Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

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FREEDOMMOVEMENT

bad food and the most outrageous racial dis-

crimination. Also, today, with the end of the

war the problem of demobilisation and reset-

tlement has come for all the thousands of us.

We have innumerable times made

representations to the authorities for the

redressal of our grievances, particularly about

racial discrimination and for equality of

treatment...But the authorities never listened.

Therefore, following the example of the

brothers in the RIAF, we decided to go on

strike. For the last five days we have been on

a peaceful, disciplined, organised strike.

The authorities, however, have refused to

listen to us. Instead, they have called up the

military, particularly British troops, since

naturally they could not trust our Indian Army

brothers. They opened fire on us in Castle

Barracks and forced us to take to arms to

defend ourselves.

Now the Flag officer is threatening us

with total destruction using the over whelm-

ing armed forces of the Empire.

No Indian could expect us to surrender

on such humiliating terms, to bend so low

before the threatening jack-boot of our

imperialist rulers. But we know too that the

Flag officer will carry out this threat unless,

you, our people, and our respected political

leaders come to our aid.

You do not want your Indian brothers to

be destroyed by British bullets, you know our

demands are just, you must support us...

We appeal to you all, particularly to the

leaders of the Congress, League and Com-

munist parties. Use all your might to prevent

a bloodbath in Bombay!

Force the Naval authorities to stop shoot-

ing and threats and to negotiate with us!...

We appeal to you, our brothers and sis-

ters, to respond, We await your reply.

"The INA episode and the recent Royal

Indian Air Force and Royal Indian

Navy strikes have rendered the coun-

try a very great service. The gulf that

separated the people from the armed

forces has once for all been bridged.

The people and the soldier have come

very close to each others. They have

now come to realise that they both

have one common aim - the freeing

of their country from the foreign

yoke".

-Jawaharlal Nehru

We surrender to the Indian People: The

following resolution was adopted by the

NCSC on 22nd February 1946 regarding their

surrender. On the advice and intervention of

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, we have decided to

surrender ourselves in the hands of the Indian

people. Sardar Patel has taken the respon-

sibility and assures us that there will be no

victimisation of our comrades.

We are grateful to the citizens of Bom-

bay and particularly our comrades-in-arms,

the students, the workers in the docks, trans-

port and factories, for the solidarity and

support they extended to our cause.”

The naval mutiny and the formation of

the INA must have created grave doubts in

the British about the loyalty of their Indian

troops upon whom their rule in India de-

pended. The Viceroy, Lord Wavell, an-

nounced the remission of sentences already

passed on the INA men and announced that

the remaining trials would be restricted to

only soldiers who were accused of brutal

methods to force their colleagues to join the

INA.

Cabinet Mission

On February 19,1946 the British Prime

Minister, Clement Attlee, announced that

three members of the British Cabinet would

be visiting India to explore the early realisa-

tion of self-government in India.

‘Whether

the decision of despatching a Cabinet Mis-

sion was hastened by the revolt of naval

ratings it is difficult to say. It is however sig-

nificant that the mission of Sir Stafford Cripps

was also announced just three days after the

fall of Rangoon in Japanese hands;

(R.C.

Majumdar,

History of the Freedom Move-

ment in India).

The Cabinet Mission con-

sisting of Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps

and A.V. Alexander reached India at the end

of March 1946.

The Cabinet Mission recommended a

federal type of government for India. The

Federal Government would deal with For-

eign Affairs, Defence and Communication.

The other powers would be invested in the

provinces and the states. The Union consti-

tution was to be framed by a Constituent

Assembly. The Cabinet Mission further rec-

ommended the establishment of an interim

national government by the reconstitution of

the Viceroy's Executive Council from among

the leaders of the various parties.

The Muslim League accepted the Cabi-

net Mission’s proposals reiterating that a sov-

ereign Pakistan still remained its objective.

The Congress accepted the Cabinet Mission’s

plan but rejected the Viceroy's proposal for

an interim government because the Viceroy

had accepted Jinnah's demand that the Con-

gress would not be allowed to nominate a

Muslim and agreed to participate in the

Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitu-

tion. The Muslim League demanded that the

Viceroy should proceed with the formation

of an interim government even though the

Congress would not participate in it. This the

Viceroy refused to do for he had already

declared it was to be a government of all the

parties who had accepted the Cabinet Mis-

sion's Plan. The Viceroy thereupon appointed

a ‘caretaker’ government of officials.

Following Nehru's declaration at a Con-

gress meeting that the Congress would go to

the Constituent Assembly uncommitted to

any plan (‘they would remain in that Assem-

bly as long as they thought it was for India's

good and they would come out when they

thought it was injuring their cause’), the

League withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet

Mission's proposals and announced a pro-

gramme of

‘Direct Action

’ to achieve

Pakistan. On August 6, 1946 Lord Wavell

invited the Congress to form the interim gov-

ernment and the latter accepted the invita-

tion. The League fixed August 16, as Direct

Action Day. Bloody riots broke out in

Calcutta

{‘The Great Calcutta Killing

’) with

the Muslim League Government there un-

willing or unable to control the riots until

British troops were called in. Hindus mostly

were the victims there. There were outbreaks

of communal violence in Bihar and Uttar

Pradesh in which Muslims suffered. The

Congress took office in early September and

the Muslim League fearing isolation joined

in October. But the League came with the

idea of wrecking rather than cooperating and

its next step was to boycott the Constituent

Assembly in December.

On February 20, 1947 the British Gov-

ernment declared its intention to quit India

and appointed Lord Mountbatten, Viceroy of

India, to arrange for the transfer of power to

Indian hands.

The Congress Committee accepted the

inevitability of the partition of India in a

resolution passed on March 8 1947 : ‘

During

the past seven months India has witnessed

many horrors and tragedies which have been

enacted in the attempt to gain political ends

by brutal violence

murder and coercion.

The tragic events have demonstrated that

there can be no settlement of the problem in