'Quit India' 1942 (22) Flashcards
What did Gandhi do on the 3rd March 1942?
He launched his last great satyagraha campaign, claiming it was time for the British and India to go their separate ways.
How did Congress react to Gandhi’s campaign?
They were evasive about the subject, on one hand, to commit to a satyagraha at such a crucial time in Britain’s struggle against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers seemed a great act of folly, it would set the Raj against Congress and any reconciliation after the war would be very difficult.
On the other hand, to remain dormant may give the upper hand to Jinnah or to Bose, Congress had to make its position clear and rally its supporters to swaraj.
What happened on the 8th August 1942?
Congress officially sanctioned Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ campaign.
What did Congress leaders call on their supporters to do in response to a repressive Raj reaction?
Before they could be imprisoned and silenced, they called on their supporters to make Raj ungovernable
During the 3 months of Congress arguing whether to support Gandhi’s satyagraha, what contingency plans did the Raj make?
On the 9th August, Gandhi, Nehru and most of the Congress Party’s leaders were arrested and interned. Within the next fortnight, thousands of local activists were rounded up and imprisoned, officers were raided, files taken and funds frozen.
What did Gandhi tell his supporters in anticipation of his arrest?
He realised that it would be impossible to organise the satyagraha, so he told his supporters to ‘Go out to die, not to live’, urging every demonstrator to become their own leader.
What ensued after Gandhi’s declaration?
A horrific round of riots, killings, attacks on Europeans and damage and destruction of government property - revenue offices and police stations.
Alarmingly, despite India daily expecting a Japanese invasion, stations and signal boxes were wrecked, railway tracks torn up and telegraph lines were pulled down.
How many deaths and injuries can be directly attributed to the ‘Quit India’ campaign?
1,000 deaths and 3,000 serious injuries.
How did the Raj respond to the campaign?
The threat to transport of troops and war supplies was so great that on the 14th August the RAF began attacking the crowds threatening railway lines. They were ordered to drop flares and if that didn’t disperse the crowd, machine gun them.
35,000 British troops were made available to support the police, some were rushed between trouble spots while others guarded lines of communication, munitions stores and public buildings.
What are examples of mob violence during the campaign?
In Bengal on the 14th August, a crowd assembled to attack a police station despite the ring leaders being arrested a couple of days earlier. The local police inspector was murdered and two magistrates were burned alive.
In the United Provinces, local policemen barricaded themselves inside the police station, against them were 4000 angry villagers armed with spears, saws, spades and two elephants.The standoff lasted two hours and ended with the rebels running away. The police had fired 119 rounds and killed 40-50 villagers; there were no police casualties.
Why was the campaign a failure?
By November 1942, the worst of the attacks were over.
The ‘Quit India’ satyagraha failed to paralyse the government, even in militant Hindu areas like Bihar, which was due to the military’s loyalty - even in Indian regiments, only 216 soldiers went AWOL.
The campaign had not attracted support throughout India regarding geography, religion or caste and non-cooperation had brought detention, despair and death.
