indian national movement 6

Indian National Movement 6

By – Dr.Mahipal Singh Rathore

1937 Elections

S.C. Bose

Demand for Pakistan

World War Two

August Offer

Individual Satyagraha

Cripps Mission

Quit India Movement

Indian National Army

©DrMahipalRathore

1937 Elections

• Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935.

• Elections were held in 11 provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Bombay Presidency, Assam, NWFP, Bengal, Punjab and Sindh.

• The Indian National Congress emerged in power in 8 of the provinces - the three exceptions being Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh.

• 707/1585 Seats

• The All-India Muslim League failed to form the government in any province.

©DrMahipalRathore

The Congress ministries resigned in October and November 1939, in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's action of declaring India to be a belligerent in the Second World War without consulting the Indian people.

©DrMahipalRathore

Subhash Chandra Bose

• Popularly known as Netaji, was born on Jan 23, 1897 at Cuttack.

• He passed the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1920, but left it on the Gandhiji’s call of Non – Cooperation Movement.

• He founded the Independence for India League with Jawaharlal Nehru.

• 1938 - President of the INC at its Haripura session

• 1939 - President of its Tripuri (Jabalpur) session.

• But he had to resign from presidency at Tripuri session due to differences with Gandhiji.

• He founded the Forward Block in 1939.

• In 1941, he escaped to Berlin and met Hitler.

• In 1943, he took charge of Indian National Army in Singapore and set up the Indian Provisional Government there.

• He gave the war cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’.

• He addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation

• He gave the slogan of ‘Jai Hind’

• He wrote his autobiography ‘The Indian Struggle’

• He supposedly died in a plane crash on Aug 18, 1945

©DrMahipalRathore

IMPORTANT INC SESSIONS

February,1938 Haripura - President- Subhash Chandra Bose

March,1939 Tripuri - President- Subhash Chandra Bose* (Rajendra Prasad)

1940 Ramgarh President - Abul Kalam Azad (till 1946)

1946 Meerut President - Acharya JB Kripalini

Last session before the Independence of India

1948 & 49 Jaipur - President was Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

1st session after the Independence of India

©DrMahipalRathore

Lord Linlithgow (1936-44)

•Longest reign as viceroy of India

•Beginning of the Second World War

•Government of India Act 1935 implemented

•Arrival of the Cripps Mission

•Beginning of the Quit India Movement

•Great Famine of Bengal (1943)

Demand for Pakistan • Allama Muhammad Iqbal had initially suggested the creation of a separate

homeland for the Muslims of India

• In the Third round table conference, a Cambridge student Chaudhary Rehmat Ali coined the term Pakistan.

• He published a pamphlet “Now or Never” which is called ‘Pakistan Declaration’.

‘’At this solemn hour in the history of India, when British and Indian statesmen are laying the foundations of a Federal Constitution for that land, we address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN – by which we mean the five Northern units of India,

Viz: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan. ” ©DrMahipalRathore

©DrMahipalRathore

Pirpur Committee

• Was established in November 1938 by the All India Muslim League

• to prepare a detailed report regarding the atrocities of the Congress Ministries (1937-1939) in different provinces.

• Its report charged the congress for interference with the religious rites, suppression of Urdu and propaganda of Hindi, denial of legitimate representation and suppression in economy of the Muslims.

©DrMahipalRathore

Lahore Session - March 20, 1940

‘’The areas in which Muslims are numerically in majority, as in north-western and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to constitute the Independent States in which the Constituent units would be autonomous and sovereign”.

In this session Jinnah in his Presidential address gave the famous two nation theory as follows:

©DrMahipalRathore

‘’It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are, in fact, different and distinct social orders, and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality, and this misconception of one Indian nation has troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fail to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, litterateurs.

They neither intermarry nor inter-dine together and, indeed, they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspect on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes, and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other and, likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built for the government of such a state.’’

©DrMahipalRathore

But the term Pakistan was not used in this session.

This idea took firm shape only in 1946.

Gandhi rejected the two-nation theory and said - My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures and doctrines. To assent to such a doctrine for me is denial of God.

©DrMahipalRathore

Outbreak of Second World War

• On 1 September 1939, 2nd World War broke out

• The British Government without consulting the people of India involved the country in the war.

• The Congress vehemently opposed it.

• As a mark of protest the Congress Ministries resigned in all the seven Provinces

• Jinnah put out an appeal, calling for Indian Muslims to celebrate 22 December 1939 as a "Day of Deliverance" from Congress

• In March 1940 the Muslim League officially demanded the creation of Pakistan at its Lahore session.

©DrMahipalRathore

August offer

To secure the cooperation of the Indians during World War II, the British Government made an announcement on 8 August 1940, which came to be known as the ‘August Offer’.

It proposed –

• Dominion status as the objective for India.

• Expansion of viceroy’s executive council

• War advisory council including Indians

• Setting up of a constituent assembly after the war consisting of Indians to decide their constitution according to their social, economic and political conceptions

• fulfilment of the obligation of the Government regarding defence, minority rights, treaties with states & all India services

• No future constitution to be adopted without the consent of minorities.

