Table of Contents

National Movement During the Second World War ......................................................................... 3

Debates in Wardha .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Congress Resignation ................................................................................................................................................ 4

Nationalist Movement in 1940 .................................................................................................................. 4

Gandhi's Reservations on Civil Disobedience ............................................................................................................. 4
Ramgarh Session (March 1940) ................................................................................................................................. 5
Anti-Compromise Conference (Ramgarh, 1940) ......................................................................................................... 5
August Offer (August 1940) ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Individual Satyagraha (Individual Civil Disobedience) ............................................................................................... 6
Pakistan Resolution (1940) ........................................................................................................................................ 7

Jawaharlal Nehru: Gandhi's Successor ...................................................................................................... 7

Cripps Mission (March 1942)..................................................................................................................... 8
Background ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Cripps Proposals ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Rejection of the Cripps Proposals ............................................................................................................................... 9

Quit India Movement ............................................................................................................................. 11

Background ............................................................................................................................................................. 11
Quit India Resolution ............................................................................................................................................... 12
Gandhi's specific instructions for different sections.................................................................................................. 13
The Movement ........................................................................................................................................................ 13
Government’s Repression ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Underground Activities ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Parallel Governments .............................................................................................................................................. 15
Participation ............................................................................................................................................................ 15
End of the Movement .............................................................................................................................................. 16
Gandhi’s Fast (February 1943) ................................................................................................................................. 17

Efforts to Bridge the Congress-League Divide .......................................................................................... 17

Rajaji’s Formula (C. R. Formula) ............................................................................................................................... 17
Gandhi Jinnah Talks (September 1944) .................................................................................................................... 18
Desai–Liaquat Pact (January 1945) .......................................................................................................................... 18

Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) ................................................................................................... 19

Subhas Chandra Bose .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) .................................................................................................................... 21
Impact of Indian National Army .............................................................................................................................. 22

Unsung Heroes ....................................................................................................................................... 23

Usha Mehta ............................................................................................................................................................. 23
Aruna Asaf Ali ......................................................................................................................................................... 24
 Lakshmi Sahgal........................................................................................................................................................ 24

Great Personalities ................................................................................................................................. 25

C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Bhulabhai Desai (1877-1946) ................................................................................................................................... 26

Author: Vishwajeet Kawar

Protégé of PMF IAS

Suggestions / Feedback: vishwjeethistory@gmail.com | t.me/vishwjeetkawar | t.me/pmfiashistory

 National Movement During the Second World War

• The Second World War broke out on 1 September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Britain
and France were forced to go to Poland's aid, and on 3 September, Britain declared war against
Germany.
• The Government of India immediately joined the war without consulting the Congress or the
elected members of the central legislature. Viceroy Linlithgow declared that the whole of India was
voluntarily helping the war effort. But in reality, the majority of the people of India were not
interested in it. They made no distinction between Nazism and the double autocracy of the British.
• The Congress fully supported those affected by fascist aggression and wanted to assist democratic
forces in their fight against fascism. However, Congress leaders questioned how a nation under
oppression could help others in their quest for freedom. Therefore, they offered full cooperation in
the war, provided:
1. The responsible government should be established in India immediately.
2. The Constituent Assembly should be established to frame the constitution of free India after the
war.

Debates in Wardha
• The Congress officially declared its stance at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC)
in Wardha from September 10 to 14. The following views emerged from the meeting:
1. Taking advantage of the war: Subhas Bose and Socialists such as Acharya Narendra Dev and
Jayaprakash Narayan contended that the war was imperialistic because both sides were fighting
to protect their colonial territories. Hence, congress should seize the opportunity to gain freedom.
This was to be done by:
❖ Opposing the British efforts to mobilise India's resources for the war.
❖ Launching a strong movement against the British.
• The prime concern of the proponent of this view was to achieve India's freedom, but they were
not concerned about the intentional situation.
2. Conditional Backing: Jawaharlal Nehru differentiates between fascism and democratic values.
He considered fascism the greatest threat.
❖ Nehru believed that justice was on the side of Britain, France, and Poland in the war. However,
he was also convinced that Britain and France were imperialistic nations, and the war resulted
from their internal contradictions.
❖ Therefore, Nehru argued that India should neither participate in the war until it gained
freedom nor exploit Britain's difficulties by immediately initiating a struggle.
 3. Unconditional support to Britain: Gandhiji was highly critical of Hitler and adopted a
sympathetic attitude towards the British. He believed that India should not seek advantage of
Britain's problems and should cooperate with the British in their war efforts unconditionally.
However, later, he supported Nehru’s position.
• The CWC adopted Nehru's stance. In its resolution, while strongly condemning the Nazi attack on
Poland, it stated that:
❖ India could not participate in a war supposedly fought for democratic freedom, while that very
freedom was denied to India.
❖ If Britain was truly fighting for democracy and freedom, she should demonstrate this commitment
in India by establishing democracy.

Congress Resignation
• Mahatma Gandhi met the viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, on October 13, 1939. The negotiations broke
down as the Viceroy did not accept Congress's demand.
• The Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, issued a statement on October 17, 1939, in which he attempted to use
the Muslim League and the Princes against the Congress.
❖ As an immediate measure, Linlithgow proposed setting up a consultative committee that the
Government could consult whenever it felt necessary.
❖ Linlithgow also promised that the British Government would talk with representatives from various
communities, parties, and interests in India, along with Indian princes, to discuss how the Act of
1935 could be modified at the end of the War.
• In protest, on 23 October, the CWC:
❖ Rejected the Viceroy’s statement.
❖ Decided not to support Britain’s war effort.
❖ Asked its ministers to resign.

