National Movement: Towards Freedom & Partition (1939-1947)

2nd world war & nationalist response:

Congress offered to cooperate but conditions:

Sep 1 1939: GermanyPoland

After war: constituent assy.

After war: responsible govt. @ Centre
Rejected by the Viceroy: Linlithgow

Sep 3 1939: British (+ India without permission) V/S

Germany
{BFP}
CWC meeting @ Wardha (sep 10-14, 1939)
Gandhi

Subash Bose & Socialist

Nehru

CWC

an unconditional support to the

Allied powers

No support

No participation

advantage should be taken of

the situation to wrest freedom
by immediately starting a civil
disobedience movement.

No advantage

Wanted to give to give every

chance to the viceroy and the
British Government

23 Oct 1939 CWC

1.Rejected viceregal statement

2.No support to war

Immediate mass
satyagraha???

Gandhi

Not in favour
allied cause was just
Lack:hindu-muslim

3.Called upon leaders to

resign in the provinces

March 1940 ramgarh session

Congress would resort to CDM

ASA congress is considered fit
enough

Leftist groups
(SC+ FB)+CSP+CP+TR

mass ready
urged congress to

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unity
Mass not ready
Non conductive
atmosphere @
congress

Pakistan resolution-Lahore March

1940
grouping of geographically contiguous
areas where Muslims are in majority
(North- West, East) into independent
states in which constituent units shall be
autonomous and sovereign and
adequate safeguards to Muslims where
they are in minority
July 1941

Nehru+Gandhi+congress

Viceroys August Offer 1940

objective for India: dominion status

expansion of viceroy's executive council.
Setting up: Constituent Assy.(Indians would decide)
No future tCn without the minoritys consent

Viceroys executive council enlarged

But whites remained I/C @ defence,finance & home

launch a mass struggle

reaction
Congress: rejected
Muslim league: accepted &
reiterated partition as solution.

Set up NDC as advisory body

Individual Satyagrahas by the end 1940

AIM:
Nationalist patience not d.t. weakness
Not interested in war
Give anoher opportunity to the govt. to accept congress demand
Anti-war declarationif govt. didnt arrest satyagrahisrepeat the actsmove into villagesstart a march towards Delhi=} DELHI CHALO
MOVEMENT
1ST to offer satyagrah: Vinoba Bhave
Dec 1941:

2nd to offer: Nehru

The CWC overrode Gandhi's and Nehru's objections and passed a resolution offering to cooperate with the Government in the defence of
India, if

After war: full independence

Substance of power: immediate transfer

CRIPPS MISSION

AIM:

Reason:

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March 1942
constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for
the war.

reverses suffered by Britain in South-East Asia, the

Japanese threat to invade India
Allies (USA, USSR, China) pressure on Britian to seek
Indian cooperation.
Indian nationalists had agreed to support the Allied
cause if substantial power was transferred immediately and
complete independence given after the war.

Main proposals

Departure from past & implications

An Indian union with dominion status

Constituent Assy: members partly elected by provincial assy.
through PR & partly nominated by the princess

tCn making solely in the hand of Indians

{august offermainly in indian hands}

British govt. would accept the new tCn if:

Any not-willing- to join-province is free to form its separate

tCn & form a separate union
New tCn making body & british govt. Negotiate a treaty : on
the subject of power transfer

Meantime, defence in the hand of british & governer-gen provinces

remain intact

a concrete plan
option to provinces for separate union=blueprint for Indias partition
free India could withdraw from the commonwealth
large share of Indians in the administration in the interim period

Mission Failed???
congress
against

instead

Muslim league
Against
instead

Dominion status

Full independence

Single Indian union

Representation of

Elected

Machinery for the creation of constituent

partition

liberals
Hindu
mahasabha
Depressed

others
Succession proposals against
unity
Against right to secede
Partition would leave them at the

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states by nominees
representation
Right to provinces to National unity
secede
Absence of any plan for power transfer

assy.
Procedure to decide on the accession of
provinces to the union
Thought that the proposal denied to the
muslims right to self-determination & the
creation of pakistan
QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT

class
sikh

mercy of caste hindus

Partition would take Punjab from
them

Gandhi framed a resolution :

British withdrawal and a non-violent non-cooperation movement against any Japanese invasion.
The CWC meeting at Wardha (July 14, 1942) accepted the idea of a struggle.
AICC MeetingGowalia Tank, Bombay (August 8, 1942)
Gandhi's General Instructions to Different Sections
The Quit India Resolution was ratified
Government
Do not resign but declare your allegiance to the
servants
Congress.
Demand: immediate end to British rule
Soldiers
Do not leave the Army but do not fire on compatriots.
Declare: commitment of free India to defend itself against all
Students
If confident, leave studies.
types of Fascism and imperialism.
After British withdrawal: form a provisional Government of India Peasants
If zamindars are anti-government, pay mutually
agreed rent, and if zamindars are pro-government, do
not pay rent.
Sanction: a CDM against British rule.

