The Quit India Movement

All through the British rule in the subcontinent, the inhabitants of the “land of the spices” had faced oppression and a standard of a second class citizen. Not only had they undergone a political repression but also social and academic suppressions. Nevertheless, at that time, leaders like Jinnah, Gandhi, sir syed Ahmed khan. Etc. apprehend the vital necessity of the time and enhanced their knowledge spans and took a stand to struggle adjacent to the British totalitarianism and to create consciousness and to facilitate the inhabitants of the subcontinent realize the importance of education and unity among themselves. Hence, such they mobilized people by calling movements for the cause of the rights of the locals and to demonstrate to the British, that they wanted to exonerate of their tyranny.

The “Quit India Movement” was also a consequential aggression towards the British, who had entered the subcontinent into the uproar of the third world war, where, the Indians had little to do, except serving as the vanguard for the British in the war and contribute manpower. Conversely, this movement has been the utmost of all times and it wouldn’t be erroneous to call it a principal endeavor to seek independence from the repressive British rule, however, in rather a passive way, after the War of independence 1857, though seen as  a “great mutiny” by the British.

This Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan) was an absolute call and the definitive organized movement of civil disobedience by the Gandhi-led congress party, which demanded instantaneous withdrawal of the British from the subcontinent and forming it as an independent state, on August 9, 1942 and made famous by his slogans Do or Die (Karenge Ya Marenge in Hindi) and No Violence (Ahimsa). Moreover, it demanded a full fledge power of the government of the state to be in the hands of the local leaders lone and not with the British. This showed the urge of the people of the subcontinent to be independence. However, this movement was rather congress orientated as Muslim League or any other minority parties didn’t demonstrate much of an interest in this very movement.

The Quit India Movement was undoubtedly the most tremendous movement led by Gandhi in the history of the Sub continent. India was at the very threshold of Independence by the end of this Movement. Though, Gandhi proclaimed it to be non-violent movement conversely, the consequence was the opposite. Not only that the movement met a failure at the end due to the British repression, however, it was significant that no other party responded to Gandhi’s call. Muslim league under Jinnah remained aloof from the movement and did not render any support.