On the road to freedom
August 8, 1942, is an important date in the history of the independence struggle. It was the date the Quit India Movement was launched. Read on to know more about this crucial struggle.
World War II was going on. Indian leaders were angry that Britain had not consulted them about being part of the war efforts. In an effort to placate them, the Cripps Mission was sent to India with proposals for a new constitution but this was rejected by both the Congress and the Muslim League.
The All India Congress Committee held a session at Mumbai’s Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August Krant Maidan) that began on August 7, 1942, and finished on the midnight of August 8/9 and passed the Quit India Resolution. During his speech, Gandhi said, “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 expression to it. The mantra is ‘do or die’.”
But not everyone supported this resolution. C Rajagopalachari, the veteran Congress leader, left the Congress over this issue.
On the morning of August 9, Gandhi, Nehru and all the other top leaders of the Congress were arrested by the British. Since there was no one to hoist the flag, the honour fell to Aruna Asaf Ali who, along with Usha Mehta, later set up an underground radio and broadcast messages from Indian leaders and directed the movement.
Though the Quit India Movement failed, it was reported in the world press and created an opinion favourable to Indian independence. Once the British realised that they couldn’t hold on to India, they began to look at ways to quit the country.
How did the phrase Quit India come to be used? Gandhi and his colleagues were trying to find a suitable slogan for the movement. One of the suggestions was ‘Get Out’, which Gandhi felt was too impolite and rude. Finally Yusuf Meheraly — who earlier came up with ‘Simon Go Back’ for the Simon Commission protests in 1928 — suggested ‘Quit India’. Gandhi approved and the slogan was unanimously selected.
Now that you have learnt about this movement, take this quiz to see how much you remember.