mehta: Operated the secret Congress Radio from Bombay. The radio broadcast news of the movement, instructions to workers, and Gandhi's messages. She was arrested in 1944 and sentenced to prison.
• Sucheta Kripalani, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Kasturba Gandhi (Gandhi's wife — died in prison in 1944) — all were imprisoned.
• Thousands of ordinary women participated — they smuggled messages, hid underground workers, raised funds, and faced police brutality.

2.8 Why Quit India Was Different from Earlier Movements

2.9 Impact / Significance of Quit India Movement

• British realised they could not hold India: The sheer scale and intensity of the movement made it clear that the British could not continue ruling India. Post-war independence became inevitable.
• India became ungovernable: For several months, large parts of India (especially Bihar, Eastern UP, Bengal, Maharashtra) were effectively out of British control. The British had to deploy 57 battalions of troops to suppress the movement.
• World War II context: Britain was fighting for its survival in WWII. Quit India divided the British political class — Labour Party leaders (like Clement Attlee) were sympathetic to Indian demands. When Labour came to power in 1945, they were more willing to grant independence.
• Repression exposed British brutality: The extreme violence used by the British (aircraft machine-gunning, public floggings) was condemned worldwide. It further damaged Britain's moral authority to rule.
• Mass awakening among peasants: The parallel governments and no-tax campaigns in rural areas politicised the Indian peasantry like never before.
• Gandhi's 21-day fast (1943): Gandhi went on a 21-day fast in prison (Aga Khan Palace) to protest the British government's false accusations that he was responsible for the violence. He almost died. Kasturba Gandhi died in the same prison in 1944.
• The British were forced to negotiate: After the war, the British government realised they could no longer govern India without Indian consent. The Cabinet Mission (1946) and eventual transfer of power were direct consequences of the political situation created by Quit India.

3. Indian National Army (INA) — Subhas Chandra Bose & the Azad Hind Fauj

3.1 Who Was Subhas Chandra Bose?

• Born: 23 January 1897, Cuttack, Odisha.
• Ideological differences with Gandhi: Bose believed in armed struggle against the British, not just non-violence. He was elected Congress President in 1938 (Haripura) and 1939 (Tripuri) but resigned in 1939 due to differences with the Congress high command.
• Formed the Forward Bloc (1939) — a left-wing group within Congress advocating more militant action.
• Arrested by the British in 1940. Escaped from house arrest in Calcutta in January 1941 — travelled through Afghanistan and Moscow to reach Germany (1941).

3.2 Formation of the Indian National Army (INA)

• First INA (1942): Formed by Captain Mohan Singh and the Indian prisoners of war (PoWs) captured by Japan in Malaya (Malaysia) and Singapore. This first INA did not succeed due to differences with the Japanese.
• Bose arrives in Singapore (July 1943): After Germany, Bose travelled by submarine to Japan and then to Singapore. He took command of the INA and revived it.
• Azad Hind Government (21 October 1943): Bose formed the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Sarkar) in Singapore. It was recognised by 9 Axis nations (Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Burma, Philippines, Thailand, Manchukuo, Wang Jingwei's China).
• INA strength: ~60,000 soldiers (mostly Indian PoWs from the British Indian Army, plus Indian civilians in Southeast Asia). The INA had its own flag, currency, court, and civil code.
• Famous slogan: "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom" — Bose's call to the INA soldiers.
• INA's women's regiment: Rani of Jhansi Regiment — led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal (Lakshmi Swaminathan) — the first all-female combat regiment in Asia.

3.3 The INA Trials (Red Fort Trials, 1945–46)

• After WWII ended (Aug 1945), the British brought captured INA officers to India and put them on trial at the Red Fort, Delhi (November 1945 – May 1946).
• Defendants: Prem Sahgal, Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon, and Colonel P.K. Sehgal — three senior INA officers were charged with treason (waging war against the King).
• India's response — massive outrage: The INA trials became a nationwide political cause. The Congress set up a Defence Committee (including Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Asaf Ali) to defend the INA prisoners.
• Huge protests erupted across India — strikes, hartals, and clashes with police. In Calcutta (Nov 1945), the British opened fire on student protestors.
• The British realised that Indians saw the INA officers as patriots, not traitors. Convicting them would trigger a massive backlash. The three were convicted but immediately released. The British stopped further trials.

3.4 The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny (February 1946)

• In February 1946, Indian sailors (ratings) of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay (Mumbai) went on strike — protesting against British racial discrimination, poor food, and the use of Indian troops in Indonesia.
• The mutiny spread to Karachi, Calcutta, Madras, and Cochin. 78 ships and 20,000 sailors participated.
• The protestors hoisted Congress and Muslim League flags on their ships. They fired on British military positions in Bombay.
• The mutiny was suppressed after Sardar Patel and Jinnah persuaded the sailors to surrender (fearing further violence). But the RIN Mutiny was a massive shock to the British — if even the armed forces were disloyal, they could no longer rule India.

3.5 Impact of the INA and RIN Mutiny

• British morale shattered: The INA trials and the RIN Mutiny convinced the British that they could no longer count on the loyalty of the Indian armed forces — the ultimate instrument of British control.
• Mass mobilisation: The INA issue changed the political atmosphere. Even those who had been neutral or pro-British were now against British rule.
• Direct pressure on the British government: The Labour government in Britain (Clement Attlee became PM in July 1945) recognised that Indian independence could no longer be delayed. The Cabinet Mission was sent to India in March 1946 to negotiate the transfer of power.
• The demand for independence became irresistible: After the INA trials and RIN Mutiny, the British knew they had to leave. The only question was when and how — not whether.

4. Previous Year Questions (PYQs) — ICSE Board

2-Mark / 3-Mark Questions:

1. When and where was the Quit India resolution passed?
2. What was Gandhi's slogan during the Quit India Movement?
3. Why were the Congress leaders arrested on 9 August 1942?
4. What was the Cripps Mission? Why did it fail?
5. What was the significance of the Quit India Movement?
6. Who was Subhas Chandra Bose? Where did he form the Provisional Government of Free India?
7. What was the INA? Who led it?
8. What was the Rani of Jhansi Regiment?
9. What were the INA Trials? Where were they held?
10. What was the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (1946)?
11. Name any two parallel governments formed during the Quit India Movement.
12. What role did Aruna Asaf Ali play in the Quit India Movement?

5-Mark / 8-Mark Questions:

1. Describe the Quit India Movement (1942) under the following: (a) Causes (b) Launch and programme (c) Spread (d) Repression (e) Significance.
2. Explain the role of Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army in India's freedom struggle.
3. What was the impact of the INA Trials and the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny on the British decision to leave India?
4. Explain the significance of the Quit India Movement. Why is it considered the final mass struggle for Indian independence?
5. Discuss the events between 1939 and 1942 that led to the launch of the Quit India Movement (WWII, August Offer, Cripps Mission).
6. Compare the Quit India Movement with the earlier movements (Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience) led by Gandhi.