Nationalist Movement in 1940

Gandhi's Reservations on Civil Disobedience

• There were two opinions in Congress about the launching of civil disobedience.
1. Gandhi felt that the atmosphere did not favour civil disobedience as:
❖ There were differences and indiscipline within the Congress.
❖ Masses were not ready.
❖ There was a lack of Hindu-Muslim unity.
2. Bose, socialists and communists who advocated civil disobedience, tried to persuade Gandhi,
saying that once the movement began, differences would vanish, and everyone would cooperate for
its success.
• However, Gandhi disagreed, and in such an atmosphere, the Congress met at Ramgarh in March 1940.

Ramgarh Session (March 1940)

• The 53rd session of Congress presided over by Maulana Azad, was held in 1940 at Ramgarh (a district
in Jharkhand). The Congress declared that nothing short of complete independence was acceptable.
It stated that:
❖ The elected ministries of Congress had resigned to ensure India's disassociation from the war.
❖ Once the organisation is ready, Congress will initiate civil disobedience to liberate India from
British rule.
• The decision to launch mass civil disobedience was left to Mahatma Gandhi.

Anti-Compromise Conference (Ramgarh, 1940)

• In March 1940, Subhas Bose arranged an 'Anti-Compromise Conference' at Ramgarh, Bihar. It was
convened under the joint auspices of the Forward Bloc and the Kisan Sabha. The conference urged
the people not to help the British war efforts.
• The Socialists, Communists, Kisan Sabhaites, and those belonging to the Forward Bloc were unhappy
with the Ramgarh resolution. A compromise with imperial power was not acceptable to the radical
nationalists. They urged the people to resist compromise with imperialism and be ready for action.
• The anti-compromise conference was a step towards preventing India from being a participant in
the war and a critique of the imperialist policies of the British.

August Offer (August 1940)

• As the war was taking a menacing turn from the Allied point of view:
❖ The Congress softened its demands and offered to cooperate in the war if a transfer of authority
in India was made to an interim government.
❖ The British government also softened its stance and became more conciliatory.
• In order to get the support of Indians in the war effort, on August 8, 1940, the Viceroy Linlithgow
announced the August Offer at Simla.

Important provisions of August Offer

1. It promised a dominion status after the war.
2. Expanding the Governor-General's Executive Council to include more Indians and have an Indian
majority.
3. Establishment of a constituent assembly after the war to frame a new constitution.
4. The establishment of a War Advisory Council, which would meet at regular intervals and include
representatives of the Indian States.
5. The views of minorities should be given full weight, and no future constitution should be adopted
without their consent.
• The viceroy also promised the Muslim League and other minorities that the British Government would
never agree to a constitution or government in India which did not enjoy their support.

Significance of the August Offer

✓ Self-determination: For the first time, the right of Indians to frame their constitution was accepted.
✓ Dominion status was explicitly offered.

Stand of Congress and Muslim League

• The offer was rejected by both the Congress and the Muslim League. The Congress rejected this offer
because:
1. There was no suggestion for a national government.
2. It encouraged anti-Congress forces like the Muslim League.
• The Muslim League rejected it as it started its demand for a separate state of Pakistan.
• After the failure of the August Offer in 1940, the INC decided to launch the "Individual Satyagraha"
under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

Individual Satyagraha (Individual Civil Disobedience)

• At the Ramgarh session of Congress, the decision to launch mass civil disobedience was left to
Mahatma Gandhi. By 1940, the government issued many ordinances taking away the freedom of
speech. The government frequently arrested Congress members, particularly those with socialist views,
as a preventive measure. They detained many labour and youth leaders.
• Gandhiji declared that the immediate issue was not the "Freedom of India” but "Freedom of Speech".
To affirm the right to free speech, on 17th October 1940, Gandhi officially inaugurated the Individual
Satyagraha.
• Gandhi gave the call for a limited satyagraha by a few selected individuals as he did not want to
embarrass Britain's war effort by a mass upheaval in India. Vinoba Bhave and Jawaharlal Nehru were
nominated as the first and second satyagrahis, respectively.
• The aim of launching individual satyagraha was to disprove the British claim that India supported
the War effort wholeheartedly.
• The satyagrahi demanded the freedom to speak out against the war through an anti-war declaration.
If the government didn't arrest the satyagrahi, they would not only repeat the action but also go to
villages and begin a march towards Delhi, leading to a movement known as the 'Delhi Chalo
Movement.' By May 15, 1941, more than 25,000 satyagrahis had been jailed.
• The movement finally ended in December 1941 when CWC decided to suspend it.
Significance
✓ The individual satyagraha movement provided a platform for ordinary people to express their
dissent against British policies at a personal level.
✓ It was a unique form of resistance that emphasised the power of one’s individuality in the larger
politics of the freedom struggle.

[UPSC CSE 2009] In the 'Individual Satyagraha', Vinoba Bhave was chosen as the first
Satyagrahi. Who was the second?
a) Dr Rajendra Prasad
b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
c) C. Rajagopalachari
d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer: Option B

Pakistan Resolution (1940)

• On 23 March 1940, the All-India Muslim League passed a resolution in its Lahore session demanding
a measure of autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent, encompassing the entire
north-western and north-eastern parts. However, this ambiguous resolution did not mention
partition or Pakistan.
 Pakistan celebrates 23 March as its National Day.

Jawaharlal Nehru: Gandhi's Successor

• Having occupied Poland, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and France in the West as well as most of Eastern
Europe, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.
• On 7 December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour and
joined the war on the side of Germany and Italy. It quickly overran the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya
and Burma. It occupied Rangoon in March 1942. This brought the war to India's doorstep.
• The recently released Congress leaders were worried about India's safety and defence. Despite
objections from Gandhiji and Nehru, the CWC passed a resolution offering full cooperation in the
defence of India and the Allies on the condition that Britain grant full independence after the war and
the substance of power immediately. It was at this time that Gandhi designated Jawaharlal Nehru as
his chosen successor.

