Eternal India Encyclopedia

FREEDOM MOVEMENT

Eternal India

encyclopedia

Speaking at the session, Gandhi in his

concluding lines remarked, ‘Freedom should

be your

Mantra ’

The same was reproduced by

the

Hindu

(10th August 1942). The core of his

words was:

“I

take up my task of leading you in

this struggle not as a commander, not

as your controller, but as the humble

servant of you all... That is how 1 look

at it.

want to share all the shocks

that you have to face...

have pledged

the Congress and the Congress will

do or die... Let every Indian consider

himself to be a free man. He must be

ready for the actual attainment of

freedom or perish in the attempt...

There is no compromise on the

demand for freedom. Freedom first,

and then only the rest. Do not be

cowards

....

Freedom should be your

“Mantra. ”

The Muslim League was promised a

Constitution, ‘

with the largest measure of

autonomy for the federating units, and with

the residuary powers vesting in these

units.'

In conclusion the resolution plainly

stated

that ‘it is no longer justified in holding

the nation back from endeavouring to assert

its will against an imperialist and authori-

tarian government... The Committee re-

solves, therefore, to sanction... the starting

of a mass struggle on non-violent lines on

the widest possible scale.... such a

struggle must inevitably be under the lead-

ership of Gandhi ji.'

However, the official machinery had

obviously been kept on the ready and moved

with lightning speed. Within hours after the

AICC meeting had concluded late on the night

of 8th August, Gandhiji and all the members

of the Congress Working Committee were ar-

rested and hustled away from Bombay in a

special train. Gandhiji was detained at the Aga

Khan Palace in Poona; the other leaders were

sent to Ahmednagar Fort.

The AICC and all the provincial Con-

gress committees except in NWFP were de-

clared unlawful organisations. The Congress

headquarters at Allahabad was seized by the

police and the government confiscated the

Congress funds. Rigorous control was im-

posed on the publication of news and com-

ments to such an extent that several newspa-

pers, including the

Harijan

of Gandhi, had to

suspend publication.

The Quit India resolution sanctioned

‘the starting of a mass struggle on non-

violent lines on the widest possible scale for

the vindication of India's inalienable right to

freedom and independence.

’ Gandhiji was re-

quested to ‘

take the lead and to guide the

nation in the steps to be taken.

’

In a stirring speech Gandhiji told the

people, “

There is a mantra, a short one,

that I give you. You imprint it on your heart

and let every breath of yours give an ex-

pression to it. The mantra is do or die.

We shall either be free or die in the at-

tempt.... Every one of you from this mo-

ment consider himself a free man or woman

and even act as if you are free and no longer

under the heel of this imperialism'''

News of the ‘Quit India’ resolution and

of the arrest of the leaders reached the

people on the morning of 9th August Public

reaction was immediate and spontaneous.

Public life virtually came to a standstill; all

business was suspended. Every city and town

observed a

hartal.

There Were demonstrations

and processions everywhere. National songs

and slogans demanding the release of the

leaders rent the air.

Though the crowds were agitated and

excited, they remained peaceful. But the

size of the crowds made the government

nervous. When the crowds did not heed

warnings and refused to disperse, the po-

lice invariably opened fire. In Delhi alone

during two days (11th & 12th August) the

police opened fire on unarmed crowds on 47

different occasions. 76 persons were killed

and 114 severely injured.

Very soon the situation went completely

out of control. The people had no guidance as

most of the leaders were in prison. The

‘

Ordinance Raj'

and continuing police repres-

sion further inflamed the feelings of the people.

There had been no Congress call for civil

disobedience. Therefore, what started as

individual acts of angry defiance, soon swelled

into a movement and revolt. The revolt was

spearheaded by the students, workers and the

peasants. Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Ma-

nohar Lohia and Amna Asaf Ali were among

the prominent leaders of the underground

movement.

Revolutionary violence occurred in every

part of India. The Government reacted sharply

and let loose a reign of terror. Lathi-charges,

firing and mass arrests became such a com-

mon feature that the country was trans-

formed into a police state.

In almost all cases of arson, violence

and sabotage, these were directed either

against communications of

all kinds

(including railways, posts and telegraphs)

or against the police. These outbreaks started

almost simultaneously in widely separated

areas in the provinces of Madras, Bombay and

Bihar and also in the Central and United

Provinces. Finally the damage done was so

extensive as to make it incredible that it could

have been perpetrated ‘on the spur of the

moment without special implements and

previous preparation.

Railway systems were put out of action

for a considerable period. Bengal was almost

completely cut off from northern India, while

communications with Madras were also inter-

rupted by the damage done to the Railways in

the Guntur district and around Bezwada.

The general picture that emerges is

that there was a widespread revolutionary

upsurge of the people, almost throughout

India, that manifested itself mainly in de-

structive activities.The chief target of these

attacks were the means of communication -

Post and telegraph offices, telegraph wire,

railway line etc., and government establish-

ments specially police stations and other of-

fice buildings. Ten to twenty thousand people,

if not more, marched to small police stations

and were mercilessly shot down by the police

till they exhausted their ammunitions and were

forced to surrender.

The revolt was shortlived but intense.

The Government successfully put down

the revolt but not before over 10,000 people

(according to Congress estimates) had died

in police firing.

Linlithgow accused Gandhiji of having

planned the ‘

rebellion'

in cold blood.

Gandhi's response to this accusation was

to go on a 3-week fast. To this, Linlithgow

described his fast as ‘

political blackmail.'

The revolt of 1942 threw up one promi-

nent All-India leader, namely Jayaprakash

Narayan. He asssigns two causes for the fail-

ure of the outbreak of 1942, namely "lack of

efficient organisation and of a complete pro-

gramme of National Revolution".

Many reasons have been given for start-

ing the 'Quit India' movement. The first was

the growing threat of Japanese invasion of

India, Mahatma Gandhi wanted to save India

from that attack and his view was if the British

government withdrewfrom India the Japanese

might not attack India. Another reason was

the defencelessness of the British position in

India and their easy defeat in Singapore. The

view of Mahatma Gandhi was that India

would meet with the same fate if the British

did not withdraw from India. Another reason

was the alarming growth of Axis, propaganda