Quit India Movement
Important aspects of the Quit India Movement are as follows:
Cripps’ Mission
The British government sent a delegation to India under Stafford Cripps in March 1942 in response to the subcontinent’s unsatisfied participation in the war and the deterioration of the war situation in Europe, as well as the growing unhappiness among Indian troops and the civilian population in the subcontinent. The mission’s goal was to negotiate a settlement with the INC that would grant complete cooperation during the war in exchange for the transfer of authority from the Viceroy and the Crown to an elected Indian assembly. The talks fell through because they failed to meet the Indian movement’s main demands of a schedule for self-government and a list of the authorities to be given up, essentially offering a limited dominion-status offer.
Demands
To secure Indian support in the fight against fascism during World War II, it was demanded that British control in India terminate with immediate effect. After the British left, there was also a need for the establishment of a temporary administration.
Phases
- First Phase: Urban uprising characterized by strikes, boycotts, and picketing that was swiftly put down. Workers supported the strikes and protests by staying off the job at the factories, which took place across the nation. Soon after, Gandhiji was detained at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, and most of the leaders were detained.
- Second Phase: As attention turned to the countryside, there was a significant peasant uprising that was characterized by the destruction of communication infrastructure, including railroad tracks and stations, telegraph wires and poles, attacks on governmental structures, and any other overt manifestation of colonial authority.
- Last Phase: It saw the establishment of national governments or auxiliary administrations in small areas.
Significance of Quit India Movement
Mahatma Gandhi launched the August Movement, also known as the Quit India Movement, during the All-India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay on August 8, 1942, during World War II, calling for an end to British rule in India. Gandhi issued a call to action in his Quit India address following the Cripps Mission’s failure to win Indian support for the British war effort. Gandhi’s “An Orderly British Withdrawal from India” was the demand of the All-India Congress Committee, which organized the widespread demonstration.