Gandhi's speech before AICC on 15 January 1941

• Gandhi said, “Somebody suggested that Pandit Jawaharlal and I were estranged. It will require much
more than differences of opinion to estrange us. We have had differences from the moment we
became co-workers, and yet I have said for some years and say now that not C. Rajagopalachari but
 Jawaharlal will be my successor. He does not understand my language, and he speaks a language
foreign to me. This may or may not be true. But language is no bar to the union of hearts. And I know
that when I am gone, he will speak my language.”

Cripps Mission (March 1942)

Background
Unfavourable Churchill
• In 1942, Britain had an all-party government whose Labour members were sympathetic to Indian
aspirations, but Conservative Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a diehard imperialist who made
every effort to thwart the success of Cripps.

Unfavourable War Situation

• Having occupied Poland, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and France in the West as well as most of Eastern
Europe, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.
• On 7 December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour and
joined the war on the side of Germany and Italy. It quickly overran the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya
and Burma. It occupied Rangoon in March 1942. This brought the war to India's doorstep.
• The recently released Congress leaders denounced Japanese aggression and once again offered to
fully cooperate in the defence of India and the Allied cause if Britain immediately transferred the
substance of power to India and promised complete independence after the war.
• There was also pressure on Britain from the Allies to get the active cooperation of Indians in the
war.

Cripps Proposals
• To gain India's cooperation in the War, the British Government, headed by Conservative Prime Minister
Winston, sent a mission headed by a cabinet minister, Sir Stafford Cripps, to India in March 1942.
• Some of the Cripps proposals, embodied in a Draft Declaration, were:
1. Immediately after the war, an Indian union with dominion status would be established, with the
right to secede from the Commonwealth.
2. Any Indian province could stay outside the Indian Union and directly negotiate with Britain.
3. The princely states that did not wish to accede to India could continue in their pre-existing
relations with the British crown.
4. After the war, a constituent assembly would be set up. The members would be elected by the
provincial assemblies and nominated by the rulers in the case of the princely states.
5. In the meantime, the actual control of defence and military operations would be retained by the
British Government.
• The proposals also promised the protection of minorities. The British government would accept the
new constitution subject to two conditions:
1. Any province unwilling to join the Union could have a separate constitution and form a separate
Union.
2. The constitution-making body and the British government would engage in negotiations to draft
a treaty that would effect the transfer of power and protect the rights of racial and religious
minorities.

[UPSC CSE 2009] Who among the following Prime Ministers sent Cripps Mission to India?
a) James Ramsay MacDonald
b) Stanley Baldwin
c) Neville Chamberlain
d) Winston Churchill
Answer: Option D

Rejection of the Cripps Proposals

• Almost all the Indian parties rejected this Declaration.
• Pandit Nehru and Maulana Azad were the official Congress negotiators with Cripps Mission. They
objected to:
➢ The provision for Dominion Status rather than complete independence (Purna Swaraj).
➢ Right of the provinces to secede (It went against the policy of national unity)
➢ The British Government's refusal to accept the Congress demand for the immediate transfer of
effective power to Indians.
➢ The representation of the princely states in the constituent assembly by the nominees of the rulers
rather than by the people of the states.
• Mahatma Gandhi called the proposal a post-dated cheque on a tottering bank.
• The Muslim League criticised the idea of a single Indian union and demanded a definite declaration
by the British in favour of the creation of a separate state for the Muslims.
• The Hindu Mahasabha and liberals criticised the provision of the right of the provinces to secede.
• The Depressed Classes, the Sikhs, the Indian Christians, and the Anglo-Indians demanded more
safeguards for their communities.

[UPSC CSE 2010] Who among the following were official Congress negotiators with Cripps
Mission?
a) Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel
b) Acharya J. B. Kripalani and C. Rajagopalachari
c) Pandit Nehru and Maulana Azad
 d) Dr Rajendra Prasad and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Answer: Option C

[UPSC CSE 2016] The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World
War:
a) India should be granted complete independence
b) India should be partitioned into two before granting independence
c) India should be made a republic with the condition that she will join the Commonwealth
d) India should be given Dominion status
Answer: Option D

[UPSC CSE 2022] With reference to the proposals of Cripps Mission, consider the following
statements:
1. The Constituent Assembly would have members nominated by the Provincial Assemblies as well
as the Princely States.
2. Any Province, which is not prepared to accept the new Constitution would have the right to sign
a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: Option B

[UPSC CSE 2003] Which of the following was an important aspect of the Cripps mission
1942?
a) All Indian state should join the Indian union as a condition to consider any degree of autonomy
for India.
b) The creation of an Indian union with Dominion status very soon after the second world war.
c) The participation and cooperation of the Indian people communities and political parties in the
British war effort as a condition for granting independence with full sovereign status to India after
the Second World War.
d) The farming of a constitution for the entire Indian union with no separate constitution for any
province and a union constitution to be accepted by all provinces.
Answer: Option B

[UPSC CSE 2009] Consider the following statements:

The Cripps Proposals included the provisions for
 1. Full independence for India
2. Creation of Constitution making body
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Choose the correct answer from the following
options.
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: Option B

Quit India Movement

Background
1. The failure of the Cripps Mission: The failure of the Cripps Mission made it clear that Britain was not
ready to give India any real Constitutional advance.
2. The rising prices and shortages in food supplies during the war: It heightened the already increased
discontent among the people.
3. British evacuation from Malaya and Burma: It led to the loss of people's faith in the stability of
British rule.
4. The arrival of Japanese armies on Indian borders: As the Japanese forces moved towards India, the
spectre of the Japanese conquest began to haunt the people and their leaders. People also believed
that the Japanese might occupy India.
5. Gandhiji was becoming more and more militant.
• Against this background, Gandhi was convinced that a mass movement was necessary to compel the
British to accept the Indian demand for independence. He declared that if he could not convince
Congress, he would address the people directly.

Different opinions within the Congress

• Nehru initially opposed the mass movement to avoid disrupting the British anti-fascist struggle but
eventually supported it.
• C. Rajagopalachari urged the Congress to support the war. He did not participate in the movement.

