Document #3 World War II, the Quit India Movement, and the Indian National Army

At the outbreak of WWII, the British pulled India into the conflict without consulting the elected Indian representatives. In response, all of the elected Indian officials resigned from the government.

In 1942, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India Movement, demanding immediate independence for India. In a speech entitled, "Do or Die," given on August 8, 1942, Gandhi urged the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British. His call found support among a large number of Indians, including revolutionaries who did not support Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. Almost the entire Congress leadership, both at the national and local levels, was put into confinement less than twenty-four hours after Gandhi's speech, and the greater number of the Congress leaders spent the rest of the war in jail. Despite lack of direct leadership, large-scale protests and demonstrations were held all over the country. The British responded with mass detentions, making over 100,000 arrests.

The Quit India Movement died down in a few months, but other groups of Indians started to rebel against the British. A group of Indian soldiers that once fought for the British, switched sides during WWII to fight with the Japanese in an attempt to invade India from the Southeast, defeat the British, and declare India independent. They were unsuccessful, but the attempt showed how deeply Indians disliked British rule. In addition, in 1946 sailors in the Royal Indian Navy revolted against the British, refusing to work, carrying on violent protests, and in some instances taking over ships.

The pressure from the Quit India Movement, recognition that the armed forces were opposed to British rule, and the drain on resources from WWII and the recovery from that war, led the British to give up their control of India. Soon, they started negotiations with the Indian National Congress and Muslim League to transfer power to India.

What was the goal of the Quit India Movement?

Do you think it was successful? Why or why not?