Quit India Movement

M.K. Gandhi planned an all-out campaign to compel British

withdrawal from India, after the failure of the Cripps Mission to reach a compromise. At the historic August meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay, Gandhi proclaimed his mantra—’do or die’. He was arrested on August 9, 1942. He undertook a 21-day fast in February 1943 to protest against the Government actions against Indians involved in the movement.

Jayaprakash Narayan was a member of the Congress Socialist group and played a prominent role in the movement.

Ram Manohar Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kripalani, Chhotubhai Puranik, Biju Patnaik, R.P. Goenka and Achyut Patwardhan were leaders associated with the underground movement and revolutionary activities in support of Quit India Movement.

Chittu Pande, who called himself a Gandhian, formed a parallel government and captured all the ten police stations in Ballia, in east UP in August 1942.

Usha Mehta actively supported the movement and was an important member of a small group which ran the Congress Radio. Jawaharlal Nehru initially supported the arch Moderates,

who were opposed to Gandhi’s plan, but later, he moved the Quit India Resolution on August 8, 1942.

Sumati Morarjee helped Achyut Patwardhan in his underground activities. She later became India’s leading woman industrialist.

Rashbehari Bose, a revolutionary activist, was elected the president of the Indian Independence League (formed in March 1942) in June 1942. He was living in Japan since 1915 as a fugitive. He mobilised Indian soldiers taken as prisoners of war by the Japanese forces (after the British was defeated in South East Asia) for an armed rebellion against the British colonial rule.

Captain Mohan Singh, an Indian soldier fighting on behalf of the British was taken as prisoner of war by the Japanese. He was persuaded by a Japanese army officer to work with the Japanese for India’s freedom. He was appointed the commander of the Indian National Army.

Subhash Chandra Bose joined the Indian National Army in 1943. One of his most famous declarations was “Tum mujhe khoon do mai tumhe azadi doonga” (You give me blood, I will give you freedom). The INA played a significant role in the independence struggle under the leadership of Subhash Bose.

C. Rajagopalachari and Bhulabhai Desai were the arch- Moderates, who were in favour of recognising the rights of Muslim majority provinces to secede through plebiscites after independence had been gained. They resigned from the AICC in July 1942.

K.G. Mashruwalla brought out two militant issues of Harijan (after the arrest of Mahadev Desai) to arouse the sentiments of people.

K.T. Bhashyam, a Congress leader in Bangalore, played an active role in the trade union field and organised strikes by about 30,000 workers.

Satish Samanta, a local Congress leader and the first sarbadhinayak of the Tamluk Jatiya Sarkar, helped in establishing a rebel ‘national government’ in Tamluk sub-division of Midnapore. Matangini Hazra, a 73-year-old peasant widow in Tamluk,

was killed in violence on September 29, 1942, when the Sutahata police-station was captured. Matangini kept the national flag aloft even after being shot.

Lakshman Naik, an illiterate villager, led a large tribal population from Koraput to protest against the Jeypore zamindari and attack police-stations. Lakshman Naik was hanged on November 16, 1942 for allegedly murdering a forest guard.

Nana Patil headed a rebellion in Satara.