[UPSC CSE 2013] The Quit India Movement was launched in response to
a) Cabinet Mission Plan
b) Cripps Proposals
c) Simon Commission Report
d) Wavell Plan
 Answer: Option B

Quit India Resolution

• In May 1942, Gandhiji drafted a resolution calling for British withdrawal and non-violent non-
cooperation against any Japanese invasion. In July, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at
Wardha adopted the Resolution (This later became known as the Quit India Resolution), which was to
be ratified at the Bombay All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in August.
• On 8 August 1942, the AICC at Gowalia tank in Bombay, passed a historic Quit India resolution. The
resolution demanded an immediate end to British rule in India.
• The Congress appealed to the people of India: “People must remember that non-violence is the basis
of this movement. A time may come when it may not be possible to issue instructions or for
instructions to reach our people and when no Congress Committee can function. When this happens,
every man and woman participating in this movement must function within the four corners of the
general instructions issued.”
• Addressing the Congress delegates on the night of 8 August, Gandhi said: “I want freedom
immediately, this very night, before dawn, if it can be had... You may take it from me that I will not
strike a bargain with the Viceroy for ministries and the like. I am not going to be satisfied with anything
short of complete freedom.... Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. You may imprint it on your
hearts and let every breath of yours express it. The mantra is: "Do or Die". We shall either free India or
die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.”

[UPSC CSE 2021] Which of the following statements about 8 August 1942 in Indian history
is correct?
a) The Quit India Resolution was adopted by the AICC.
b) The Viceroy’s Executive Council was expanded to include more Indians.
c) The Congress ministries resigned in seven provinces.
d) Cripps proposed an Indian Union with full Dominion Status once the Second World War ended.
Answer: Option A

[UPSC CSE 2009] With which one of the following movements is the slogan 'Do or Die'
associated?
a) Swadeshi Movement
b) Non-Cooperation Movement
c) Civil Disobedience Movement
d) Quit India Movement
Answer: Option D
Gandhi's specific instructions for different sections
• Gandhi's speech included specific instructions for different groups of people. However, these
instructions were not issued because of the preventive arrests.
1. Government Servants: Do not resign but openly declare allegiance to the Congress.
2. Soldiers: Do not leave posts but refuse to fire on Indian people.
3. Princes: Accept the sovereignty of the people and stop paying homage to foreign powers.
4. People of Princely States: Declare yourselves to be a part of the Indian nation and accept the
leadership of Princes only if they side with the people.
5. Students: Give up studies if confident in the firmness until independence.
6. Peasants: Those with courage should refuse to pay land revenue.
❖ Congress asserts that land belongs to those who work on it.
❖ In the zamindari system, if zamindar supports the ryot, revenue share can be given by mutual
agreement. If zamindar supports the Government, no tax should be paid to him.

[UPSC CSE 2005] Consider the following statements:

On the eve of launch of Quit India Movement, Mahatma Gandhi
1. asked the government servants to resign.
2. asked the soldiers to leave their posts.
3. asked the princes of the princely states to accept the sovereignty of their own people.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Choose the correct answer from the following
options.
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: Option C

The Movement
• Before the Congress could start a movement, the Government struck hard. Early in the morning of 9
August, Gandhi and other Congress leaders were arrested. Congress, AICC, CWC, and provincial
Congress Committees were declared illegal. Gandhiji was imprisoned at the Aga Khan Palace Prison.
• In the absence of a major leader, young Aruna Asaf Ali presided over the remainder of the session
on 9 August and hoisted the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan. This marked the
commencement of the movement. The police fired upon the assembly at the session.
• The news of the arrest of Congress leaders led to unprecedented popular outbursts in different parts
of the country. Left leaderless and without any organisation, the people reacted in any manner they
 could. There were hartals, processions, strikes in factories, schools and colleges, demonstrations
which were lathi-charged and fired upon
• In the absence of recognised leaders - central, provincial or local, the young and more militant caders,
particularly students and socialist members of the Congress, took over the leadership at local levels.
• In the initial stages, the movement was based on non-violent lines. It was the repressive policy of
the government which provoked the people to violence.
• Angered by repeated firings and repression, the people in many places took to violent action. They
attacked the symbols of British authority—the police stations, post offices, railway stations,
government buildings, etc. They cut telegraph and telephone wires and railway lines. Most of these
attacks were to check the movement of the military and the police, which the government was using
to crush the Movement.
 The most notable feature of the movement was Gandhi's refusal to condemn the violence of the
people, which he viewed as a reaction to the much bigger violence of the state.

Government’s Repression
• The Government, on its part, went all out to crush the movement. Its repression knew no bounds.
➢ The government resorted to arrests, detentions, police dismissals, and the burning of
congressional offices to achieve their goals.
➢ The demonstrating crowds were machine-gunned and even bombed from the air.
➢ The military took over many towns and cities. Over 10,000 people died in police and military
firings.
➢ The Press was completely muzzled.
➢ Prisoners were tortured.
• India had not witnessed such intense repression since the Revolt of 1857. The government's
repression successfully stopped the mass phase of the struggle within six or seven weeks.

Underground Activities
• With the cessation of the mass phase of the struggle, underground activities emerged to keep the
popular morale high. Achyut Patwardhan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram Manohar Lohia, Sucheta Kripalani,
Jayaprakash Narayan, and Biju Patnaik started underground activities in different parts of India.
• The underground movement usually disrupted communications by blowing up bridges, cutting
telegraph and telephone wires, and derailing trains.
• The daring act of the underground movement was the establishment of Secret Congress Radio with
Usha Mehta as its announcer. It was used for broadcasting inspiring messages from freedom fighters.
Ram Manohar Lohia also regularly broadcasts on this radio station.
• The underground movement managed to maintain the morale of the people in a situation when open
mass activity was not possible.