Princes

Support the masses and accept sovereignty of your

people

Leader of the struggle: Gandhi

Gandhis mantra: DO OR DIE

Princely
states' people

Support the ruler only if he is anti-government and

declare yourselves to be a part of the Indian nation.

Underground Activity
by the Socialists, Forward Bloc members, Gandhi ashramites,
revolutionary terrorists and local organisations in Bombay, Poona,
Satara, Baroda and other parts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra,
UP, Bihar and Delhi.
by Rammanohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha
Sharma(UNDERGROUND RADIO @ BOMBAY), Biju Patnaik,

Parallel Governments
Ballia (in August 1942 for a week)under Chittu Pandey.
Tamluk (Midna pore, from December 1942 to September 1944)
Satara (mid-1943 to 1945)named "Prati Sarkar", was organised
under leaders like Y.B. Chavan, Nana Patil,

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Chhotubhai Puranik, Achyut Patwardhan, Sucheta Kripalani and R.P.

Goenka.
meant to keep up popular morale : provide a line of command and
guidance to distribute arms and ammunition.

Youth
Women
Workers
Peasants
govt. Officals
Muslims
Communists
Princely states

Extent of Mass Participation

the students of schools and colleges @ forefront
school and college girls, actively participated, and
included Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kripalani and
Usha Mehta
Strikes & faced repression
Heart of the movement, some zamindars
participated, complete absence of anti-zamindar
violence
Lower levels in poloce & admNerosion of govt.
loyality
shelter to underground Activists, no communal
clashes during the movement.
despite their anti-war line, felt the irresistible pull
of the movement
Showed a low key response

Main storm centres

Backbone of the
movement
remained loyal
Level of loyality to
govt.

Estimate of the movement

eastern UP, Bihar, Midnapore, Maharashtra,
Karnataka
Students, workers and peasants
upper classes and the bureaucracy
eroded

The element of spontaneity was higher than before

movement placed the demand for independence on the immediate
agenda of the national movement
February 1943 Gandhi :
started fast against the govt. violence in the state.

Fast raised the public morale, raised the anti-british feeling, govt.
high-handedness was exposed
March 23 1943 Pakistan day was observed
FAMINE OF 1943
AFFECTED
South-west Bengal comprising the Tamluk- Contai-Diamond Harbour region, Dacca, Faridpur, Tippera and Noakhali
AREAS
REASON
diverted foodstuffs: to feed vast army
Rice imports from Burma and South-East Asia had been stopped
gross mismanagement and deliberate profiteering
rationing methods were belated and were confined to big cities

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RAJGOPALACHARI FORMULA: a formula for Congress-League cooperation

main points in CR Plan

: The below terms to be operative only if England transferred full powers to India.

Wanted Muslim league

to endorse Congress demand for independence.

Favours offered to the league

After the end of the war, the entire population of Muslim majority
areas in the North-West and North-East India to decide by a
plebiscite, whether or not to form a separate sovereign state.

to cooperate with Congress in forming a provisional government at

centre

In case of acceptance of partition, agreement to be made jointly for

safeguarding defence, commerce, communications, etc.

jinnah's Objections
wanted the Congress to accept the two-nation theory.

Others reaction
Hindu leaders led by Vir Savarkar condemned the CR Plan.

He wanted only the Muslims of North-West and North-East to vote in

the plebiscite and not the entire population.

DESAI-LIAQAT PACT
Bhulabhai Desai, leader of the the Central Legislative Assembly, met
Liaqat Ali Khan, deputy leader of the Muslim League in that
Assembly,
and both of them came up with the draft proposal for the formation
of an interim government at the centre, consisting of

He also opposed the idea of a common centre.

an equal number of persons nominated by the Congress and

the League in the central legislature.

