History

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2.01 : Rise of Gandhi
The advent of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known
as Mahatma Gandhi was a landmark in the history of the freedom
movement in India after the world war started in 1914. The Allied

nationsΠBritain, U.S. and France promised that, democracy and

national self determination would be offered to India after the war if

they support for their war effort. Indian nationalists supported the war

expecting this major political gain.

But after the Allied victory in 1918,
they showed little willingness to end colonial system. This attitude of British,

gave rise to disillusion in the nationalists. International situation was also

favourable to the resurgence of nationalism to which a major impetus was

already given by the impact of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Revolution brought home to the nationalist movement in India the

fact that immense strength and energy reside in the common people.
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Rise of Gandhi
#
Non-violence Movement
#
Non-Cooperation Movement
#
Civil Disobedience Movement
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Quit India Movement
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Indian National Army
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Indian Independence Act

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The Russian Revolution enormously influenced
the freedom lover people of India to come
forward. The stage was set for Gandhi™s entry
into the national movement who had already
established himself with his leadership in South
Africa and in Champaran (North Bihar),
Ahmedabad, Kheda (Gujrat) in India. He not
only energized the national movement by res-
urrecting the ideology of truthfulness and non-
violence, but also compelled the British to leave
the country. Before he took leadership in Indian
national movement, Gandhi began the struggle
of Indians against racism in South Africa in
1893, when he was a twenty four year old
barrister only.
Mahatma Gandhi was born at Porbandar in
Gujarat on October 2, 1869 in a well-to-do
family. He proceeded to England in 1888 to study
law, and returned to India as a Barrister-at-law in 1891. After a brief
stint as a lawyer both in Rajkot and Bombay, he went to Natal, South
Africa in 1893 in
connection with
professional work. He was deeply
shocked by the political and social discriminations which were imposed
by the Europeans upon Indian residents. Being humiliated on more than
one occasion, he soon assumed leadership of the struggle of Indians against
racial discrimination in South Africa. He founded a political association
known as Natal Indian Congress and also a newspaper called
Indian
Opinion
with a view to educating Indians in political matters and give
publicity to their grievances. It was during this struggle that he used for
the first time the weapon of non-violent resistance later known as
Satyagraha
against a humiliating law. The same strategy was adopted
against another law which prevented Indians from entering into the
Transvaal province.
Satyagraha
was also offered against a judicial decision
which made illegal all Indian marriages in South Africa which were not
registered and performed in accordance with Christian rites. Gandhi was
arrested and imprisoned for nine months but later the Government had
to compromise in the form of Indian Relief Act and Gandhi was released.
The word
Satyagraha
was first used by Gandhi in South Africa.
It is a compound of two separate words,
Satya
(truth) and
agraha
(adherence, holding fast). Its root meaning is ‚holding on to truth™.

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Gandhi explained that
Satyagraha
was not mere passive resistance. It
meant intense political activity by large masses of people. Non-violence

formed the very basis of

Satyagraha.
In evolving the concept of
Satyagraha
, Gandhi was influenced by the writings of Tolstoy and
Thoreau.
Gandhi™s activities in South Africa transformed him into a mature
and idealist leader. With this impression he returned to India in 1915.

He had to be actively involved and became successful in solving three

local disputesΠin Champaran (North Bihar), in Kheda (Guajrat) and

in Ahmedabad during 1917-18, which recognised him as an influential

political leader.
In Champaran, he took up the cause of peasants against landlords,
in Kheda that of farmers against the collection of land-revenue when

their crops failed, and in Ahmedabad that of the mill-workers against

the mill owners. In each of the cases, the strategy was

Satyagraha
,
and the principles were truth and non-violence. And in every case the

real force working under Gandhi was ‚mass participation™.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the Indians rendered
valuable service to the British. The Congress gave ample demonstration

of loyalty. Mahatma Gandhi showed great enthusiasm and urged the

Gujarat peasants to join the army if they want to win

Swaraj
or self-
rule. Until 1918, he was a supporter of the British government.
The expectations of Indian nationalists for major political gains
after the Great War of 1914-1918 remained unfulfilled. The post war

years were marked by severe economic hardships. Indian industries

faced losses and closure. The workers faced unemployment, high prices

and poverty; the peasantry was groaning under deepening poverty and

high taxation; and the urban educated Indians faced increasing unem-

ployment. Almost all sections of Indian society were adversely affected.

