British Withdrawal From India Flashcards
How did Britain feel about India as a colony after WW2?
Churchill wanted to keep it
Majority of Briton’s believed it was time to give up on India
How did Gandhi influence British feeling about withdrawal from India?
. His anti-British stance was a question of rights - Britain didn’t have the right to tell Britain what to do
. Gandhi’s attempts for peaceful protest resulted in Britain taking firm actions that made the British increasingly ashamed of the empire in India
. Gandhi wasn’t trying to drive Britain out but tried to bring India together so that it could prove its possibility of independence and shut down the imperialist idea that Britain could control India
The two world wars had kicked out the idea that the empire were superior as the colonies had now contributed and proved themselves on a similar level
What was the symbolic meaning of Churchill’s defeat in 1945 to make way for the labour government?
Symbolised a move away from the imperial past
- the British public were aware that re-electing Britain would return imperialism to semi-full flight
Which viceroy planned the withdrawal from India?
Viceroy Wavell - planned for a GRADUAL withdrawal from India
What was the process of the Wavell Plan and was it successful?
. Withdraw from least violent areas of India first
. Concentrate police and troops into more volatile areas due to independence movements
. Complete withdrawal
Britain wanted to make it seem like they would withdraw honourably, under their terms, rather than seemingly being driven out
This plan failed due to the new labour government that had been elected for social reform of Britain post-WW2
How did the labour government in Britain change the plan for the withdrawal from India?
They focused on just getting out no matter how, they didn’t care much about the state of India after withdrawal (very silly considering the massive diversity of ethnic groups in India)
How did the labour government initiate the chaotic withdrawal from India?
. Rejected the Wavell Plan, clearly with the intention of speeding up withdrawal and not focusing on an honourable withdrawal
. A date for the transfer of power was set up to assure that the British were really leaving (clearly anxious to get out)
. Lord Louis Mountbatten appointed as last Viceroy of India (this was the turning point to turning the withdrawal from India into chaos)
When did Mountbatten arrive in India and how did chaos ensue?
March 1947
. Tried to speed everything up, meaning Britain had no real withdrawal policy as everything was so rushed
- Britain was going to leave India in a state that would leave India stranded and wouldn’t even benefit the British either
. Adjustment was impossible now as everything happened too quickly, India was left in a mess