20% reserved seats for minorities.

WAVELL PLAN
War end @ Europe by may 1945 but japan great still remained
Viceroy Wavell permitted to start negotiation with congress for the reasons below:
The general election in England was scheduled for mid-1945
Allies pressure from the to seek further Indian cooperation in the war.
The Government wanted to divert Indian energies into channels more profitable for the British.
The plan: to reconstruct the governor general's executive council pending the preparation of a new constitution.

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For this purpose, a conference was convened by the viceroy, Lord Wavell, at Shimla in June 1945.

Main proposals of the Wavell plan

all members of the executive council were to be Indians except the governor-general and the commander-in-chief
equal representation for Caste Hindus and Muslims
The reconstructed council = an interim government ~ the 1935 Act (i.e. not responsible to the Central Assembly)
Governor- general was to exercise his veto on the advice of ministers.
Representatives of different parties were, to submit a joint list to the viceroy for nominations to the executive council. If a joint list was
not possible, then separate lists were to be submitted.
Possibilities were to be, kept open for negotiations on a new constitution once the war was finally won.

Muslim league
wanted all Muslim members to be League
nominees, because it feared that since the
aims of other minoritiesdepressed classes,
Sikhs, Christians, etc. were the same as those
of the Congress, this arrangement would
reduce the League to a one-third minority

Congress

Wavells mistake
announceda breakdown of talks thus giving
league a virtual veto & strengthened its
As it as an attempt to reduce the congress into
position
a pure Hindu party
Objected the plan

Wanted members from all communities

claimed some kind of veto in the council

with decisions opposed' to Muslims needing a
two-thirds majority for approval.
THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY
The First Phase

1st conceived @ Malaya by Mohan Singh

The Second Phase

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JapaneseIndian POWsMohan singh

July 1943 Subhash Bose@ Singapore:

Fall of Singapore 45K POWs

--congress @ 1940 d.t. diff. with Gandhihe formed FB

By end 194240K ready to join INA

mar 1941under house arrest & approached Russian leaders for help
against Britain

The INA intended to go into action only on invitation of the Indian

National Congress and the people of India
After the outbreak of QIM, july 19421st div. of INA with 16.3K
men.

june 1941soviet union joined alliashe went to japan feb 1943 &
asked held against britian
july 1943 @ Singapore: assisted by Rashbehari Bose and others,
such as the Indian residents of South- East Asia and the Indian POWs
from Burma, Malaya and Singapore.
October 1943, he set up a Provisional Indian Government with
headquarters at Rangoon and Singapore.
Even a women's regiment called the Rani Jhansi Regiment was
formed.
failure of Imphal campaign

Last two years of british rule:

Change in govt.s attitude???

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Two basic strands

Torturous negotiations resulting in freedom & partition

accompanied by communal violence
Sporadic, localized mass action

End of warUK no more a global power & USA + USSR emerged

as superpowers, supporters of Indian freedom.
Labour govt.-->sympathetic to Indians demands
@ Europe: wave of socialist radical govts.

Govt. attitude:

British economy shattered with tired army

July 1945: labour govt. comes to power @ britian

Aug 145: elections to central & provincial assemblies announced

an anti-imperialist wave in South-East Asiain Vietnam and

Indonesiaresisting efforts to replant French and Dutch rule.

Sep 1945: announcement of a Constituent Assy.

Officials feared another Congress revolt

Elections were inevitable once the war ended since the last
elections had been, held in 1934 for the centre and in 1937 for the
provinces

Congress Support for INA Prisoners

Post war 1st session @ Bombay sep 1945: congress declared support for the INA cause

Defence for INA prisoners in the court was organized by

Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Kailash Nath Katju, Nehru and Asaf

Ali

INA relief & enquiry cmte2

Organized fund collection

INA agitations main features:

unprecedented high pitvh & intensity
wide geographical & social spread
penetrated traditional bulwarks raj-govt. employees & loyalists
Three upsurges:
November 21, 1945in Calcutta over the

February 11, 1946in Calcutta against the February 18, 1946in Bombay, strike by

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INA trials
Student procession+some FB
sympathisers+SFI+Islamic college
studentsdalhousie square-seat of govt. @
calcutta
POLICE: Lathicharge & firing

seven-year sentence to INA officer Rashid

Ali
Led by muslim league students}+congress
communists students
Arrest+lathicharge