Events of the year 1919 also disillusioned Gandhi and from a cooperator

of the British, he turned to a non-cooperator.

2.02 : Rowlatt Act, 1919
In 1917, the Governor General Lord Chelmsford appointed a
Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Sydney Rowlatt to

investigate the nature and extent of revolutionary activities, and to suggest

legislation if necessary to deal with them effectively. On the basis of

its Report, the government passed the Rowlatt Act in 1919. The Act

authorized the government to imprison any person without trial and

conviction in a Court of law. The Act came as a rude shock to Indians.

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2.03 :
Satyagraha
or Non-violence movement, 1919
In protest against the Rowlatt Act, Gandhi started the
Satyagraha
or the Non-Violence movement in 1919. Satyagraha according to

Gandhi, was a ‚religious movement™, a process of purification and

penance™. The movement was launched on April 6, 1919, with a day

of
hartal
when business was to be suspended and the people were
to fast and pray. The movement gradually became a mass movement.

It projected Gandhi as ‚an all India leader with immense potential™.

He was arrested but was soon set free. The government on its part

crushed the movement with a heavy hand.

2.04 : The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, April 13, 1919
Within a week of the
hartal
of April 6, a considerable part of
Punjab was convulsed with agitation. On April 10, Dr. Satyapal and

Dr. Kitchlew, two popular leaders of the province, were arrested and

deported from Amritsar. On April 13, a public meeting was held in

Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer, who was in command of

the troops, took no steps to prevent it from being held. The meeting

ground was enclosed on all sides by high walls and had one narrow

entrance. Under the orders of General Dyer, British troops mercilessly

fired on the unarmed and defenseless people. Hundreds of lives were

lost and many more

were wounded. Mar-

tial law was pro-

claimed in Punjab. It

was marked by indis-

criminate arrests, con-

fiscation of property,

whipping etc. The

government appointed

a Committee of En-

quiry under Lord

Hunter to probe the

Punjab disturbances.

Dyer was removed

from active service by

the British government

in London, but he was absolved from guilt. A strong wave of discontent

swept the country. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood in

protest against the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.

A picture of Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre

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2.05 : Khilafat Movement
As a result of the defeat of Turkey in the First World War, the
influence of the Khalifa was greatly reduced. The Muslims regarded the

Sultan of Turkey as their Khalifa or spiritual head. They became upset

when they found that he would retain no control over his empire™s holy

places. The Muslims in India became apprehensive of the fate of the

Khalifa and formed a Khilafat Committee under the leadership of

Maulana Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali. Its object was the restoration

of the Sultan of Turkey as Khalifa (Caliph) of Islam. Gandhi decided

to extend support to the Khilafat Movement as he viewed it as a golden

opportunity for bringing Muslims and Hindus together on the national

front. He successfully persuaded the Khilafat Committee to accept the

non-violent non-cooperation movement as the only effective way to force

the government to accept its demand.

2.06 : The Non-Cooperation Movement, 1920-22
The Non-cooperation Movement (Asahayog Andolan) was a major
event in the Indian struggle for independence. This movement started

in 1920 and lasted through 1922, supported all along by the Indian

National Congress. Under Mahatma Gandhi™s leadership, the movement

aimed at British rule through non-violence (ahimsa). Activists refused to buy

British goods, used only local handicrafts, and picketed liquor shops. The

goal was to uphold Indian honour and integrity in a peaceful manner.

Thousands of common citizens rallied for the cause and it was the first large

scale movement in the history of India™s independence. Many factors

culminated over time leading to the Non-cooperation movement. Some of

the significant causes were

1.The discontent over the World War-I, as it had taken big toll on
India™s economy and human resource.
2.The growing British oppression of Indians as demonstrated by the
Rowlatt Act of 1919. It provided the authority with the right

to imprison any person suspected of terrorism for two years

without any trial. Under Gandhi a wide spread protest movement

took place against the Act.

3.The Jalianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

4.The economic exploitation of India by the British.

5.The Indian Muslims had launched the Khilafat movement to

ensure protection of the Ottoman Empire.