Parallel Governments
• In many places, the government lost all control and the rebels seized temporary control over towns,
cities, and villages. In some areas, parallel governments were set up by the revolutionaries.
1. In Ballia in eastern U. P., a parallel government was set up under the leadership of Chittu Pande.
2. Jatiya Sarkar was established in Tamluk in the Midnapur district of Bengal.
3. Prati Sarkar (parallel government) was established in Satara, Maharashtra.
4. People established Chasi Mulia Raj (Swaraj) in Talcher in Orissa.

Prati Sarkar
• In 1943, some younger leaders led by Nana Patil and Y. B. Chavan set up a parallel government
(prati sarkar) in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
• They ran people's courts (Nyaydan Mandals) and organised constructive work. They enforced the
prohibition and organised 'Gandhi marriages' to which untouchables were invited and at which
no ostentation was allowed. They set up village libraries and encouraged education.
• The prati sarkar functioned till the elections of 1946, despite government repression and, in the
later stages, Congress disapproval.

Participation
• The students, workers and peasants of all strata (poor and rich) provided the backbone of the
movement.
• Women, especially school and college girls, played an important role. It included Aruna Asaf Ali,
Sucheta Kripalani, and Usha Mehta.
• Many small zamindars took part in the movement.
• Government officials, especially those at the lower levels of the police and administration,
generously assisted the movement and provided shelter, information, and monetary support to the
volunteers, indicating erosion within the British government.
• The jail officials tended to be much kinder to prisoners than in earlier days.
• Though Muslim participation was not high (due to the Muslim League), they gave shelter to the
underground activists. There were no communal riots.
• The upper classes and the bureaucracy remained loyal to the Government.
• The Muslim League kept aloof from the Movement.
• The Hindu Mahasabha condemned the movement.
• Communist Party of India, due to its "people's war" line, did not support the movement.
• The princes and the landlords supported the war effort and did not sympathise with the movement.
• Some Congress leaders like Rajagopalachari did not participate in the movement but supported the
war effort.
• Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was included in the Governor-General's executive council in 1942 as a
labour member, and he did not support the movement.
 On July 22, 1941, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared the formation of a new Executive Council
consisting of 12 members, eight of whom were Indian. This marked the first time Indians had
outnumbered the Britons. However, the British remained in charge of defence, finance, and home.
 In addition, the Viceroy announced a 30-member National Defence Council (Advisory council)
intended to coordinate the war effort between the central government, provincial governments,
and princely states.
Quit India Movement
Underground Activities Achyut Patwardhan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram
Manohar Lohia, Usha Mehta, Sucheta Kripalani,
Jayaprakash Narayan, and Biju Patnaik.
Parallel Governments
Ballia (eastern U.P.) Parallel government under Chittu Pande
Tamluk (Midnapur district of Bengal) Jatiya Sarkar
Satara (Maharashtra) Prati Sarkar under Nana Patil and Y. B. Chavan
Talcher (Orissa) Chasi Mulia Raj (Government of the farmers and
labourers / Swaraj)

End of the Movement

• In the end, the Government succeeded in crushing the movement. Despite being short-lived, the
movement demonstrated:
✓ The extent to which nationalist sentiment permeated the country.
✓ People's immense ability to fight and make sacrifices for their cause.
✓ British could no longer maintain their rule over India against the will of its people.

Was the Quit India Movement a spontaneous outburst or an organised rebellion?

• Although the Quit India Movement had a significant element of spontaneity, more so than earlier
movements, it was not solely a spontaneous outburst. It was a result of the organised preparation
of INC, with the Congress leadership providing a broad framework within which individuals and local
groups could act.
• The Congress leadership historically allowed for popular initiative and spontaneity in its mass
movements, including the Quit India Movement. The leadership outlined a broad program of action
but left its implementation at the local level to the initiative of local activists and the masses. Even in
 the highly organised Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930, local leaders and people decided on
specific actions (non-payment of land revenue or picketing of liquor shops) within the framework set
by Gandhi's Dandi March and the breaking of the salt law.
• Although the broad program of the Quit India Movement was not clearly defined, the leadership
implicitly endorsed the degree of spontaneity and popular initiative. The AICC resolution on August
8, 1942, emphasised individual action within the general instructions issued, recognising the
potential for spontaneous action.
 The significance of the Quit India Movement was it demanded immediate Independence. Once
this movement was initiated, there was no turning back. Any future negotiations with the British
Government could only be about the manner in which power would be transferred.

Gandhi’s Fast (February 1943)

• On 10th February 1943, Gandhi started his fast 21 days fast in Aga Khan Palace to protest the
government's claim that Congress was responsible for the violence following the Quit India
resolution.
• Gandhiji didn't just refuse to condemn the people's turn to violence; he clearly blamed the
government for it. According to him, it was the aggressive actions of the state that had provoked the
people.
• The fast was a self-imposed penance, reflecting his deep commitment to the cause of independence
and his belief in non-violent resistance.

Efforts to Bridge the Congress-League Divide

• In 1940, the Muslim League passed a resolution demanding autonomy for the Muslim-majority
areas. However, the resolution never mentioned partition or Pakistan.
• After 1942, while Congress leaders remained in jail following the Quit India resolution, Jinnah and his
colleagues in the Muslim League worked diligently to increase their influence. In these years, the
League began to make a mark in the Punjab and Sind provinces, where it had previously had scarcely
any presence. During these years, Jinnah started the demand for a separate Pakistan.
• To bridge the gap between the Congress and the League, the following attempts were made:
1. Rajaji Formula
2. Gandhi Jinnah Talks
3. Desai-Liaquat Pact

Rajaji’s Formula (C. R. Formula)

• To solve the political deadlock between the Muslim League and the INC on the independence of
British India, C. Rajagopalachari proposed a formula in April 1944. The important provisions were:
 1. The League was to endorse the Indian demand for independence and cooperate with the
Congress to form a Provisional Interim Government for a transitional period.
2. At the end of the War, a plebiscite based on adult suffrage would be conducted in Muslim-
majority areas in North-West and North-East India to decide the formation of a separate
sovereign state.
3. In the event of separation, a mutual agreement would be made to safeguard essential matters
such as defence, communication, commerce, and other essential services.
4. The binding terms will be applicable only in case of full transfer of power by Britain to the
Government of India.
• The formula implicitly agreed to the League's request for Pakistan.
• Although the formula was opposed even within the Congress party, Gandhi used it as the basis of
his proposal in talks with Jinnah in 1944.

