Indian Independence Movement

The Indian Independence Movement was a series of revolutions empowered by the people of India put forth to battle the British Empire for complete political independence, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857, reaching its climax with Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India Movement (1942-1945), and Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army invasion of British India during World War II, and freedom came on August 15, 1947.

The climax: war and Quit India

Indians throughout the country were divided over World War II, as the British had unilaterally and without consulting the elected representatives of Indians, entered India into the war. Some wanted to support the British, especially through the Battle of Britain, hoping for independence eventually through this backing during the U.K.'s most critical life-death struggle. Others were enraged by the British disregard for Indian intelligence and civil rights, and were unsympathetic to the travails of the British people, which they saw as rightful revenge for the enslavement of Indians.

Related Topics:
World War II - Battle of Britain

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In a climate of frustration, anger and other tumultuous emotions, arose two epochal movements that form the climax of the 100-year struggle for freedom of 350 million Indians.

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The Indian National Army

:Main articles: Subhash Chandra Bose, Indian National Army

Related Topics:
Subhash Chandra Bose - Indian National Army

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The arbitrary entry of India into the war was strongly opposed by Subhash Chandra Bose, who had been elected President of the Congress twice, in 1937 and 1939. After lobbying against participation in the war, he resigned from Congress in 1939 and started a new party, the All India Forward Bloc. He was placed under house arrest, but escaped in 1941. He surfaced in Germany, and enlisted German and Japanese help to fight the British in India.

Related Topics:
Subhash Chandra Bose - 1939 - All India Forward Bloc - 1941 - Germany - Japan

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In 1943, he travelled to Japan from Germany on board German and Japanese submarines. In Japan, he helped organize the Indian National Army (INA) and set up a government-in-exile. During the war, the Andaman and Nicobar islands came under INA control, and Bose renamed them Shahid (Martyr) and Swaraj (Independence). The INA engaged British troops in northeastern India, hoping to liberate Indian territories under colonial rule. But the poorly equipped soldiers fighting in dense jungle and with little real support from the Japanese died by the thousands. Their die-hard courage, patriotism and spirit could not overcome the disastrous odds, and the INA's efforts ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. It is agreed by many that Subhash Chandra Bose was killed in an air crash in August 1945. But his death is still controversial.

Related Topics:
1943 - Indian National Army - Government-in-exile - Andaman and Nicobar - 1945

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The Congress Party, which had not supported Bose's use of violence, embraced the INA martyrs and surviving soldiers as heroes. The Congress set up a special fund to take care of the survivors and the families of the soldiers who lost their lives or were seriously wounded.

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To this day, Subhas Bose's daring and courage are an awe-inspiring example for newer generations of Indians, and the INA soldiers are treated in equal regard and honor to the men who fought with Mahatma Gandhi, albeit the use of violence.

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Quit India

Main article: Quit India Movement, Mahatma Gandhi

Related Topics:
Quit India Movement - Mahatma Gandhi

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The Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan) was the final call, the definitive organized movement of civil disobedience for immediate independence of India from British rule issued by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942, made famous by his slogan Do or Die. Unlike the previous two Gandhi-led revolts, Quit India was more controversial (as it was in the middle of World War II), and specifically designed to obtain the exit of the British from Indian shores.

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The Congress Party had earlier taken the initiative upon the outbreak of war to support the British, but were rebuffed when they asked for independence in return. On July 14, 1942, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence from Britain. The draft proposed that if the British did not accede to the demands, a massive Civil Disobedience would be launched. However, it was an extremely controversial decision. The Congress had lesser success in rallying other political forces under a single flag and mast.

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On August 8, 1942 the Quit India resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). At Gowalia Tank, Mumbai Gandhi urged Indians to follow a non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi told the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British. The British, already alarmed by the advance of the Japanese army to the India/Burma border, responded the next day by imprisoning Gandhi at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. The Congress Party's Working Committee, or national leadership was arrested all together and imprisoned at the Ahmednagar Fort. They also banned the party altogether. Large scale protests and demonstrations were held all over the country. Workers remained absent en masse and strikes were called. However, not all the demonstrations were peaceful. Bombs exploded, government buildings were set on fire, electricity was cut and transport and communication lines were severed.

Related Topics:
Mumbai - Aga Khan Palace - Pune

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The British swiftly responded by mass detentions. A total over 100,000 arrests were made nationwide, mass fines were levied, bombs were air-dropped and demonstrators were subjected to public flogging.

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The entire Congress leadership was cut-off from the rest of the world for over three years. Gandhi's wife Kasturba Gandhi died and personal secretary Mahadev Desai died in a short space of months, and Gandhi's own health was failing. Despite this, Gandhi went on protest 21-day fasts and maintained a superhuman resolve to continous resistance. Although the British released Gandhi on account of his failing health in 1944, Gandhi kept up the resistance, demanding the complete release of the Congress leadership.

Related Topics:
Kasturba Gandhi - Mahadev Desai

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The war had sapped a lot of the economic, political and military life-blood of the Empire, but the powerful Indian resistance had shattered the spirit and will of the British government, and had made it clear that after the war, even a greater, larger movement would be launched and would succeed, as no excuse or distraction fom the issue would remain. In addition, the British people and the British Army seemed unwilling to back a policy of repression in India and other parts of the Empire even as their own country lay shattered by the war's ravages. The writing was on the wall, and freedom only a matter of time.

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By early 1946, all political prisoners had been released, and the British openly adopted a political dialogue with the Indian National Congress for the eventual independence of India. On August 15, 1947, India won freedom.

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