The realisation by the national leaders that the constitutional

reforms were not sufficient enough to provide equitable justice to

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Indians and thus decided to launch the Non-cooperation movement
under the leadership of Gandhi at a special session of Indian National

Congress held at Calcutta in 1920. The movement seriously challenged the

economic and political power of the British.

The Non-Cooperation Movement ignited the emotions of the
people. Both Hindus and Muslim participated in it. There was huge

bonfire of foreign cloth in different places. Shops selling foreign goods

and liquor were picketed. Many students left government schools and

colleges. The peasants of Midnapore in Bengal organized a very

effective no-tax campaign. The Congress set up National educational

institutions like the Kashi Vidyapeeth, Baneras Vidyapeeth, the National

Muslim University of Aligarh etc. Seth Jamona Lal Bajaj declared that

he would give Rupees one lakh a year for the maintenance of non-practising

lawyers. Forty lakh volunteers were enrolled by the Congress. Twenty

thousand ‚
Charkhas
™ were manufactured. The people started deciding their
disputes by means of arbitration.TheTilak Swarajya Fund which was started

to finance the Non-cooperation movement was able to collect over a crore

of rupees within a short period. The women too actively took part in the

movement. Even the visit of the Prince of Wales was boycotted. Gandhi

toured almost the whole country to whip up enthusiasm of the people.

The Non-cooperation movement had two aspects Πpositive and
negative. The former included the promotion of
Swadeshi,
particularly
the revival of hand-spinning and weaving; removal of untouchability

among the Hindus; promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity; prohibition of

the use of alcoholic drinks, and the collection of a crore of rupees for

the memorial of Tilak (in terms of

Swarjya
Fund).
The negative side is usually referred to as the triple boycott;
namely, boycott of Legislatures, Courts and educational institutions-

schools and colleges maintained or aided by the Government. The minor

items of boycott included surrender of titles, honours etc. The negative

programme necessitated some positive steps, like setting up- arbitration

boards to take the place of Courts, and National schools and colleges

where students leaving Government schools and colleges might continue

their education. It was made clear that

Ahimsa
or Non-violence was
to be strictly observed by the non-cooperators. They were not to give

up
satya
or truth under any circumstances.
The movement launched by Gandhi was ratified by the Nagpur
session of the Congress in December, 1920. It declared that ‚the object

of the Indian National Congress is the attainment of

Swaraj
by the
people of India by all legitimate and peaceful means™. A new era dawned

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upon India™s struggle for freedom. The Congress for the first time decided
to follow a policy of direct action. The Congress became a mass-based

organization.
2.07 : End of Non-Cooperation Movement, 1922
Much against the wishes and instructions of Gandhi, people at certain
places did not remain peaceful. On February 5, 1922, there was serious

mob violence at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district of United Province

(British India). The local police attacked the protestors and then they violently

collided with the police. Three protestors were killed in police firing.
Protestors burnt down the police station and about twenty two policemen

were killed. Gandhi was shocked at this incident and felt that without

adequate discipline and restraint on the part of the people, the Movement

had proved to be a ‚Himalayan blunder™. He at once suspended the

movement
and sat on fast for three weeks. Many congress leaders welcomed
the decision of Gandhi, but a t the
same time
some other national leaders
didnot like to stop the movement for isolated incidents of violence. He was

arrested on 10th March, 1922 and sentenced to six years imprisonment for

the allegation that he instigated people for violence. Still Gandhi remained firm

on his principle of non-violence. His imprisonment again led to another

movement. The Congress W

orking Committee ratified Gandhi™s decision and
accordingly on February 12, 1922, the Non-cooperation movement came to

an end.
2.08 : Simon Commission
The Government of India Act of 1919, laid down that after
a period of about ten years, a

Commission would arrive in India

to inquire into the working of the

reforms introduced by it. Accord-

ingly, in 1928, a Commission of

seven members under the leader-

ship of Sir John Simon reached

India. But as the Commission did

not have a single Indian member,

the Congress boycotted it. Slo-

gans of ‚Go Back Simon™ rent the

air. At Lahore, a procession orga-

nized against the Simon Commis-

sion under the leadership of Lala

Lajpat Rai was ‚lathi-charged™.

