Topic 4 Flashcards
to what extent did WW2 impact on Indian politics?
as Britain fought almost to the point of economic exhaustion, the maintenance of the Indian empire was worrying British politicians.
British were desperate to find a compromise that would satisfy all parties - Indian politicians rose to the occasion, pressing the interests of their own communities in trying to work towards a satisfactory constitutional solution.
why was sir Stafford Cripps appointed?
to lead a delegation in India in order to secure full cooperation and support the war effort.
what was Cripps and who was he friends with?
he was a Labour Party minister and was friends with Nehru and Gandhi + personally sympathetic to Indian aspirations
what were the main things issued by the Cripps mission?
some sort of partition (not even a proper/full sense)
and dominion status
why did the Cripps mission fail? (British faults)
-the British had already constructed a schema in India of them being insincere and duplicitous (WWI)
-no timestamp (like in Montagu Declaration 1917)
-they did not issue anything that would truly amuse all Indians - but only some -> which helped to delay things further as it allowed divide and rule thrive
why did the Cripps mission fail? (Congress’ faults)
-gandhi was uncooperative and intrasigent -> he did not want partition nor dominion status and wanted to upkeep his preferences (he wanted a united India) which he proved through his support of khilafat movement during the 1920s
why did the Cripps mission fail? (Muslim League’s faults)
they betrayed the British -> though the British offered them something quite favourable they still denied it
^ betrayed them since the British literally aimed to issue muslims favourable things even at the Round Table Conferences and also through the Government of India Act 1935 (separate electorates)
why was the quit India campaign so significant?
‘Quit India’ was the shout that greeted every English man, woman, child and the troops - who were desperately trying to defend India’s frontiers against the Japanese.
what did Gandhi’s declaration ‘Do or die for nothing less than freedom’ do?
it influenced many Indians to become more nationalist and some even martyrs - there were about seven young men who sacrificed their lives in the Quit India movement, Martyr’s Memorial Shaheed Smarak Patna.
what was the quit India campaign proving to the British?
Indians were no longer vulnerable and submissive.
why was the quit India campaign considered threatening?
the movement attacked about 550 post offices, 250 railway stations and burned or damaged 85 other government buildings, as well as there being horrific rounds of riots, killings and attacks on Europeans. Over 1000 deaths and over 3000 serious injuries were directly attributed to the Quit India campaign.
how many deaths and injuries were there as a result of the 1942 campaign?
1000 deaths and over 3000 serious injuries
what did the campaign compare to?
The Mutiny, also known as the Great Revolt, is considered, by the British, as being one of the most shocking events to ever occur in the years in which the British Empire was dominant in India.
the Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule in Ireland with an aim of establishing an independent Irish Republic, further emphasises the fear the campaign was causing as it was congruent in what Indians were trying to achieve.
what were some unintended/negative consequences spawned by the quit India campaign?
The Quit India campaign exacerbated the relations among Hindus and Muslims - or more explicitly the relations between Congress and the Muslim League. -> the Quit India campaign proved that Congress was unwilling to take into consideration the Muslim opinion any time soon.
Congress’ demands of wanting a united independent India were completely impaired - Muslims and the League were now fully determined in achieving a separate Muslim state.
the campaign was perceived as being divisive -> Not only was the Muslim League in opposition of the movement, many Congress members and soldiers also opposed the suggestion and the measures the movement would take. Congress members were unwilling to commit to the satyagraha at such a critical time in Britain’s struggle against Nazi Germany, and soldiers decided to remain loyal to the Raj - only 216 soldiers had gone absent without leave.
why was the campaign not aligned with Congress/Gandhi’s aims?
they did not manage to stay in tact with their aims - make India, a united one, ungovernable and doing so through non-violent non-cooperation.
^ The Muslim League greatly strengthened its position, as many members of Congress were imprisoned and there was an anarchic situation. The League gained tacit agreement from Britain that some sort of separateness for the Muslim community was possible, inevitable and even desirable.
^ the Delhi hartal, protest, resulted in arson and the killing of 14 people by police and as a result there were public whippings, women beaten with lathis and there were allegations of rape in custody. There were notorious instances where policemen were burned to death and killings were made through the use of machine guns - there were hundreds of deaths and thousands injured.
how were the British wise during the quit India campaign?
British knew what was likely to happen and so undercover CID agents and informers had penetrated most of Congress’ networks and, as a result, Congress’ room for manoeuvre was severely limited. Subsequently, as the British used wise tactics, over 100,000 arrests were made, some of whom were members of Congress and others supporters, mass fines were levied and demonstrators were subjected to public flogging.
what was the bengal famine caused by?
a run of poor harvests and distribution failures, loss of imports, wartime price inflation and severe crop conditions
how bad was the famine?
atrocious, the price of rice had risen tenfold
what did Americans/brits do as a result of the famine?