Congress didnt support these upsurges bcoz of there timings & tacts
ELECTION RESULTS
Congress
Muslim league
CA:57/102
86.6% muslim votes
PE Majority: most provinces included area
CA:30% reserved seats
demanded for Pakistan NWFP&Assam
PE: Bengal & Sindh
Punjab, A Unionist-Congress-Akali
Unlike in 1937, now the League clearly
coalition under Khizr Hyatt Khan
established itself as the dominant party
assumed power.
among Muslims.

the Royal Indian Navy Ratings

1100 naval Ratings of HMIS Talwar went on
a strike to protest:
demanding =pay for Indians & white soldiers
abuse by superior officers
unpalatable food
arrest of rating for scrawling QI on HMIS
talwar
INA trials
Significant features of the elections
Separate electorates
Limited franchise:
Provinces: >10% population could vote
CA: >1% eligible

THE CABINET MISSION

announced@ feb 1946:
Atlee govt.} high-powered mission of 3 british cabinet
membersIndia to find out ways and means for a negotiated,
peaceful transfer of power to India
Pethick Lawrence
Stafford Cripps
A.V. Alexander

Secretary of State for India

President of the Board of Trade
First Lord of Admiralty

24 Mar 1946 Cabinet Mission @ Delhi

discussion with indian leaders of all parties on
interim government,
principles and procedures for framing a new
Constitution giving freedom to India.
As the Congress and the League could not come to any agreement
on the fundamental issue of the unity or partition of India, the
mission put forward its own plan for the solution of the
constitutional problem in May 1946.

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Mission main points

Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan:
Resultant Pakistan would have major non muslim population
area-(38% NW+48%NE)
If seprated sikh woul also demand separate state
Deep seated regional ties would be disturbed if Bengal and
Punjab were partitioned;
Economic & administrative problems
div. of armed forces
Grouping of existing provincial assemblies into three sections:
Section A
Section B
Section C
(Hindu-majority
(Muslim- majority
(Muslim- majority
provinces)
provinces)
provinces)

Madras, Bombay,
Central Provinces,
United Provinces,
Bihar and Orissa

Punjab, North-West
Frontier Province and
Sindh

Bengal and Assam

Three-tier executive and legislature at provincial, section and union

levels.
A common centre would control defence, communication and
external affairs.
Provinces were to have full autonomy and residual powers
Princely states would be free to enter into an arrangement with
successor governments or the British Government
Meanwhile, an interim government to be formed from the constituent
assembly

Interpretations of the mission

By congress:
The Cabinet Mission Plan is against Pakistan since grouping is
optional
one constituent assembly is envisaged;
League's veto is gone.
By Muslim League:
Pakistan is implied in compulsory grouping. (The Mission
later clarified that the grouping was compulsory.)
Main Objections
congress:
provinces should have the option of not joining a group &
should not have to wait till the 1st elections to come out of a
group
compulsory grouping
Absence of provision for elected members from the
princely states in the constituent assembly (they could only
be nominated by the princes) was not acceptable.
Muslim League:
Grouping should be compulsory with sections B and C
developing into solid entities
The League had thought that the Congress would reject the
plan, thus prompting the Government to invite the League to
form the interim government.
The Muslim League on June 6 and the Congress on June 24, 1946
accepted Cabinet Mission.

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July 1946
Elections held @ provincial assy for the
Constituent Assy.

Sep 1946
An interim govt. headed by Nehru sworn in

10 july 1946
Nehru stated: We are not bound by a single
thing except that we have decided to go into
the Constituent Assembly (implying that the
Constituent Assembly was sovereign and
would decide the rules of procedure).
The big probability is that there would be no
grouping as NWP and Assam would have
objections to joining sections B and C.
Oct 1946
League joins interim govt. (obstructionist
approach)

29 july 1946
League withdrew its acceptance of the
long-term plan in response to Nehru's
statement and gave a call for "direct action"
from August 16 to achieve Pakistan.

Feb 1947
Congress members demanded removal of
league members
League demands dissolution of constituent
assy.