Protest rally against Simon Commission
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Lajpat Rai was seriously wounded and he subsequently died.
Demand for Complete Independence or
Purna Swaraj

: In 1929,
the Lahore session of the Congress under the Presidentship of Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru declared Complete Independence as the chief goal of the

Indians. Consequently,
January 26, 1930, was celebrated as Indepen-
dence Day throughout the country.
2.09 : Civil Disobedience Movement, 1930-34
One of the factors leading to the Civil Disobedience Movement was
the formation of the Simon Commission by the British Government. It

included only the British Parliament members and came into effect in

November 1927 to report the working of the constitution established by

the Government of India Act of 1919. However, political parties and social

organisations of India did not accept the Commission as it was accused

of being an ‚All-White Commission™. This was followed by a strike in Bengal

on 3 February 1928. Simon™s arrival in Calcutta was met with demonstra-

tions. Meanwhile, Motilal Nehru shouldered the responsibility of the drafting

committee and prepared the constitution for India. Indian National Congress

accepted the Nehru Report and pressurised the government to accept it.

The Calcutta Session of the INC held in 1928 warned the British government

that it would start a Civil Disobedience Movement if India was not granted

the dominion status.

1n 1929, at Lahore Congress, it was decided that the goal of
the Congress was to attain Purna Swaraj or complete independence for

India. Consequently, on 26 January 1930, ‚Purna Swaraj Day™ was

celebrated in India. On 31 January 1930, Gandhi gave an ultimatum to the

Viceroy Lord Irwin to remove the evils of the British rule with a list of

demands. The list of demands was:

Prohibition of use of intoxicants,
Change of the ratio of rupee and sterling
Reduction of the rate of land revenue
Abolition of salt tax
Reduction of military expenditure
Reduction of expenditure on civil administration
Imposition of custom duty on foreign cloths
Acceptance of the Postal Reservation Bill
Abolition of the Crime Investigation Department.
Release of all political prisoners
Issuing license of arms to citizens for self protection, subject to
popular control

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Gandhi clearly mentioned that if those 11 points were ignored,
then the nation would be going to launch the Civil Disobedience

movement. Consequently, the Civil Disobedience Movement started

in 1930 with the famous Salt Satyagraha of Gandhi, also known

as Dandi March that was launched on 12 March 1930. On that

day, Gandhi with some of his follow-

ers left the Sabarmati Ashram at

Ahmedabad and made their way to-

wards Dandi, a village on the west

coast of India. After travelling for

twenty-five days and covering a dis-

tance of 385 km, they reached Dandi

on 6 April 1930. Here, Gandhi pro-

tested against the Salt Law (salt was

a monopoly of the government and no

one was allowed to make salt) by

making salt himself and throwing up

a challenge to the British government.

The movement spread and salt laws were challenged in other parts

of the country.
In the North West Frontier Province, the Movement was led by
the ‚Khudai Khitmadgars™ (Servants of God) popularly known as the Red
Shirts under the leadership of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (also known as

‚Frontier Gandhi™). Gandhi and thousands of freedom lovers (men, women

and children) were arrested. The first Round Table Conference in London
was boycotted by the Congress as the Civil Disobedience Movement was

going on.
2.10 : Gandhi ΠIrwin Pact, 1931
On March 5, 1931, an agreement of understanding was reached
between Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India. The

terms of the agreement included the immediate release of all political

prisoners not convicted for violence, the remission of all fines not

yet collected and the return of confiscated lands of

Satyagrahis
not
yet sold to third parties. The government also conceded the right to

make salt for consumption to villages along the coast, as also the

right to peaceful and non-aggressive picketing. The Congress on its

part agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience movement. It was also

understood that the Congress would participate in the next Round

Table Conference.
The famous Dandi march of Gandhi

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2.11 :The Second Round Table
Conference, 1931
The Second Round Table Conference
was held in London in 1931. Mahatma

Gandhi participated in it as the sole repre-

sentative of the Congress. The conference

was a failure as no decisions could be

reached regarding joint or separate elector-

ates and the number of seats for various

communities. Gandhi returned to India being

disappointed.
2.12 : Restarting of the Civil Disobedience Movement, 1932
The Civil Disobedience Movement was re-started in 1932, but
even before the movement actually started Gandhi was arrested along
with Vallabhbhai Patel who at that time was the President of the
Congress. The government also took forcible possession of the office

of the Congress. Lathi-charges were common to disperse the crowds.

