Quit India Movement - some interesting historical facts

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The most important milestone in the chronicles of Indian history is the Quit India Movement of 1942. Yesterday marked the 75 th anniversary of the Quit India movement  and the  nation celebrated the day remembering the  great  freedom fighters who scarified their lives to  free India from the strong clutches of the British. Indian freedom fighters demand for complete  independence, having fallen   on the deaf ears of the British politicians in power in England, they were pushed to  the fag end of  their  patience and  frustration and it culminated in mass disobedience called Quit India movement.

 The following are the some historical facts:

01. Quit India moment, a civil disobedience movement was launched at the Bombay session (now Mumbai) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942,

02. Britain entered WWII and since it was a war time, the movement gained world-wide attention.

03. In 1939, Gov. Gen. of India Lord Linlithgow, had without consultation with Indian leaders   brought India into the war. The Muslim League supported the war, but Congress was divided; the Indian nationalists were unhappy.

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04. The Indian political situation was complicated by the new conservative government under Winston Churchill, who  had a grudge against the Indians. The conservatives were not sympathetic with Indian freedom fighters.

03.  In July 1942, the Congress Working Committee at Wardha  passed  a resolution termed The Wardha Resolution. It is also known as Quit India Resolution. It recommended a non-violent mass  protest  under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi

04. On 8 August 1942, the resolution was passed at the Bombay AICC session  to stage Quit India movement and  on the same day itself in the evening, Gandhi in a speech given at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay  urged the people and the leaders to take part in this movement. Do or die was his call.

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05. Almost the entire leadership of the INC was imprisoned without trial Within hours of Gandhi's speech, as it was war time the British India government set the entire congress leadership behind the bar.  People in thousands were arrested without any enquiry or trial. 

06. Quit India movement failed to get the support of Viceroy's council (consisting of mostly Indians),  the All India Muslim League, the princely states, Civil and Military administration of the government, RSS, Hindu Maha Sabha and many  Indian businessmen  who were making money from heavy wartime spending. 

07. Subash Chandra Bose formed the Indian National Army (INA) and with support from Japan and other countries, he fought against the British forces in the war.

08. Across India, students in thousands took inspiration from Nethaji Bose and registered their protest.

09. A group of seven young students on 8 August 1942 tried to hoist the Indian National flag on the Patna Collectorate building. Without an iota of compunction, they were shot dead by the police. There is a memorial in their memory on the Collaborate premises of Patna. 
 
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10. The Americans consistently supported India's cause. President Franklin D. Roosevelt put pressure on  PM Winston Churchill to give in and free India. Churchill, a hard-core racist, who had no regard either for the Indian leaders or for the Hindu religion never caved in.

11. When the British faced threats from Japan on the eastern font, they arrested Gandhiji and imprisoned him.

12. On 9 August,1942  because countless leaders were in  prison, an unknown woman leader Aruna Asaf Ali presided over the AICC session and hoisted the national flag. Subsequently the Congress was banned.

13. Though there was  lack of leadership, tens of thousands of people protested; workers and factory employees remained absent en masse. There were strikes.and demostrations.  Unfortunately, in some places bombs exploded.

14. Following violence more than 100,000 people were sent to prison; heavy fines were levied on them. In some places the police shot  countless protesters dead; hundreds of  Indians lost their lives and many important leaders who escaped arrest went underground. So, the situation was unruly and chaotic.


15. As there was no perfect coordination among many parties and groups, the Quit India Movement failed.

16. Because  of lack of unity among the Indian leaders, the British government crushed the movement and told the leaders that they could consider freedom only after India's participation in the World War II. 

17. The British took a lot of beating in WWII. The world survived against Hitler and  other evil forces because of Americans and Russians. Russians defeated the Nazi army, taking advantage of the harsh winter condition. As for Americans, though they did a grave mistake, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the WWII in favour of the allied forces. 

18. Britain not only lost its prestige  as a strong military power but also its financial stability. The war cost the British  treasury quite a bit. 

19. Since the entire nation was against the
British and their long years of misrule and racial discrimination, and with the public protest against their governance increasing day by day, they decided to call it quits. Because, they reached a stage beyond which India became unmanageable.

20. In the following years Kasturi Bai, Gandhiji's wife died,  followed by  Gandhiji's assistant Mahadev Desai. Gandhiji himself became weak and ill.

 21. Since Quit India movement, Indian leaders 
had continued their tirade against the British. At last, after long deliberations and discussion, they left the indian shores leaving behind a divided India which is the result of their motto "Divide and rule". The Muslim Leage led by Mohd. Ali  jinnah fell a victim that resulted in the formation of Pakistan, a country that pratices theocracy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quit_India_Movement