Gandhi Jinnah Talks (September 1944)

• In June 1944, Gandhi was released from prison. Later that year, he held a series of meetings with
Jinnah, seeking to bridge the gap between the Congress and the League.
• Gandhi proposed the CR formula to Jinnah in September 1944. However, Jinnah rejected the
proposal, and the talks failed. Thus, C.R. Formula did not come into effect.

Desai–Liaquat Pact (January 1945)

• The Desai–Liaquat Pact was a pact between Bhulabhai Desai of the Congress and Liaquat Ali Khan of
the Muslim League.
• In this agreement, Liaquat gave up the demand for a separate Muslim state in exchange for equal
representation of Muslims and Hindus in the council of ministers.
• According to the pact, in the interim government at the centre:
❖ Congress and the League would nominate an equal number of persons.
❖ 20% of the seats would be reserved for minorities.
• There was no agreement on the pact as both leaders negotiated it without informing their leaders
and organisations.

M C Setalvad on Desai–Liaquat Pact

• M C Setalvad was India’s first Attorney General and a close friend and biographer of Desai.
• In his biography My Life, Law, and Other Things, Setalvad wrote about Desai’s secret discussions
with Liaquat Ali Khan in 1944 on the possibility of forming an interim government with the consensus
of Hindus and Muslims. However, Setalvad contended that Bhulabhai acted with the consent and
approval of Gandhi.
Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)

Subhas Chandra Bose

• Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack, Odisha. He ranked fourth in the ICS
exam and was selected, but he refused to work for a foreign government (serving the British). He
resigned from his civil service job on 23 April 1921 and returned to India.
• In 1938, Bose warned that another world war was imminent in Europe, and Britain would be involved.
He suggested that Congress take advantage of this situation by launching a strong movement
against the British. Bose suggested giving the British six months to hand over India to the Indians,
failing which there would be a revolt.
• Subhas was the president of the Congress in 1938 and 1939. After the Tripuri session of the Congress,
held in March 1939, Bose resigned from the presidentship. In May, he formed the Forward Bloc as a
new party within the Congress.
• Bose was in favour of getting help from Nazi Germany or Japan to uproot the British from India.

[UPSC CSE 2005] Which party was founded by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939 after he
broke away from the Congress?
a) Indian Freedom Party
b) Azad Hind Fauj
c) Revolutionary Front
d) Forward Bloc
Answer: Option D

Agitation to remove the Holwell Monument

• Holwell erected the Holwell Monument during his Calcutta Governorship in 1760 to commemorate
those who died in the Black Hole Tragedy allegedly due to the excesses of the army of Siraj-ud-
Daulah. It symbolised the alleged savagery of the last Nawab of Bengal.
• Bose and other nationalists considered the monument an insult to the Nawab’s memory and
demanded its removal. Subhas Bose allied with the Muslim League to launch a movement to remove
the Holwell monument.
• In a meeting on 3rd July 1940, the following resolutions were adopted.
❖ Paying homage to Siraj-ud-Daulah
❖ Condemning the falsity of foreign historians
❖ Urging deletion from school textbooks of matters derogatory to Sirajuddowla
• The Muslim League Student Organization attended the meeting.
• In the meeting, it was agreed that if there was no ministerial decision on the Holwell Monument by
15 July, the council of action would start satyagraha on 16 July.
• Fearing that a joint Hindu-Muslim mass agitation could harm its war effort, the British government
arrested Bose a day before the movement started.

Black Hole Tragedy

• John Zephaniah Holwell, an EIC employee, claimed that after Nawab’s forces defeated the British
in June 1756, 146 prisoners of war were confined in a small room (‘black hole’) in Fort William,
and more than 100 died of suffocation.
• Bose and other nationalists believed this version to be exaggerated.

Bose's commitment to secularism

• Bose was a staunch champion of Hindu-Muslim unity. The selection of the Holwell Monument as
the main issue for the agitation reflected Bose's strategic move aimed at uniting Hindu and Muslim
Bengalis against the British.

A Global Pursuit for Independence

• In December 1940, Bose was released on the condition that he would not leave his home and would
not meet anyone. Many CID personnel were posted around his home at Elgin Road, Calcutta.
• Bose did not leave his house or see anyone for 40 days. During that period, he and his nephew Sisir
began to plan ways to escape.
• On the 41st midnight, Bose escaped in the disguise of a Maulavi (Muhammad Ziauddin) to
Peshawar.
• In Peshawar, Bose met Mian Akbar Khan, the Forward Bloc’s provincial head of the North Western
Frontier Province, who arranged his escape beyond the borders of the British Empire into Afghanistan
(Kabul). Here, Bose had changed into another disguise, that of a deaf-and-mute Pathan, as he didn't
speak Pashto.
• Finally, Bose reached Germany under an Italian diplomatic passport, with the Italian name Orlando
Mazzota. In Germany, Bose met Adolf Hitler and, with his help, formed the Free India Legion
(Freedom Army), consisting of Indian prisoners of war captured by Germany and Italy.
 Subhas Bose fled India in 1941, seeking help from the Soviet Union. However, as the Soviet Union
joined the Allies in June 1941, he went to Germany.
• In Germany, Bose:
❖ Established the Free India Centre in 1941.
❖ Started a regular broadcast from Berlin radio in 1942, from where he often broadcast for his
countrymen, suggesting their political activities during the war.
• In February 1943, Subhas left for Japan to organise an armed struggle against British rule with
Japanese help.
 Indian nationalists ran two radio stations during World War II:
 1. A secret radio station run by Usha Mehta
2. Berlin Radio by Subhas Bose

