Quit India Movement

The Background 

The Quit India Movement was one of the most powerful national struggle movements characterised by unparalleled heroism demonstrated by the people of India. The main reason behind this movement was the failure of the Cripps Mission; popular discontent among the mass due to rising prices of essential items and acute shortage of food stuff in the country; the news of collapse of the British invincibility worldwide; racial characters of the British empire; worsening of communal problems; and the fear of Japanese attack on India due to the British occupation.

Launch of the movement  

The Congress Working Committee met in Wardah on 14 July, 1942 and accepted Gandhi’s proposal of launching a mass movement to force British quit India. As a result a resolution called Quit India Resolution was passed by the Congress in Bombay on 8 August 1942. It called for the immediate end of the British rule and formation of a provisional government. Gandhi in his famous speech gave a call to oust the British by declaring ‘Do or Die’.

Program of the Movement  

Though the programs of the movement were not issued, Gandhi gave instructions in his famous speech. He asked the government servants to continue working and show their allegiance to the Congress. He asked the soldiers to report for their duty but refuse to shoot Indians. Peasants were asked to stop paying their dues to the Zamindars. He asked the students to quit studies until the country is free.

The government decided not to take any chance and on the morning of 9 August 1942, even before the movement was begun arrested all Congress leaders including Gandhi, Nehru and Maulana Azad. As the news of the arrest of the Congress leaders spread people began to protest violently. Railway tracks were removed, telegraph lines were cut, offices and courts were damaged, police stations were attacked. Students boycotted schools and colleges and took out processions. Workers went on strike and peasants actively supported the strike.

Government Reaction

The government reacted by use of force and severe repression. Nearly 60000 people were arrested, 940 peoples died due to police firing and another 1630 were injured in the police firing.

The movement was a short lived one and was crushed with heavy hands by the government. The reason was lack of coordination among people and the absence of a clear cut program of action. Also the protest largely remained confined to students and workers and didn’t enjoy mass popularity.

Impact of the movement  

Despite being a short lived movement the Quit India movement had tremendous impact on the people of India. The movement though was crushed by the government, brought new confidence among the people and people from all walk of life participated. Also the British realised that it was no longer possible to rule India against the wishes of the Indian people. This also drew attention of the world powers and Britain’s ally in the WW2, the USA to the problems in the Indian colony leading to the pressure on the Britain to decide to quit India in the near future.