Road to Independence 1942-48 (2) Flashcards
Impact of WW2 on Indian politics
*WW2 Majorly impacted Indian Politics - Britain was at the point of Economic exhaustion
*Bose and Axis forces were also coming dangerously close to India
*1942 Most of Asia was open for Japanese attack
*Only calmed after US defeated Japanese at the battle of the Coral sea
The Cripps Mission
*With the background of the war, Churchill appointed Sir Stafford Cripps to lead a delegation to India to speak with Indian officials to gain cooperation to help with Britain’s War effort (1942)
*Indian Leaders assured that they would be given Dominion Status after the War
*INC and Muslim League both rejected this - Due to this The British had imprisoned most of Congress
Wavell Becomes Viceroy
*Appointed in oct 1943 - successful in middle east campaign
*Started with a fact-finding mission trying to allay fears, settle disputes and boost morale
*he reinstated regular meetings of 11 governors of the provinces of the Raj
The Bengal Famine 1943-44
*Caused by a number of factors, run of poor harvests, distribution failures, loss of imports, wartime price inflation & severe weather.
*Crop yield of 1943 was worst that century & annual death rate rose from 1.2m to 1.9m
*The starving crowded in Calcutta in their thousands trying to find relief, begging & dying in the streets
*may 1943 price of rice increased 10x
- Wavell took imediate action
*Jinnah accused British of incompetence
*Wavell started a running battle with Whitehall to buy more grain
*June 1944- Wavell extracted 450,000 tons of grain from a reluctant govt
Impact of WW2 on Rule / growth of nationalism
*War had a huge effect of control of India
*Indian capitalists were taking lead by investing in own country
*India importing less from Britain - more buoyant Indian economy
*1931 - Reserve bank of India - could now set own price of currency
Influence of the USA
*The Atlantic Charter raised Indian hopes at what seemed like another commitment to independence
*US viewed situation in India with alarm as didnt want india to fall to japanese
*FDR put pressure on Churchill to let India have some form of self-government to unite country
Labour Govt and Indian Policy
*1945 Labour Party won general election
*when labour came to power they were prepared to honour their promises but Muslim demands for separate representation became stronger
*Atlee (PM) put together an India Committee
*India committee recommended that elections be held throughout India to choose a representative of that constituency
*Jan 1946 - small fact finding group of MPs made visit to gauge strength of support for a separate Pakistan
Impact Of Indian Elections 1946
*Carried out against background of violence and disorder
*British Ignored popular sentiment & selected a sample of INA officers & charged them with waging war on the crown
*7 Million Indians were being Demobbed & drought threatened to result in famine in southern India
*Some of indian Army mutinied in feb 1946
Direct Action
*Jinnah convened his council of the league and rejected all agreements made with the Cabinet Mission
*Two days later he called for A large Muslim day of direct action on the 16th august 1946
*Raj prerared for direct action - Wavell concerned about his governors
*Calcutta - Police, ordered by Muslim league, took a special Holiday and streets given over to the mob
*Wavell’s appeals to halt the killings had no effect
*Trust between differing communities was lost and potential for compromise was gone
Interim Government
*Against this background Interim Govt sworn in. Viceroy still normally responsible for governance in India but Congress were running India
*Wavell managed to persuade a reluctant Jinnah to Join the govt
*Wavell warned he couldn’t contain the growing situation by force
*By 1946 Wavell was worn out and it was clear a new Viceroy was needed
*Attlee wrote to Wavell in 1947 removing him from his post
*It would be Louis Mountbatten that would become India’s last Viceroy
*Mountbatten’s Brief was clear - partition should be avoided
The Boundary Commission
*Work was to draw a boundary between India & Pakistan, comprised of equal numbers of Hindu & Muslim Judges and Chairmen
*Commission was given out of date Maps, anecdotal stories of land ownership and old boundary maps - all to be done in 5 weeks
*Some decisions were leaked to interested parties who then applied pressure to get commission to change their minds
*Mountbatten ended up strengthening India in the expense of Pakistan
*It was agreed that neither India or Pakistan would inherit the princely states
Boundary Commission pt2
*Nehru Was furious as it would mean complete reverse for congress
*Mountbatten Called a conference of the Indian Princes & explained that they would have to accede to India or Pakistan, which either was closer
British Withdrawal & Communal Violence
*Millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were terrified that, after independence, they would wake up on the wrong border
*Many abandoned their homes and land and left
*Muslims heading West were butchered by Sikhs and Hindus same applies to Sikhs and Hindus moving east
*The British Army withdrawal began in Aug 1947 and finished in 1948. 50,000 troops deployed to bring order to new borders
*Massive refugee Problem
*Aug 14th and 15th 1947 Pakistan and India would declare independence