Wavell, the viceroy, took immediate action to coordinate rationing and try to stop profiteering, diverting troops from the war effort to do so. Churchill refused to divert British merchant shipping in order to take grain to starving Bengal, and Roosevelt, the US president, refused when asked to lend American ships to bring in wheat from Australia.
how did Indians react to the brits demeanour during famine?
Indians were infuriated as it showed that the British neglected the circumstances
how many ppl died from the Bengal famine?
1-3 million people died in the three years the Bengal Famine lasted and in some areas whole villages were wiped out.
how was the brits reaction a good tool in the hands of the Indians?
atrocity acted as a propaganda tool that both Gandhi, leader of Congress, and Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League, could use against the British in order to boost the sense of nationalism among the public.
^^Both the League and Congress made political capital out of the crisis.
how did Jinnah react to the brits reaction?
Jinnah used the propaganda tool as he accused the British government of incompetence and irresponsibility, pointing out that Churchill’s government would not have lasted five minutes without taking action if millions of people were dying in the streets of London, as they were in the streets of Calcutta.
how did congress react to the brits reaction?
Congress blamed the crisis on the British.
what initiated the means for the Simla conference?
the fact that the brits were millions of pounds in debt to India and the terrorist activity and unrest in India
what was the Simla conference?
- The Viceroy’s Executive Council would be immediately reconstituted and the number of its members would be increased.
- In the Council there would be equal representation of high-caste Hindus and Muslims.
how did congress react to the Simla conference?
congress could not accept such a restriction maintaining that as congress was an inclusive party, muslims should be able to represent the congress as well as the muslim league.
impacts of war on British rule
- british investment in India had fallen - Indian capitalists and entrepreneurs were taking the lead in investing in India
-india was importing less from Britain. (during 1920s India imported £83 million of British goods-> 1930s it was £39 million)
-increasingly buoyant economy controlled by Indians
-reserve bank of India -> rupees were no longer tied to the sterling in the world’s money markets
how bad was the brits economic situation?
wartime debts had run at £70 million per day - Britain owed £2700 million only to usa
what was the atlantic charter?
an affirmation that all peoples should enjoy the right to self determination when WW2 was over
how did Churchill react to the atlantic charter?
he claimed that it was not applicable to India, burma and other parts of the British empire
how were the relations between congress and the Labour Party?
they had forged links together
why was there resentment on the muslim league’s side concerning the relationship of congress and Labour Party?
they had no such links with any British political party and there grew suspicion that labour was anti-muslim
why were there Indian elections during 1940s?
so that it was clearer to British about who the Indians themselves favoured as their representatives
what was the situation like during the elections?
there was disorder, violence and mayhem
how great was congress’ victory?
they won 90% of all available seats
although they did not win why were the elections favourable in the league’s eyes?
they won 75% of all muslim votes, 90% of all reserved seats for Muslims and 30 seats reserved for muslims in central assembly
what was the cabinet mission?
discussed the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership, with the aim of preserving India’s unity and granting its independence.
what was the aim of the Simla conference 1946?
to work through with the cabinet mission’s proposals
how did congress react to Simla conference and cabinet mission?
They did not accept either proposition
what was the may statement?
there was said to be a creation of a constituent assembly, comprising representatives from the 11 British provinces, who would draft a constitution for a single Indian state with regional groupings
how did congress react to the may statement?
flatly refused to accept it
how did the league react to the may statement?
due to the compromise Jinnah had made in agreeing that the creation of Pakistan could be left to the decision of constituent assembly - accepted it
what was proposed after the may statement that again was quite divisive for Indians?
interim government to run India before the constituent assembly could be put into effect.
there would be Indian members and the viceroy
^ Indians wanted to pick their own representatives and this was chaotic
what did the British do as a result of the chaos of the interim gov?
cabinet mission announced that they would choose all the members, muslims included
^ not favourable by the muslims they did not have such a great autonomy as a result of congress’ resentment
what led Jinnah to direct action?
the British and congress duplicity from the may statement and interim gov
what did the ML order the police in Calcutta to do?
take a special holiday
what was the result of the police in Calcutta taking a special holiday?
the streets fell to the mob -> within 3 days more than 5,000 ppl were dead, 20,000 seriously injured and 100,000 residents made homeless
how did direct action aggravate the muslim hindu relations?
they murdered each other in an orgy of killings and bloodletting, looting and arson that spread across India
^ any potential compromise was gone
who was India governed by in 1946?
congress and Sardar Patel, Congress general secretary, took on home affairs
what did the British claim as a result of congress governing India?
that the league could become responsible for home affairs instead
how did congress react to the British claim about home affairs?
they threatened to bring down the whole interim gov
what did Jinnah do as a result of congress and the British claims etc?
jinnah contended himself with the post of finance minister
how did the princes feel about the partition plans etc?
they felt ignored and threatened because congress was a party dedicated to removing their sovereign powers
