Gandhi and the Quit India Movement

Gandhi and the Quit India Movement — page 1 — Disclaimer All the Internet addresses URLs given in this book were valid at the time of going to press However due to the dynamic nature of the Internet some addresses may have changed or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher

Gandhi and the Quit India Movement — page 2 — An Arrest in Bombay It is just before dawn on Malabar Hill a wealthy suburb of the great port of Bombay now called Mumbai India The date is August 9 1942 almost midway through World War II 1939 1945 The heat is oppressive even at this hour Only a few people are out and about to witness the sudden uproar as a group of police cars heads up the street The cars screech to a halt outside an imposing dwelling called Birla House Policemen swarm out of the cars and knock loudly on the door with their wooden batons After a short while the door opens and the police pour inside 1 What is going on The Indian politician Mohandas Gandhi is staying in the house Gandhi is a leader of the Indian National Congress INC This is a political party that has been campaigning for Indian independence from the United Kingdom for many years India has been ruled by the United Kingdom since 1858 Now an old man of 73 Gandhi is one of the British Empire’s most outspoken critics Gandhi’s most recent criticism is about India’s role in World War II In 1939 the United Kingdom declared war on Germany It announced that India part of its empire was also at war but Indian leaders were not consulted Since then India’s contribution to the war has been huge As a believer in nonviolence Gandhi has been firmly against India’s involvement in the war Instead he has launched a campaign called Quit India calling on the British to leave India immediately and grant India its independence In the thick of war World War II began in 1939 In 1941 the war became a truly global conflict as German forces invaded the Soviet Union Japan had entered the war on the side of Germany and soon after mounted an attack on the U S naval fleet in Pearl Harbor Hawaii This brought the United States into the war on the side of the Allies which included the United Kingdom its empire and the Soviet Union

Gandhi and the Quit India Movement — page 3 — In August 1942 the time of Gandhi’s arrest at Birla House the war raged throughout the Pacific The UK colony of Burma east of India had recently fallen to the Japanese who were threatening India’s eastern borders The conquest of India seemed like a real possibility 2 Call for rebellion An INC meeting has taken place in Bombay over the last few days Before a crowd of thousands of people the Indian National Congress has declared its unanimous support for Gandhi’s Quit India campaign Gandhi called upon the United Kingdom to transfer power to Indian leaders immediately or face a nonviolent rebellion against UK rule on a massive scale The scene that is now unfolding on Malabar Hill is the UK response to this The UK government feels that in a time of war it has no choice but to stamp down on the protest and arrest Gandhi at Birla House Gandhi seated and fellow leaders address a political meeting in the 1940s

Gandhi and the Quit India Movement — page 4 — Crackdown Now the small crowd that has gathered outside the house watches as police escort the frail shaven-headed leader to the waiting car and on to prison Other INC leaders are also arrested in dawn raids The arrests will not go unchallenged All over India the news will spark waves of protest But not all of the protests will be nonviolent as Gandhi urges them to be The UK response will also be violent Over the next years Gandhi’s Quit India campaign will have far-reaching consequences for all of India It will affect the politics of the whole region and its people right up to the present day Gandhi’s campaign will indeed prove very important but not in the way he had planned

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