[UPSC CSE 2008] During the Indian freedom struggle, who of the following raised an army
called the 'Free Indian Legion'?
a) Lala Hardayal
b) Rash Behari Bose
c) Subhash Chandra Bose
d) V. D. Savarkar
Answer: Option D

Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)

• In South East Asia, there were a large number of Indian soldiers fighting on behalf of the British.
The Japanese, after defeating the British in Southeast Asia, took them as prisoners of war.
• During World War II, Mohan Singh, an Indian officer of the British Indian Army, decided not to join
the retreating British army. Instead, he went to the Japanese for help.
• While in Malaya (Malaysia), Mohan Singh came up with the idea of forming the Indian National Army
(INA) to fight against the British. The Japanese handed over Indian prisoners of war to Singh, whom
he attempted to recruit into the INA.
• In Singapore, Mohan Singh formed the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) in February 1942
to conduct a military campaign for the liberation of India. The Indian National Army (INA) was joined
in large numbers by the Indian residents in Southeast Asia and by Indian soldiers and officers
captured by the Japanese forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Burma.

Bangkok Conference (June 1942)

• At the Bangkok Conference in June 1942:
❖ INA was put under the Indian Independence League.
❖ Rashbehari Bose was elected as president of the Indian Independence League.
❖ Captain Mohan Singh was appointed as commander of the INA.
❖ Subhas Bose was invited to lead the movement.

Rashbehari Bose
• Rashbehari Bose fled to Japan in 1915. He became a Japanese citizen and founded the Indian
Club of Tokyo. In 1942, he established the Indian Independence League in Tokyo.
• When Mohan Singh created the Indian National Army (INA) in Singapore, Rashbehari Bose got
excited and left Tokyo for Southeast Asia. In Bangkok, they decided to put the INA under the Indian
Independence League, with Rashbehari Bose as the chairman.
 • When Subhas Bose came to Singapore, Rashbehari Bose happily handed over control of the Indian
Independence League and the INA to Subhas in July 1943.
• On 2 July 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose was brought to Singapore by means of German and Japanese
submarines.
• Within a few months, Subhas formed the Gandhi, Azad, and Nehru regiment. A women's regiment
named Rani Jhansi regiment, led by Lakshmi Sehgal, was also formed.
• Subhas gave his followers the battle cry of 'Jai Hind'. He motivated the INA with his famous call, "Tum
Mujhe Khoon Do Mein Tumhe Azadi Dunga" (Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom).
• On October 21, 1943, Subhas Bose founded the Provisional Government of Free India. Nine world
powers, including Germany, Italy, Japan, and Myanmar, recognised it. It declared war against Britain
and the U.S.A.
• The INA headquarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944.
• The INA joined the Japanese army in its march on India from Burma. The INA reached the Arakan
front on 4 February 1944 and marched towards their Motherland with the clarion call of "Chalo Delhi"
on their lips. The Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma border on 18 March and, for the first time, stood
on the soil of India.
• INA crossed the Indian frontier, and on 14th April 1944, Colonel Shaukat Malik, the Subash Regiment,
hoisted the Tricolour for the first time in Moirang, Manipur.
• The INA tried to enter Imphal but failed due to the inadequate supply of necessary material and air
cover by Japan. The torrential rains of Burma, which started just then, submerged the INA supply
lines, and Netaji ordered his forces to retreat.
• With the collapse of Japan in the war during 1944-45, the hopes of INA to liberate the nation were
quashed. Following the defeat of INA, the INA members were imprisoned and tried.
• On August 18, 1945, a Japanese news agency reported that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in a
plane crash in Taiwan.
 Subhas Chandra Bose, in its broadcast on Azad Hind Radio on 6 July 1944, called Gandhi the 'Father
of the Nation'.

Impact of Indian National Army

• Though the INA failed to achieve its goal of liberating India, it made a significant impact on the
freedom struggle.
1. It became evident to the British that they could no longer rely on the loyalty of Indian soldiers.
2. The INA’s struggles demonstrated that the communal division had no effect on those who fought
against the British. Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs fought as Indians.
3. The Rani Jhansi Brigade's actions demonstrated Indian women's capability to fight British
oppression.
 4. The INA demonstrated the enthusiasm and concern of overseas Indians for India's freedom.

A Closer Look
• Even though the strategy of Subhas Bose of winning freedom in cooperation with the fascist powers
was criticised at the time by most Indian nationalists, by organising the INA, he set an inspiring
example of patriotism before the Indian people and the Indian army.

Controversy over the death of Subhas Bose

• Subhas Chandra Bose died on August 18, 1945, in a plane crash in Japanese-occupied Formosa
(now Taipei, Taiwan). However, some press reports published from Tokyo and Taihoku (Taipei) had
given contradictory versions.
• To investigate the reported death of Netaji after the Taihoku air crash, the Government of India
appointed:
❖ Shah Nawaz Committee (1956)
❖ Justice Khosla Commission (1970)
❖ Justice Mukherjee Commission (1999)
• None of the probes has presented any conclusive and substantial documentary evidence
confirming the end of Bose or produced any concrete information that can rule out the possibility
of his death on August 18, 1945.