ATTLEE'S STATEMENT-FEBRUARY 20, 1947

Deadline for power transfer even if the indian politician hadnt agreed: 30 june 1948
The British would relinquish power either to some form of central government or in some areas to the existing provincial governments if the
Constituent Assembly was not fully representative i.e., if the Muslim majority provinces did not join
British powers and obligations vis-a-vis the princely states would lapse with transfer of power, but these would not be transferred to any
successor government in British
Mountbatten would replace Wavell as the viceroy.
The statement contained clear hints of partition and even Balkanisation of the country into numerous states and was, in essence, a
reversion of the Cripps Offer.
Congress' Stand
The provision of transfer of power to more than one centre was
acceptable to Congress because

Muslim League' Stand

The League launched a civil disobedience movement to overthrow the
coalition government in Punjab, as it felt emboldened by the
statement.

it meant that the existing Assembly could go ahead and

frame a Constitution for the areas represented by it,
and it offered a way out of the existing deadlock

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TOWARDS PARTITION
Nehru stated:
Best solution: cabinet mission
Real alternative: partition of Punjab & bengal
April 1947
Congress President Kripalani communicated to the Viceroy:
let them have their Pakistan provided you allow Bengal and Punjab to be partitioned in a fair manner."
MOUNTBATTEN PLAN, JUNE 3, 1947
The freedom with partition formula was coming to be widely accepted well before Mountbatten came
Innovation added: immediate transfer of power on the basis of grant of dominion status (with ''a right of secession), thus obviating the
need to wait for an agreement in the Constituent Assembly on a new political structure.
On March 10, 1947

Main Points:
Punjab and Bengal would meet in two, groups Hindus and Muslims, to vote for partition. If a simple majority of either group voted for
partition, then these provinces would be partitioned.
In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created.
Sindh would take its own decision.
Since the Congress had conceded a unified India, all their other points would be met
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

independence for princely states ruled out, they would either join India or Pakistan.
independence for Bengal ruled out.
accession of Hyderabad to Pakistan ruled out (Mountbatten supported the Congress on this).

Freedom would come on August 15, 1947.

A boundary commission would be set up if partition was to be effected.
Thus, the League's demand was conceded to the 'extent that Pakistan would be created and the Congress' position on unity was taken into
account to make Pakistan as small as possible. Mountbatten's formula was to divide India but retain maximum unity.

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Why Congress Accepted Dominion Status despite its being against the Lahore Congress (1929)?
it would ensure a peaceful and very quick transfer of power;
it was more important for the Congress to assume authority to check the explosive situation;
it would allow for some much needed continuity in bureaucracy and army.
For Britain, the dominion status offered a chance to keep India in the Commonwealth
INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT
On July 18, 1947: the British Parliament ratified the Mountbatten Plan as the "Independence of India Act-1947". The Act was implemented
on August 15, 1947.

the creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with effect from August 15, 1947.
Each dominion was to have a governor-general to be responsible for effective operation of the Act.
The constituent assembly of each new dominion was to exercise the powers of the legislature of that dominion, and the existing
Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States were to be automatically dissolved
Till new tCn, two dominions to be carried out ~GOI Act 1935

Pakistan became independent on August 14 while India got its freedom on August 15, 1947.
M.A. Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan.
India, however, decided to request Lord Mountbatten to continue as the Governor-General of India.

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PROBLEMS OF EARLY WITHDRAWAL

failed to prevent the Punjab massacre, because:
there were no transitional institutional structures within which partition problems could be tackled.
Mountbatten had hoped to be the common Governor-General of India and. Pakistan, thus providing the necessary link, but Jinnah
wanted the position for himself in Pakistan.
there was a delay in announcing the Boundary Commission Award (under Radcliffe); the award was ready by August 12, 1947
but Mountbatten decided to make it public after August 15 only so that the responsibility would not fall on the British.

WHY CONGRESS ACCEPTED PARTITION?

Only an immediate transfer of power could forestall the spread of 'direct action' and communal violence. The virtual collapse of the Interim
Government also made the notion of Pakistan appear unavoidable.
The partition plan ruled out independence for the princely states which could have been a greater danger to the Indian unity as it would
have meant Balkanisation of the country.
Acceptance of partition was only a final act of the process of step- by-step concessions to the League's championing of a separate Muslim
state.
While loudly asserting the sovereignty of the Constituent Assembly, the Congress quietly accepted compulsory grouping and accepted the
partition most of all because it could not stop the communal riots.
Gandhi's Helplessness
Gandhi felt helpless because there had been a communalisation of the people. He accepted partition because the people wanted it. How
could there be a movement to fight communalism based on a communalised people? He asked the Congressmen, however, not to accept it in
their hearts.

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