Even women and children were not spared. Whipping became a
common punishment. The freedom of the Press was curtailed. Nation-

alist literature - poems, stories and novels were banned on a large

scale. Yet, the movement continued to linger on. However, a stage
came when the political enthusiasm of the people became less and less

and feelings of frustration set in. The Movement was suspended in May,
1933 and completely withdrawn in May, 1934.
The Civil Disobedience Movement demonstrated the awakening of the
political consciousness among the Indian masses. At the same time, it
exposed the British rule in India in all its naked hideousness and lowered
its prestige in the eyes of the world.
2.13 : Communal Award, 1932
It was during the disturbed days of the Civil Disobedience
Movement that the British policy of ‚Divide and Rule™ found a new

expression in the announcement of the Communal Award in August,

1932, by British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald. Apart from

continuing with the policy of giving seperate electorates to the minority

communities, namely, Sikh, Christian and Muslim, the Award declared

the depressed classes also to be minorities. They were given separate

electorates and thus separated them from the rest of the Hindus. On

this issue,
Gandhi, then in Jail, undertook a fast unto death
. He
A picture of the Second Round Table Conference

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succeeded in getting the Poona Pact (1932) by which the
depressed classes
along with other Hindus were to have joint electorates. The British

government agreed to amend the Communal Award in the light of the

Poona Pact. Gandhi soon got fully involved in the anti-untouchability

struggle, which led to the foundation of the

Harijan Sevak Sangh
.
2.14 : Formation of Congress Ministries, 1937-1939
In 1935, the British government passed the Government of India
Act by which Provincial autonomy was given to the Indian Provinces. As

a result of the elections, the Congress party formed government in eight

out of the eleven provinces, with the exception of Punjab, Sind and Bengal.

The prestige of the Congress as the alternative to colonial state rose even
higher.
2.15 : Resignation of Congress Ministries, 1939
When the Second World War broke out, the Government of India
immediately declared India to be at war with Germany without

consulting the Congress or the elected members of the Central

legislature. The Congress claimed that since the war had been declared

without the consent of the Indian people, it could not associate itself

with it unless India was declared an independent nation. The Congress

ministries therefore resigned on November 1, 1939.

2.16 : Demand for Pakistan, 1940
The resignation of the Congress ministries was celebrated by the
Muslim League as ‚The Day of Deliverance™ on December 22, 1939.

At the Lahore session of the Muslim League (March, 1940), Jinnah,

in his Presidential Address, emphasizing on his Two-nation theory

demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims or what he called as

Pakistan. The English who wanted to weaken the national movement

also encouraged separatist spirit.

2.17 : Individual
Satyagraha
, Oct, 1940
In August, 1940, the Viceroy announced the famous ‚August
offer™ proposing the expansion of the Viceroy™s Executive Council,

and to constitute it as a War Advisory Council for the purpose of

associating Indians in war efforts. However, as it did not propose

the granting of independence, the offer was rejected both by the

Congress and Muslim League. As a moral protest against Britain™s

policy towards India, the Congress started the Individual

Satyagraha
in October, 1940, under the guidance of Mahatma
Gandhi. Individual
Satyagraha
was also known as ‚
Delhi Chalo

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Satyagraha™
. The first
satyagrahi
to court arrest was Acharya
Vinoba Bhabe.
2.18 : Cripps Mission, 1942
The entry of Japan in the War and their remarkable success posed
a real danger to the safety of India™s defence. It made England to soften

her attitude towards India. In March 1942, the British War Cabinet sent

Sir Stafford Cripps with new constitutional proposals. He proposed

to set up an Indian Union with Dominion status soon after the war.