Unsung Heroes

Usha Mehta
• Usha Mehta (Ushaben) was a freedom fighter from Gujarat. As a child, Usha visited Gandhiji's
Sabarmati Ashram many times. She was highly influenced by Gandhiji and adopted a Gandhian
lifestyle, wearing only Khadi clothes and shunning all types of luxury.
• Usha is well known for organising the Secret Congress Radio during the Quit India movement. The
radio broadcasted recorded messages from Gandhiji, nationalistic songs, and stirring speeches by
revolutionaries and other eminent leaders from across India.
• To avoid being detected by the authorities, the organisers kept shifting the station's location almost
daily.
• Though the underground radio station functioned only for three months, it raised awareness about
the Quit India Movement by spreading uncensored news and other information banned by the British
authorities.

[UPSC CSE 2011] With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, Usha Mehta is well-known
for
 a) Running the secret Congress Radio in the wake of the Quit India Movement
b) Participating in the Second Round Table Conference
c) Leading a contingent of the Indian National Army
d) Assisting in the formation of the Interim Government under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Answer: Option A

Aruna Asaf Ali

• Aruna Asaf Ali, popularly known as the 'Grand Old Lady' of the Independence Movement, was a
freedom fighter. She is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank
Maidan, Bombay, during the Quit India Movement in 1942.
• She participated in public processions during the Salt Satyagraha. In 1931, she was arrested and not
released under the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, which stipulated the release of all political prisoners. Later, she
was released due to public protest.
• In 1932, she was arrested again for participating in the freedom movement. While in jail, she underwent
a hunger strike to improve the living conditions of prisoners in Tihar jail. The fast-to-death resulted
in a marked improvement in their living conditions.
• Known for her independent streak, she disobeyed Gandhi’s request to surrender herself in 1946.
• Post-independence, she remained active in politics, becoming Delhi's first Mayor.

[UPSC CSE 2009] During the freedom struggle, Aruna Asaf Ali was a major woman
organiser of underground activity in which of the following?
a) Civil Disobedience Movement
b) Non-Cooperation Movement
c) Quit India Movement
d) Swadeshi Movement
Answer: Option C

Lakshmi Sahgal
• Lakshmi Swaminathan was born on 24 October 1914. Lakshmi, a doctor by profession, joined the
Indian Independence League (IIL) and welcomed Netaji upon his arrival in Singapore in 1943.
• Captain Lakshmi became famous as the commander of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment (Women's
Regiment) of the INA. She was also the Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Azad Hind Sarkar.
• Lakshmi married the INA officer Prem Kumar Sahgal in 1947.
• In 1971, she joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in Rajya Sabha.
• Lakshmi Sahgal was nominated the Left Front’s candidate for President of India in 2002. She was the
only opponent to the winning A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Great Personalities

C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)
• C. Rajagopalachari was an ardent Gandhian and a freedom fighter from Madras. He was influenced
by the Lokmanya Tilak and accepted Tilak as his mentor.
• During the non-cooperation, Rajaji gave up his legal practice.
• In 1929, Rajaji became the secretary of the All-India Prohibition Sangh. He advocated the boycott of
foreign goods and urged people to give up the evil habit of drinking.
• In April 1930, Rajaji led a salt march from Tiruchi to Vedaranyam and emerged as a hero of
Vedaranyam Satyagraha.
• In 1937, Rajagopalachari assumed the office of the Prime Minister of the Madras Province.
• Rajagopalachari's perspective on most of the national issues was his own. He had his own views on the
Quit India Movement and did not participate.
• In 1947, when the term of Lord Mountbatten, the first Governor-General of Independent India,
ended, Rajagopalachari was chosen to take his place. With this, he became the first Indian Governor-
General and last Governor-General of India. He continued until India became a Republic in January
1950.
• After the death of Sardar Patel in December 1950, Rajaji was appointed the Home Minister. He piloted
the Preventive Detention Act in Parliament, which invited critical comments from the opposition.
• Rajaji was the second Chief Minister of Madras state from 1952 to 1954.
• Rajaji was among the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna in 1954.
• Proponent of Peace: Rajaji opposed the use of nuclear weapons and was a proponent of world peace
and disarmament. In 1962, he led a delegation of the Gandhi Peace Foundation to the USA to plead
for a ban on nuclear tests.

Swatantra Party
• In August 1959, the Nagpur resolution of the Congress called for land ceilings, take-over of food
grain trade by the state and adoption of cooperative farming.
• In response, in 1959, Rajaji formed the Swatantra Party. It was against land ceilings in agriculture and
opposed cooperative farming and state trading.
• The Swatantra Party actively campaigned for a market economy. It wanted the government to be less
involved in controlling the economy and believed that prosperity could come only through individual
freedom.
• The party was critical of the development strategy of state intervention in the economy, centralised
planning, nationalisation and the public sector. Instead, it favoured the expansion of a free private
sector.
Bhulabhai Desai (1877-1946)
• Bhulabhai Desai was an Indian independence activist and acclaimed lawyer. He is well known for his
defence of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II and for
attempting to negotiate a secret power-sharing agreement with Liaquat Ali Khan of the Muslim
League.
• Bhulabhai began his political career by joining Annie Besant's All India Home Rule League.
• Bhulabhai joined the Indian Liberal Party, which supported British influences. However, he opposed
the all-European Simon Commission, which the British formed in 1928 to formulate constitutional
reforms in India.
• Desai formally joined the Congress in 1930. In 1934, he was elected to the Central Legislative
Assembly from Gujarat.
• While Gandhi and the entire Congress Working Committee (CWC) had been arrested during the Quit
India movement, Desai was one of the few Congress leaders free.
• It is said that Desai began secretive talks with Liaquat Ali Khan, the second-most important leader of
the Muslim League. However, Sir Chiman Lal Setalvad has challenged this claim, asserting that Gandhi
was fully aware of the ongoing negotiations.
• After the discussions with Liaquat became public, the CWC disowned Desai for inking the Desai-
Liaquat Ali pact. The party also overlooked Desai as a candidate for the central legislature.
• The Congress approached Desai when the British government tried three soldiers of the Indian
National Army in New Delhi on charges of treason. Desai was tasked with leading the defence.
Although these three soldiers were convicted, they were later released.