©DrMahipalRathore

• INC –rejected because dominion not acceptable

• AIML – rejected because no partition proposed

‘’As dead as a doornail’’ – Nehru

©DrMahipalRathore

Individual Satyagraha

• Gandhi launched Individual Satyagraha against involving Indians in second world war

• It was limited, symbolic and non-violent in nature

• It was left to Mahatma Gandhi to choose the Satyagrahis.

The aims of launching individual satyagraha were —

• to show that nationalist patience was not due to weakness;

• to express people’s feeling that they were not interested in the war.

• to give another opportunity to the Government to accept Congress demands peacefully.

• Demand of the Satyagrahi would be the freedom of speech to protest against participation in war

Satyagraha also called for march towards Delhi, which came to be known as the “Delhi Chalo Movement”.

©DrMahipalRathore

• Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the 1st to offer Satyagraha.

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the 2nd Satyagrahi.

• The individual Satyagraha continued for few months (Oct 1940 to June 1941)

• It was suspended because little enthusiasm.

©DrMahipalRathore

December 7, 1941 - attack by Japanese against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

©DrMahipalRathore

Fall of Singapore to Japanese – Feb 1942

©DrMahipalRathore

Cripps Mission

• In March 1942, a mission headed by Sir Stafford Cripps(cabinet minister) was sent to India to seek Indian support for the war.

Main Proposals

• An Indian Union with a dominion status would be set up

• It would be free to decide its relations with the Commonwealth and free to participate in the United Nations and other international bodies.

• After the end of the war, a constituent assembly would be convened to frame a new constitution.

©DrMahipalRathore

• Members would be partly elected by the provincial assemblies through proportional

representation and partly nominated by the princes.

• The British Government would accept the new constitution subject to two conditions – Any province not willing to join the Union could have a separate constitution and form a

separate Union The new constitution making body and the British Government would negotiate a treaty

to effect the transfer of power and to safeguard racial and religious minorities.

• In the meantime, defence of India would remain in British hands and the governor-general’s powers would remain intact.

©DrMahipalRathore

Objections of INC leaders to the proposal

The offer of dominion status.

Representation of the states by nominees and not by elected representatives.

Right to provinces to secede.

Absence of any plan for immediate transfer of power.

Absence of any real share in defence.

The governor general’s supremacy had been retained.

Gandhi called Cripps proposals as a “Post-dated Cheque of a failing bank”

©DrMahipalRathore

The Muslim League objection:

• Criticized the idea of a single Indian Union

• Did not like the machinery for the creation of a constituent assembly

• Thought that the proposals denied to the Muslims the right to self-determination and the creation of Pakistan

©DrMahipalRathore

Quit India Movement (1942 – 44)

In the Bombay session of INC ,1942 - framed a resolution with following key provisions –

An immediate end to British rule in India. Commitment of free India to defend itself against all types of Fascism &

imperialism. A provisional Government of India after British withdrawal.

©DrMahipalRathore

• 8th August , 1942 – Bombay – Gowalia tank maidan

• Gandhi’s speech – ‘’Do or Die’’

• 9th august – Operation Zero hour

• Leaders

Aruna Asaf Ali

Ram Manohar lohiya

Usha Mehta

Biju patnaik

Sucheta Kriplani

Jaiprakash Narayan – escaped from Hazaribagh jail

©DrMahipalRathore

Quit India Movement was the final attempt for country’s freedom as -

• Large number of students left their schools and colleges to join the movement.

• Youth of the nation participated in this movement with patriotism.

• British Government ordered firing on protestors-

At least 7,000 people were killed, Nearly 60,229 persons were jailed.

• Paved the way for India’s freedom & aroused among Indians the feelings of bravery, enthusiasm and total sacrifice

• There were no communal clashes during the movement.

• The movement established the truth that it was no longer possible to rule India without the wishes of Indians.

©DrMahipalRathore

Indian National Army

• The idea of the Indian National Army (INA) was first conceived in Malaya by Mohan Singh, an Indian officer of the British Indian Army, when he decided not to join the retreating British Army and instead turned to the Japanese for help.

• The Japanese handed over the Indian prisoners of war (POWs) to Mohan Singh who tried to recruit them into an Indian National Army.

• Rash Behari Bose

• In 1942, After the fall of Singapore, Mohan Singh further got 45,000 POWs into his sphere of influence.

• 2 July 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose reached Singapore and gave the rousing war cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’

©DrMahipalRathore

• Bose was made the President of Indian Independence League and soon became the supreme commander of the Indian National Army

• Here he gave the slogan of Jai Hind.

• INA’s three Brigades were the Subhas Brigade, Gandhi Brigade and Nehru Brigade.

• The women’s wing of the army was named after Rani Laxmibai. (Capt.Laxmi Sehgal)

• INA marched towards Imphal after registering its victory over Kohima but after Japan’s surrender in 1945, INA failed in its efforts.

©DrMahipalRathore

• Under such circumstances, Subhash went to Taiwan & further on his way to Tokyo he died on 18 August 1945 in a plane crash.

• Trial of the soldiers of INA was held at Red Fort in Delhi.

• Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Kailash Nath Katju, Asaf Ali and Tej Bahadur Sapru fought the case on behalf of the soldiers.

©DrMahipalRathore

indian national movement 6

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