He had consultations with the different political parties, but as he did

not propose any immediate transfer of power, his scheme was not

accepted both by the Congress and the Muslim League. The general

feeling was expressed by a pithy saying, that they were a ‚post- dated cheque

on a crashing bank™.
2.19 : Quit India Movement, August 1942
In September1939, the Second World War broke out. M.K.Gandhi
and J.Nehru both were strongly critical of Hitler and the Nazis. Therefore,

they promised the British to provide the support of the Congress to their

war efforts, in return they asked to grant India complete independence. The

offer was not accepted by the British government. As a mark of protest

the Congress ministers resigned in October 1939. Between 1940 and 1941,

the Congress organised a series of individual satyagrahas to put pressure

on the government. At this time Britain had all party government, whose

labour members were sympathetic to the demands of the Indians, but the

Prime Minister Winston Churchill was conservative enough to liquidate

Britain™s empire. In 1942, Churchill was pressurised to send one of his

ministers, Sir Stafford Cripps to negotiate with Indian political parties seeking

their support in the war that Britain was waging in Europe. A Draft

Declaration of the British Government was offered to India, which included

the establishment of a dominion, the establishment of a constituent assembly

and the rights of provinces to make separate constitutions.All this would

be granted only after the war. However, the Cripps mission failed and Gandhi

decided to launch his third major movement against the British. Other factors

which led to the Quit India Movement was the fear of Japan attacking India,
terror in East Bengal and the fact that India had realised that the British

could not defend the country anymore.

Accordingly, in August 1942, Gandhi launched the Quit India
Movement, also known as the August Movement on the basis of the

resolution passed on 8 August, 1942 in Bombay by the All India

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Congress Committee, declaring
its demand for an immediate

end of the British rule. The

nation was inspired by the

Gandhi™s slogan of ‚Do or Die™

(‚Karo ya Maro™).
Immediately, the Congress
was banned and Gandhi and most

of the Congress leaders were

swiftly arrested; most of whom

had to spend the next three years

in jail, until World War II ended.

The people, however, were un-

stoppable. There were hartals

and demonstrations all over the

country. The people attacked all

symbols of the British govern-

ment such as railway stations, law courts and police stations. Railway

lines were damaged and telegraph lines were cut. In some places, people

even set up their independent government. The movement was most

widespread in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Bombay, Odisha and Andhra

Pradesh. Places such as Ballia, Tamluk, Satara, Dharwar, Balasore and
Talcher were freed from British rule and the people there formed their

own governments.
Though the movement
was short-lived, it demonstrated
the depth that nationalist feeling

had reached in the country and

the great capacity for struggle

and sacrifice that the people had

developed. The movement

marked a new high in terms of

participation of the masses in

the nationalist struggle for free-

dom. Students, women, peas-

ants and workers played impor-

tant roles. This historic move-

ment placed the demand for

independence in the immediate

Protest procession in Quit India Movement
8 August 1942, Gandhi™s speech in Quit India Movement

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agenda of the national movement. After ‚Quit India™ there could be no
retreat. Independence was no longer a matter of bargain, for any future

negotiations with the British government could only be on the manner

of transfer of power.
2.20 : Indian National Army
After the suppression of the Revolt of 1942, there was hardly
any political activity inside the country till the war ended in 1945. The

national movement however found a new expression outside the

country™s frontiers. In 1941, Subhas Chandra

Bose, who was twice elected as President of

the Indian National Congress, was interned in

his own house in Calcutta for his anti-British

activities. But he eluded police vigilance and

went to Afghanistan, Russia, Germany and

ultimately to Burma and Malaya. In 1943, with

the aid of expatriate nationalist leader Rash

Behari Bose, the Indian National Army (INA)

or the Azad Hind Fauz was revived.

The idea of the Indian National Army
(INA) was first conceived by Captain Mohan

Singh, an Indian officer of the British army in Malaya who had to

surrender to the Japanese in the Second World War.

In March, 1942, a conference of expatriate Indians was held in Tokyo
which led to the formation of the
Indian Independence League
. This was
followed by a conference in Bangkok (June, 1942) where Rash Behari Bose

was elected President of the League and a decision was taken to raise

the Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauz. The Bangkok conference

also invited Subhas Chandra Bose to Japan. Shortly after his arrival, Rash

Behari Bose resigned from the Presidency of the Indian Independence

League in favour of Bose.

In Singapore, on October 21, 1943, he formed the ‚Provisional
Government of free India™ (Azad Hind Sarkar) whose object was to

expel the British from Indian soil. The INA was reorganized, and apart

from the Indian Prisioners ofWar, recruits were sought from civilians,

funds were gathered and even a women™s regiment called the Rani

Jhansi regiment was formed.

The slogan of the INA was ‚Jai Hind™. It fought with the Japanese
army against the British and Commonwealth forces in the campaigns

in Burma, Imphal and Kohima. Bose™s famous quote, ‚give me blood

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

History
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and I shall give you freedom™ motivated his followers. However, the defeat
of Japan and surrender in the war also led to the eventual surrender of

INA.
Subhas Bose is reported to have been killed in an air crash in August,
1945. Even though his strategy of winning freedom in cooperation with the

Fascist powers was criticized, at the same time most of the Indian nationalist

praised him for organizing the INA to set an inspiring example of patriotism
before the Indian people and the Indian army. He was hailed as Netaji

by the entire country.

TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE :
In 1945, the SecondWorldWar
concluded in favour of the English. So with a view to giving some more

powers to the Indians, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, called a

conference of the different political leaders at Simla. The conference failed

and the political deadlock continued.

In 1946, the new Labour party Prime Minister, Mr. ClementAttlee,
who was sympathetic to the Indians, sent the
Cabinet Mission to India
.
Its aim was to resolve the deadlock and make India a free country.

The Mission comprised of three members of Attlee™s Cabinet,

viz
, Sir
Stafford Cripps, Lord Pathic Lawrence and Mr. A.V. Alexander. Among

other things, the Mission recommended that (i) there was to be a Union

of India comprising both British India and the Indian states with control
over foreign affairs, defence and communication. India was to be
divided into three groups of provinces- Group A consisting of Madras,

Bombay, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Bihar and Orissa; Group

B - North West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan; and

Group C- Bengal and Assam. (ii) A Constituent Assembly should be

elected to draw the future Constitution of the country (iii) Till the

Constitution was ready, an interim government should be set up at the

Centre.
In the elections for the Constituent Assembly, the Congress bagged
majority seats. The Muslim League boycotted the Assembly and on

August 16, 1946, it observed the ‚Direct Action Day™ to achieve

Pakistan. Communal riots broke out in different parts of the country,

especially Bengal. Nevertheless, an interim government under the leadership

of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was formed at the centre. The Muslim League

initially refused to be a part of the ministry, but later joined it of its own

accord. The rift between the Congress and the Muslim League however

continued.
On February 20, 1947, Prime Minister Attlee announced the
decision of His Majesty™s Government to hand over power to the people
Rise of Gandhi and the Freedom Movement of India
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of India by a date not later than June, 1948. In March 1947, Lord
Mountbatten replaced Lord Wavell as the Viceroy of India.
2.21 : Declaration of June 3, 1947
On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten declared that the only solution
to the political impasse was the partition of the country, and he won

over the Congress leaders to that viewpoint. The main features of his

declaration were - (i) India was to be partitioned. (ii) A referendum

would be held in North West Frontier Province to ascertain whether

their inhabitants wanted to join India or Pakistan. (iii) The Provincial

Legislatures of Punjab and Bengal would decide whether these provinces

were to be partitioned or not and (iv) The native states were free to

join either India or Pakistan.

2.22 : Indian Independence Act, 1947
The British Parliament passed the Indian
Independence Act in July 1947. Its main provisions

were-

(i)India and Pakistan were to become indepen-

dent on August 15, 1947.
(ii)Two
dominions of India and Pakistan were
to be established and their Constituent As-

semblies were to decide whether to remain

within the British Commonwealth of Nations

or not.
(iii)
Each dominion was to have a Governor General appointed by the
King.
(iv)
The Legislatures of both the dominions were fully empowered to
make their laws.
2.23 : August 15, 1947, birth of Independent India
On August 15, 1947, British domination over India came to an end.
The country was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Mohammad Ali Jinnah

became the first Governor General of Pakistan, while Lord Mountbatten

was appointed as the first Governor-General of Free India. Jawaharlal Nehru

was sworn in as the Prime Minster.

On August 17, 1947, the Radcliffe Line was accepted as the
boundary demarcation line between India and Pakistan. In March 1971,

when Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) became Independent from

Pakistan, the Radcliffe Line remained as the demarcation line between India

and Bangladesh.
Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru