Indian independence movement 161022 224278035 2008-07-08T03:19:55Z 59.93.194.67 {{HistoryOfSouthAsia}} The term "'''Indian independence movement'''" is diffuse, incorporating various national and regional campaigns, agitations and efforts of both [[Nonviolent]] and [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|Militant]] philosophy and involved a wide spectrum of Indian political organizations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending the [[The Raj|British Colonial Authority]] as well as other colonial administrations in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The initial resistance to the movement can be traced back to the very beginnings of [[Abbakka Rani| Colonial Expansion in Karnataka by the Portuguese]] in the 16th century and by the [[British East India Company]] in Northern India, in the middle and late 1700s. The mainstream movement from the latter part of the 1800s was increasingly led by the [[Indian National Congress]] with prominent moderate leaders seeking only their basic rights to appear for civil services examinations and more rights, economic in nature, for the people of the soil. They used moderate methods of prayer, petition and the press(3p's). Beginning of early 1900s saw a more radical approach towards political independence proposed by leaders as the [[Lal Bal Pal]] and [[Sri Aurobindo]]. [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|Militant nationalism]] also emerged in the first decades, culminating in the failed [[Hindu-German Conspiracy#Bagha Jatin|Indo-German Pact]] and [[Ghadar Conspiracy#Pan-Indian Mutiny|Ghadar Conspiracy]] during the [[World War I]]. The end of the war saw the Congress adopt the policies of [[nonviolence|nonviolent]] agitation and [[civil disobedience]] led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. Other leaders, such as [[Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose]], later came to adopt a military approach to the movement. The [[World War II]] period saw the peak of the movements like [[INA]] movement led by [[Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose]] from East Asia and [[Quit India movement]]. India remained a [[Dominion]] of [[The Crown]] till [[26 January]] [[1950]], when it adopted its [[Constitution of India|Constitution]] to proclaim itself a [[Republic]]. [[Pakistan]] proclaimed itself a [[Republic]] in 1956 but faced a number of internal power struggles that has seen suspensions of [[democracy]]. In 1971, the [[Pakistani Civil War]] culminating in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|1971 War]] saw the splintering-off of [[East Pakistan]] into the nation of [[Bangladesh]]. The independence movement also served as a major catalyst for similar movements in other parts of the world, leading to the eventual disintegration and dismantling of the British Empire and its replacement with the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. Gandhi's philosophy of [[nonviolent resistance]] inspired the [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)]] led by [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], the quest for democracy in [[Myanmar]] led by [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] and the [[African National Congress]]'s struggle against [[apartheid]] in [[South Africa]] led by [[Nelson Mandela]]. However not all these leaders adhered to Gandhi's strict principle of [[nonviolence]] and [[nonresistance]]. ==European rule== [[Image:Clive.jpg|thumb|right|Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive with Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey]] {{main|European colonies in India|British East India Company|Company rule in India|British Raj}} European traders came to Indian shores with the arrival of the Portuguese explorer [[Vasco da Gama]] in 1498 at the port of [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] in search of the lucrative [[spice]] trade. After the 1757 [[Battle of Plassey]], during which the British army under [[Robert Clive]] defeated the [[Nawab of Bengal]], the [[British East India Company]] established itself. This is widely seen as the beginning of the [[British Raj]] in India. The Company gained administrative rights over [[Bengal]], [[Bihar]], and [[Orissa]] in 1765 after the [[Battle of Buxar]]. They then annexed [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in 1849 after the death of Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] in 1839 and the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] (1845–1846) and then the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] (1848–49). The British parliament enacted a series of laws to handle the administration of the newly-conquered provinces, including the [[Regulating Act]] of 1773, the India Act of 1784, and the Charter Act of 1813; all enhanced the British government's rule. In 1835 [[English language|English]] was made the [[medium of instruction]]. Western-educated Hindu elites sought to rid [[Hinduism]] of controversial social practices, including the ''[[Varnas|varna]]'' (caste) system, child marriage, and ''[[Sati (practice)|sati]]''. Literary and debating societies initiated in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] and [[Chennai|Madras]] became [[forum|fora]] for open political discourse. The educational attainment and skillful use of the press by these early reformers created the growing possibility for effecting broad [[reform movements|reforms]] within [[colonial India]], all without compromising larger Indian social values and religious practices. Even while these modernising trends influenced Indian society, Indians increasingly despised British rule. The memoirs of Henry Ouvry of the [[9th Lancers]] record many "a good thrashing" to careless servants.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} A spice merchant, Frank Brown, wrote to his nephew that stories of maltreatment of servants had not been exaggerated and that he knew people who kept orderlies "purposely to thrash them".{{Fact|date=June 2007}} As the British increasingly dominated the continent, they grew increasingly abusive of local customs by, for example, staging parties in [[mosque]]s, dancing to the music of regimental bands on the terrace of the [[Taj Mahal]], using whips to force their way through crowded [[bazaar]]s (as recounted by General [[Henry Blake]]), and mistreating [[sepoy]]s. In the years after the annexation of [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] in 1849, several mutinies among [[sepoy]]s broke out; these were put down by force. ==Regional movements prior to 1857== {{Seealso|Sannyasi Rebellion|Conspiracy Of The Pintos}} and [[Polygar Wars]] Several regional movements against foreign rule were staged in various parts of pre-1857 India. However, they were not united and were easily controlled by the foreign rulers. Examples include the rebellion of [[Abbakka Rani]] in [[Karnataka]] from 1555 to 1570 against the Portuguese, [[Sannyasi Rebellion]] in [[Bengal]] in the 1770s,<ref name="ascetic">{{cite journal | author = Lorenzen, D.N. | title = ''Warrior Ascetics in Indian History''. | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society. | year = 1978 | volume = 98 | issue = 1 | pages = 617&ndash;75 | url= | doi = 10.2307/600151 }}</ref> the 1787 ethnic revolt against Portuguese control of [[Goa]] known as the [[Conspiracy Of The Pintos]],<ref name=pinto>{{cite web | url = http://www.abbefaria.com/Biography2.htm | title = Abbe Faria | accessdate = 2007-02-19 | last =Martin | first = Dom | publisher = V.X.V. Foundation }}</ref> the revolt of [[Titumir]] in Bengal in 1830's and uprisings by [[South India]]n local chieftains like [[Veerapandya Kattabomman]] against British rule.<ref name=Kattabomman>{{cite web | url = http://www.tamilnation.org/heritage/kattabomman.htm | title = Veerapandiya Kattabomman | accessdate = 2007-02-20 | work = tamilnation.org | publisher = Tamil National Foundation, }}</ref> Other movements included the [[Santal|Santal Rebellion]] and the resistance offered to the British by [[Titumir]] in [[Bengal]],<ref name=santal>{{cite journal | author = Biswas, A.K | title = Santhal Rebellion: - A study of little known facts of their life and culture | journal = Bulletin of Bihar Tribal Welfare Research Institute Ranchi | year = 1995 | month = December | volume = V | pages = 13&ndash;24 | url= }}</ref><ref name=titumir>{{cite web | url = http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/T_0183.htm | title = Titu Mir | accessdate = 2007-02-18 | last = Khan | first = Muazzam Hussain | work = [[Banglapedia]] | publisher = Asiatic Society of Bangladesh }}</ref> the [[Kittur Rebellion]] led by [[Rani Chennamma| Rani Chennamma]] in [[Karnataka]], [[Polygar Wars]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kutch Rebellion]] in [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]].<ref name=bipan>{{cite web | url = http://iref.homestead.com/1857.html | title = The Revolt of 1857 | accessdate = 2007-02-19 | work = Freedom Struggle | publisher = India Relief & Education Fund (IREF) }}</ref> ==The Indian Rebellion of 1857== [[Image:Indian revolt of 1857 states map.svg|right|thumb|States during the rebellion]] [[Image:Image-Secundra Bagh after Indian Mutiny higher res.jpg|thumb|right|Secundra Bagh after the 93rd Highlanders and 4th Punjab regiment fought the rebels, Nov 1857]] {{main|Indian rebellion of 1857 }} The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a period of [[rebellion|uprising]] in the northern and central [[India]] against British rule in 1857&ndash;58. The rebellion was the result of decades of ethnic and cultural differences between Indian soldiers and their British officers. The indifference of the British towards Indian rulers like the [[Mughals]] and ex-[[Peshwa]]s and the [[annexation]] of [[Oudh]] were political factors triggering dissent amongst Indians. [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Dalhousie’s]] policy of annexation, the [[doctrine of lapse]] or escheat, and the projected removal of the descendants of the Great Mughal from their ancestral palace to the Qutb, near Delhi also angered some people. The specific reason that triggered the rebellion was the rumoured use of cow and pig fat in .557 calibre [[Pattern 1853]] [[Lee-Enfield|Enfield]] (P/53) rifle cartridges. Soldiers had to break the cartridges with their teeth before loading them into their rifles. So if there was cow and pig fat, it would be offensive to Hindu and Muslim soldiers, respectively. In February 1857, [[sepoy]]s (Indian soldiers in the British army) refused to use their new cartridges. The British claimed to have replaced the cartridges with new ones and tried to make sepoys make their own grease from [[beeswax]] and [[vegetable oil]]s, but the rumour persisted. In March 1857, [[Mangal Pandey]], a soldier of the 34th Native Infantry in [[Barrackpore]], attacked his British sergeant and wounded an adjutant. General Hearsay, who said Pandey was in some kind of "religious frenzy," ordered a [[jemadar]] to arrest him but the jemadar refused. Mangal Pandey was hanged on [[7 April]] along with the jemadar. The whole regiment was dismissed as a collective punishment. On [[May 10]], when the 11th and 20th Cavalry assembled, they broke rank and turned on their commanding officers. They then liberated the 3rd Regiment, and on [[11 May]] the sepoys reached Delhi and were joined by other Indians. The [[Delhi Fort|Red Fort]], the residence of the last [[Mughal]] emperor [[Bahadur Shah II|Bahadur]], was attacked and captured by the sepoys. They demanded that he reclaim his throne. He was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed to the demands and became the leader of the rebellion. Soon, the revolt spread throughout northern India. Revolts broke out in places like [[Meerut]], [[Jhansi]], [[Kanpur]], [[Lucknow]] etc. The British were slow to respond, but eventually responded with brute force. British moved regiments from the [[Crimean War]] and diverted European regiments headed for [[China]] to India. The British fought the main army of the rebels near Delhi in Badl-ke-Serai and drove them back to Delhi before laying siege on the city. The [[siege of Delhi]] lasted roughly from [[1 July]] to [[31 August]]. After a week of street fighting, the British retook the city. The last significant battle was fought in [[Gwalior]] on [[20 June]] [[1858]]. It was during this battle that [[Rani Lakshmi Bai]] was killed. Sporadic fighting continued until 1859 but most of the rebels were subdued. Some notable leaders were [[Ahmed Ullah]], an advisor of the ex-King of Oudh; [[Nana Sahib]]; his nephew Rao Sahib and his retainers, [[Tantia Topi]] and Azimullah Khan; the [[Rani of Jhansi]]; [[Kunwar Singh]]; the [[Rajput]] chief of [[Jagadishpur]] in [[Bihar]]; Firuz Saha, a relative of the Mughal Emperor, [[Bahadur Shah II|Bahadur Shah]] and [[Pran Sukh Yadav]] who along with [[Rao Tula Ram]] of [[Rewari]] fought with Britishers at Nasibpur, Haryana. ===Aftermath=== The war of 1857 was a major turning point in the history of modern India. The British abolished the British East India Company and replaced it with direct rule under the [[British monarchy|British crown]]. A [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]] was appointed to represent the Crown. In proclaiming the new direct-rule policy to "the Princes, Chiefs, and Peoples of India," [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] promised equal treatment under British law, but Indian mistrust of British rule had become a legacy of the 1857 rebellion. The British embarked on a program in India of reform and political restructuring, trying to integrate Indian higher castes and rulers into the government. They stopped land grabs, decreed religious tolerance and admitted Indians into the civil service, albeit mainly as subordinates. They also increased the number of British soldiers in relation to native ones and allowed only British soldiers to handle artillery. [[Bahadur Shah II|Bahadur Shah]] was exiled to [[Yangon|Rangoon]], [[Burma]] where he died in 1862, finally bringing the [[Mughal]] dynasty to an end. In 1877, [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] took the title of [[Empress of India]]. ==Rise of organized movements== {{main|Nationalist Movements in India|Indian National Congress - Freedom Era|Swami Vivekananda|Rabindranath Tagore|Subramanya Bharathy|Syed Ahmed Khan}} The decades following the Sepoy Rebellion were a period of growing political awareness, manifestation of Indian public opinion and emergence of Indian leadership at national and provincial levels. [[Dadabhai Naoroji]] formed East India Association in 1867, and [[Surendranath Banerjee]] founded [[Indian National Association]] in 1876. Inspired by a suggestion made by [[Allan Octavian Hume|A.O. Hume]], a retired British civil servant, seventy-three Indian delegates met in Bombay in 1885 and founded the [[Indian National Congress]]. They were mostly members of the upwardly mobile and successful western-educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as [[law]], [[teaching]], and [[journalism]]. At its inception, the Congress had no well-defined ideology and commanded few of the resources essential to a political organization. It functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the British Raj and passed numerous resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in government, especially the civil service. These resolutions were submitted to the Viceroy's government and occasionally to the British Parliament, but the Congress's early gains were meagre. Despite its claim to represent all India, the Congress voiced the interests of urban elites; the number of participants from other economic backgrounds remained negligible. The influences of socio-religious groups such as ''[[Arya Samaj]]'' (started by [[Swami Dayananda|Swami Dayanand Saraswati]]) and ''[[Brahmo Samaj]]'' (founded, among others, by [[Raja Ram Mohan Roy]]) became evident in pioneering reform of Indian society. The inculcation of religious reform and social pride was fundamental to the rise of a public movement for complete nationhood. The work of men like [[Swami Vivekananda]], [[Ramakrishna Paramhansa]], [[Sri Aurobindo]], [[Subramanya Bharathy]], [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]], Sir [[Syed Ahmed Khan]], [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and [[Dadabhai Naoroji]] spread the passion for rejuvenation and freedom. By 1900, although the Congress had emerged as an all-India political organization, its achievement was undermined by its singular failure to attract [[Muslim]]s, who felt that their representation in government service was inadequate. Attacks by Hindu reformers against religious conversion, cow slaughter, and the preservation of [[Urdu language|Urdu]] in [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] script deepened their concerns of minority status and denial of rights if the Congress alone were to represent the people of India. Sir [[Syed Ahmed Khan]] launched a movement for Muslim regeneration that culminated in the founding in 1875 of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at [[Aligarh]], Uttar Pradesh (renamed [[Aligarh University|Aligarh Muslim University]] in 1921). Its objective was to educate wealthy students by emphasizing the compatibility of [[Islam]] with modern western knowledge. The diversity among India's Muslims, however, made it impossible to bring about uniform cultural and intellectual regeneration. ==Rise of Indian nationalism== {{main|Nationalist Movements in India}} The first spurts of nationalistic sentiment that rose amongst Congress members were when the desire to be represented in the bodies of government, to have a say, a vote in the lawmaking and issues of administration of India. Congressmen saw themselves as loyalists, but wanted an active role in governing their own country, albeit as part of the Empire. This trend was personified by [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], who went as far as contesting, successfully, an election to the [[British House of Commons]], becoming its first Indian member. [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] was the first Indian nationalist to embrace ''[[Swaraj]]'' as the destiny of the nation. Tilak deeply opposed the British education system that ignored and defamed India's culture, history and values. He resented the denial of freedom of expression for nationalists, and the lack of any voice or role for ordinary Indians in the affairs of their nation. For these reasons, he considered [[Swaraj]] as the natural and only solution. His popular sentence "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it" became the source of inspiration for Indians. In 1907, the Congress was split into two. Tilak advocated what was deemed as ''extremism''. He wanted a direct assault by the people upon the British Raj, and the abandonment of all things British. He was backed by rising public leaders like [[Bipin Chandra Pal]] and [[Lala Lajpat Rai]], who held the same point of view. Under them, India's three great states - [[Maharashtra]], [[Bengal]] and [[Punjab region|Punjab]] shaped the demand of the people and India's nationalism. Gokhale criticized Tilak for encouraging acts of violence and disorder. But the Congress of 1906 did not have public membership, and thus Tilak and his supporters were forced to leave the party. But with Tilak's arrest, all hopes for an Indian offensive were stalled. The Congress lost credit with the people, A Muslim deputation met with the Viceroy, [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Minto]] (1905–10), seeking concessions from the impending constitutional reforms, including special considerations in government service and electorates. The British recognised some of Muslim League's petitions by increasing the number of elective offices reserved for Muslims in the [[Government of India Act 1909]]. The Muslim League insisted on its separateness from the Hindu-dominated Congress, as the voice of a "nation within a nation." ===Partition of Bengal=== {{main|Partition of Bengal (1905)}} In 1905, [[George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Curzon]], the Viceroy and Governor-General (1899–1905), ordered the [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|partition of the province of Bengal]] for improvements in administrative efficiency in that huge and populous region, where the Bengali Hindu intelligentsia exerted considerable influence on local and national politics. The partition outraged Bengalis. Not only had the government failed to consult Indian public opinion, but the action appeared to reflect the British resolve to [[divide and rule]]. Widespread agitation ensued in the streets and in the press, and the Congress advocated boycotting British products under the banner of ''[[swadeshi]]''. People showed unity by tying [[Rakhi]] on each other's wrists and observing ''Arandhan'' (not cooking any food). During the partition of Bengal new methods of struggle were adopted. These led to swadeshi and boycott movements. The Congress-led boycott of British goods was so successful that it unleashed anti-British forces to an extent unknown since the Sepoy Rebellion. A cycle of violence and repression ensued in some parts of the country (see [[Alipore bomb case]]). The British tried to mitigate the situation by announcing a series of constitutional reforms in 1909 and by appointing a few moderates to the imperial and provincial councils. In what the British saw as an additional goodwill gesture, in 1911 King-Emperor [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]] visited India for a ''[[Delhi Durbar#Durbar of 1911|durbar]]'' (a traditional court held for subjects to express fealty to their ruler), during which he announced the reversal of the partition of Bengal and the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to a newly planned city to be built immediately south of Delhi, which later became [[New Delhi]]. However, ceremony of transfer on [[23 December]], [[1912]] was marked by the attempt to assassinate the then [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]], [[Charles Hardinge|Lord Hardinge]], in what came to be known as the [[Delhi-Lahore conspiracy]]. ==World War I== {{see also|Hindu German Conspiracy|Defence of India Act 1915}} [[World War I]] began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership, contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt. India contributed massively to the British war effort by providing men and resources. About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in [[Europe]], [[Africa]], and the [[Middle East]], while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. However, [[Bengal]] and [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] remained hotbeds of [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|anti colonial activities]]. Terrorism in Bengal, increasingly closely linked with the unrests in Punjab, was significant enough to nearly paralyse the regional administration.<ref name=Gupta12>{{Harvnb|Gupta|1997|p=12}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=201}}</ref> Also from the beginning of the war, expatriate Indian population, notably from United States, Canada, and Germany, headed by the [[Berlin Committee]] and the [[Ghadar Party]], attempted to trigger insurrections in India on the lines of the [[1857 uprising]] with [[Irish Republican]], German and Turkish help in a massive conspiracy that has since come to be called the [[Hindu German conspiracy]]<ref name=Strachan798>{{Harvnb|Strachan|2001|p=798}}</ref><ref name=Hoover252>{{Harvnb|Hoover|1985|p=252}}</ref><ref name=GBrown300>{{Harvnb|Brown|1948|p=300}}</ref> This conspiracy also attempted to rally Afghanistan against British India.<ref name=Strachan788>{{Harvnb|Strachan|2001|p=788}}</ref> A number of failed attempts were made at mutiny, of which the [[Ghadar Conspiracy#February 1915|February mutiny plan]] and the [[1915 Singapore mutiny|Singapore mutiny]] remains most notable. This movement was suppressed by means of a massive international counter-intelligence operation and draconian political acts (including the [[Defence of India act 1915]]) that lasted nearly ten years.<ref name=Hopkirk41>{{Harvnb|Hopkirk|2001|p=41}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=234}}</ref> In the aftermath of the [[WW I]], high casualty rates, soaring inflation compounded by heavy taxation, a widespread [[influenza]] epidemic, and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human suffering in India. The Indian soldiers smuggled arms into India to overthrow the British rule. The prewar nationalist movement revived as moderate and extremist groups within the Congress submerged their differences in order to stand as a unified front. In 1916, the Congress succeeded in forging the [[Lucknow Pact]], a temporary alliance with the Muslim League over the issues of devolution of political power and the future of Islam in the region. The British themselves adopted a "carrot and stick" approach in recognition of India's support during the war and in response to renewed nationalist demands. In August 1917, [[Edwin Samuel Montagu|Edwin Montagu]], the secretary of state for India, made the historic announcement in Parliament that the British policy for India was "increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire." The means of achieving the proposed measure were later enshrined in the [[Government of India Act 1919]], which introduced the principle of a dual mode of administration, or diarchy, in which both elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials shared power. The act also expanded the central and provincial legislatures and widened the franchise considerably. Diarchy set in motion certain real changes at the provincial level: a number of non-controversial or "transferred" portfolios, such as [[agriculture]], local government, [[health]], [[education]], and public works, were handed over to Indians, while more sensitive matters such as [[finance]], [[taxation]], and maintaining law and order were retained by the provincial British administrators. ==Gandhi arrives in India== [[Mahatma Gandhi]] had been a prominent leader of the anti-[[Apartheid]] movement in [[South Africa]], and had been a vocal opponent of basic discrimination and abusive labour treatment as well as suppressive police control such as the [[Rowlatt Acts]]. During these protests, Gandhi had perfected the concept of ''[[satyagraha]]'', which had been inspired by the philosophy of Baba [[Ram Singh]] (famous for leading the [[Kuka]] Movement in the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in 1872). The end of the protests in South Africa saw oppressive legislation repealed and the release of political prisoners by General [[Jan Smuts]], head of the South African Government of the time. Gandhi, a stranger to India and its politics after twenty years, had initially entered the fray not with calls for a nation-state, but in support of the unified commerce-oriented territory that the Congress Party had been asking for. Gandhi believed that the industrial development and educational development that the Europeans had brought with them were required to alleviate many of India's problems. [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], a veteran Congressman and Indian leader, became Gandhi's mentor. Gandhi's ideas and strategies of non-violent [[civil disobedience]] initially appeared impractical to some Indians and Congressmen. In Gandhi's own words, "civil disobedience is civil breach of unmoral statutory enactments." It had to be carried out non-violently by withdrawing cooperation with the corrupt state. Gandhi's ability to inspire millions of common people became clear when he used [[satyagraha]] during the anti-Rowlatt Act protests in Punjab. Gandhi’s vision would soon bring millions of regular Indians into the movement, transforming it from an elitist struggle to a national one. The nationalist cause was expanded to include the interests and industries that formed the economy of common Indians. For example, in [[Champaran]], [[Bihar]], the Congress Party championed the plight of desperately poor sharecroppers and landless farmers who were being forced to pay oppressive taxes and grow cash crops at the expense of the subsistence crops which formed their food supply. The profits from the crops they grew were insufficient to provide for their sustenance''. ===The Rowlatt Act and its aftermath=== {{main|Jallianwala Bagh massacre}} The positive impact of reform was seriously undermined in 1919 by the [[Rowlatt Act]], named after the recommendations made the previous year to the [[Imperial Legislative Council]] by the [[Rowlatt Commission]], which had been appointed to investigate what was termed the "[[Hindu-German Conspiracy|seditious conspiracy]]" and the [[Imperial Germany|German]] and [[Bolshevik]] involvement in the millitant movements in India.<ref name=Tinker92>{{Harvnb|Tinker|1968|p=92}}</ref><ref name=Lovett>{{Harvnb|Lovett|1920|p=94, 187-191}}</ref><ref name=Sarkar1921>{{Harvnb|Sarkar|1921|p=137}}</ref> The Rowlatt Act, also known as the Black Act, vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, detaining the political activists without trial, and arresting any individuals suspected of sedition or treason without a warrant. In protest, a nationwide cessation of work (''[[hartal]]'') was called, marking the beginning of widespread, although not nationwide, popular discontent. The agitation unleashed by the acts culminated on [[13 April]] [[1919]], in the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]] (also known as the [[Amritsar Massacre]]) in [[Amritsar]], Punjab. The British military commander, Brigadier-General [[Reginald Dyer]], blocked the main entrance, and ordered his soldiers to fire into an unarmed and unsuspecting crowd of some 5,000 men, women and children. They had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, a walled in courtyard in defiance of the ban. A total of 1,651 rounds were fired, killing 379 people (as according to an official British commission; Indian estimates ranged as high as 1,499<ref>Ackerman, Peter, and Duvall, Jack, ''A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict'' p. 74.</ref>) and wounding 1,137 in the episode, which dispelled wartime hopes of home rule and goodwill in a frenzy of post-war reaction. ===The Non-cooperation movements=== {{main|Mohandas Gandhi|Non-cooperation movement}} It can be argued that the independence movement, even towards the end of First World War, was far removed from the masses of India, focusing essentially on a unified commerce-oriented territory and hardly a call for a united nation. That came in the 1930s with the entry of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into Indian Politics in 1915. ===The first Non cooperation movement=== The first satyagraha movement urged the use of [[Khadi]] and Indian material as alternatives to those shipped from [[UKGBI|Britain]]. It also urged people to eat British educational institutions and law courts; resign from government employment; refuse to pay taxes; and forsake British titles and honours. Although this came too late to influence the framing of the new Government of India Act of 1919, the movement enjoyed widespread popular support, and the resulting unparalleled magnitude of disorder presented a serious challenges to foreign rule. However, Gandhi called off the movement following the [[Chauri Chaura]] incident, which saw the death of twenty-two policemen at the hands of an angry mob. In 1920, the Congress was reorganized and given a new constitution, whose goal was ''Swaraj'' (independence) {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Membership in the party was opened to anyone prepared to pay a token fee, and a hierarchy of committees was established and made responsible for discipline and control over a hitherto amorphous and diffuse movement. The party was transformed from an elite organization to one of mass national appeal and participation. Gandhi was imprisoned in 1922 for six years, but was released after serving two. On his release from prison, he set up the [[Sabarmati Ashram]] in [[Ahmedabad]], on the banks of river [[Sabarmati River|Sabarmati]], established the newspaper ''Young India'', and inaugurated a series of reforms aimed at the socially disadvantaged within Hindu society - the rural poor, and the [[Dalit (outcaste)|untouchable]]s. This era saw the emergence of new generation of Indians from within the Congress Party, including [[C. Rajagopalachari]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Vallabhbhai Patel]], [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] and others- who would later on come to form the prominent voices of the Indian independence movement, whether keeping with Gandhian Values, or [[Indian National Army|diverging from it]]. The Indian political spectrum was further broadened in the mid-1920s by the emergence of both moderate and militant parties, such as the [[Swaraj Party]], [[Hindu Mahasabha]], [[Communist Party of India]] and the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]. Regional political organizations also continued to represent the interests of non-[[Brahmin]]s in [[Madras]], [[Mahar]]s in [[Maharashtra]], and [[Sikh]]s in Punjab. However, brahmin like Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi, Vanchinathan and Neelakanda Brahmachari played a major role from Tamil Nadu in both freedom struggle and fighting for equality for all castes and communities. <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Salt Satyagraha.jpg|thumb|230px|Scenes on the eve of the Salt Satyagraha, Gandhi's famous {{convert|240|mi|km|-1|sing=on}} march on foot to the sea at Dandi.{{deletable image-caption}}]] --> ==Purna Swaraj== Following the rejection of the recommendations of the [[Simon Commission]] by Indians, an all-party conference was held at [[Bombay]] in May 1928. This was meant to instil a sense of resistance among people. The conference appointed a drafting committee under [[Motilal Nehru]] to draw up a constitution for India. The [[Calcutta]] session of the Indian National Congress asked the British government to accord dominion status to India by December 1929, or a countrywide civil disobedience movement would be launched. By 1929, however, in the midst rising political discontent and increasingly violent regional movements, the call for complete independence from Britain began to find increasing grounds within the Congress leadership. Under the presidency of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] at its historic [[Lahore]] session in December 1929, [[The Indian National Congress]] adopted a resolution calling for complete independence from the British. It authorised the Working Committee to launch a civil disobedience movement throughout the country. It was decided that [[26 January]] [[1930]] should be observed all over India as the ''[[Purna Swaraj]]'' (complete independence) Day. Many Indian political parties and Indian revolutionaries of a wide spectrum united to observe the day with honour and pride. ''[[Purna Swaraj]]'' has been asked by Bhagat Singh while the hearing of "Bomb blast in parliament to oppose Simon Commission" in supreme court in year 1928, till that time Congress of India was asking for Dominion independence. ==Salt March and Civil Disobedience== {{main|Salt Satyagraha}} Gandhi emerged from his long seclusion by undertaking his most famous campaign, a march of about 400 kilometres from his commune in [[Ahmedabad]] to [[Dandi, Gujarat|Dandi]], on the coast of [[Gujarat]] between [[12 March]] and [[6 April]], [[1930]]. The march is usually known as the ''Dandi March'' or the ''Salt Satyagraha''. At Dandi, in protest against British taxes on salt, he and thousands of followers broke the law by making their own salt from seawater. In April 1930 there were violent police-crowd clashes in [[Calcutta]]. Approximately over 100,000 people were imprisoned in the course of the Civil disobedience movement (1930-31), while in [[Peshawar]] unarmed demonstrators were fired upon in the [[Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre]]. The latter event catapulted the then newly formed [[Khudai Khidmatgar]] movement (founder [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan]], the ''Frontier Gandhi'') onto the National scene. While Gandhi was in jail, the first [[Round Table Conference]] was held in London in November 1930, without representation from the Indian National Congress. The ban upon the Congress was removed because of economic hardships caused by the satyagraha. Gandhi, along with other members of the Congress Working Committee, was released from prison in January 1931. In March of 1931, the [[Gandhi-Irwin Pact]] was signed, and the government agreed to set all political prisoners free (Although, some of the key revolutionaries were not set free and the death sentence for Bhagat Singh and his two comrades was not taken back which further intensified the agitation against Congress not only outside it but with in the Congress it self). In return, Gandhi agreed to discontinue the civil disobedience movement and participate as the sole representative of the Congress in the second Round Table Conference, which was held in London in September 1931. However, the conference ended in failure in December 1931. Gandhi returned to India and decided to resume the civil disobedience movement in January 1932. For the next few years, the Congress and the government were locked in conflict and negotiations until what became the [[Government of India Act]] of 1935 could be hammered out. By then, the rift between the Congress and the Muslim League had become unbridgeable as each pointed the finger at the other acrimoniously. The Muslim League disputed the claim of the Congress to represent all people of India, while the Congress disputed the Muslim League's claim to voice the aspirations of all Muslims. ==Elections and the Lahore resolution== {{main|Lahore Resolution}} [[Image:Jinnah Gandhi.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Jinnah]] with [[Gandhi]], 1944.]] The [[Government of India Act 1935]], the voluminous and final constitutional effort at governing [[British India]], articulated three major goals: establishing a loose federal structure, achieving provincial autonomy, and safeguarding minority interests through separate electorates. The federal provisions, intended to unite [[princely state]]s and British India at the centre, were not implemented because of ambiguities in safeguarding the existing privileges of princes. In February 1937, however, provincial autonomy became a reality when elections were held; the Congress emerged as the dominant party with a clear majority in five provinces and held an upper hand in two, while the Muslim League performed poorly. In 1939, the Viceroy [[Victor Alexander John Hope|Linlithgow]] declared India's entrance into [[World War II]] without consulting provincial governments. In protest, the Congress asked all of its elected representatives to resign from the government. [[Jinnah]], the president of the [[Muslim League]], persuaded participants at the annual Muslim League session at [[Lahore]] in 1940 to adopt what later came to be known as the [[Lahore Resolution]], demanding the division of India into two separate sovereign states, one [[Muslim]], the other [[Hindu]]; sometimes referred to as [[Two Nation Theory]]. Although the idea of [[Pakistan]] had been introduced as early as 1930, very few had responded to it. However, the volatile political climate and hostilities between the Hindus and Muslims transformed the idea of Pakistan into a stronger demand. ==Revolutionary activities== [[Image:Bhagat Singh 1929.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Bhagat Singh]]]] [[Image:guards.jpeg|thumb|100px|Smiling [[Udham Singh|Udham]] leaving the Caxton Hall after his arrest]] <!--[[Image:ShriAurobindo.JPG|thumb|100px|[[Aurobindo Ghosh]]--> [[Image:Bagha jatin.JPG|thumb|100px|[[Bagha Jatin]]]] {{main|Revolutionary movement for Indian independence}} Apart from a few stray incidents, the armed rebellion against the British rulers was not organized before the beginning of the 20th century. The Indian revolutionary underground began gathering momentum through the first decade of 1900s, with groups arising in [[Maharastra]], [[Bengal]], [[Orissa]], [[Bihar]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], and the then [[Madras Presidency]] including what is now called [[South India]]. More groups were scattered around [[India]]. Particularly notable movements arose in [[Bengal]], especially around the [[Partition of Bengal]] in 1905, and in [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]].<ref name=Fraser257>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1977|p=257}}</ref> In the former case, it was the educated, intelligent and dedicated youth of the urban [[Middle Class]] ''[[Bhadralok]]'' community that came to form the "Classic" Indian revolutionary,<ref name=Fraser257/> while the latter had an immense support base in the rural and Military society of the Punjab. Organisations like [[Jugantar]] and [[Anushilan Samiti]] had emerged in the 1900s. The revolutionary philosophies and movement made their presence felt during the 1905 [[Partition of Bengal]]. Arguably, the initial steps to organize the revolutionaries were taken by [[Aurobindo Ghosh]], his brother [[Barindra Ghosh|Barin Ghosh]], [[Bhupendranath Datta]] etc. when they formed the [[Jugantar]] party in April 1906.<ref>[[Banglapedia]] [http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/J_0130.htm article] by Mohammad Shah</ref> [[Jugantar]] was created as an inner circle of the [[Anushilan Samiti]] which was already present in [[Bengal]] mainly as a revolutionary society in the guise of a fitness club. The Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar opened several branches throughout [[Bengal]] and other parts of [[India]] and recruited young men and women to participate in the revolutionary activities. Several murders and looting were done, with many revolutionaries being captured and imprisoned. The [[Jugantar]] party leaders like Barin Ghosh and [[Bagha Jatin]] initiated making of explosives. Amongst a number of notable events of political terrorism were the [[Alipore bomb case]], the [[Prafulla Chaki#The Muzaffarpur killing|Muzaffarpur killing]] tried several activists and many were sentenced to deportation for life, while [[Khudiram Bose]] was hanged. The founding of the [[India House]] and the [[The Indian Sociologist]] under [[Shyamji Krishna Varma]] in [[London]] in 1909 took the radical movement to Britain itself. On [[1 July]] [[1909]], [[Madan Lal Dhingra]], an Indian student closely identified with India House in London shot dead William Hutt Curzon Wylie, a British M.P. in [[London]]. 1912 saw the [[Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy]] planned under [[Rash Behari Bose]], an erstwhile [[Jugantar]] member, to assassinate the then [[Viceroy of India]] [[Charles Hardinge]]. The conspiracy culminated in an attempt to Bomb the Viceregal procession on [[23 December]] [[1912]], on the occasion of transferring the Imperial Capital tfrom [[Calcutta]] to [[Delhi]]. In the aftermath of this event, concentrated police and intelligence efforts were made by the British Indian police to destroy the Bengali and Punabi revolutionary underground, which came under intense pressure for sometime. Rash Behari successfully evaded capture for nearly three years. However, by the time that [[WW I]] opened in Europe, the revolutionary movement in Bengal (and Punjab) had revived and was strong enough to nearly paralyse the local administration.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gupta|1997|p=12}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=201}}</ref> During the [[First World War]], the revolutionaries [[Indo-German Conspiracy|planned to import]] arms and ammunitions from [[Germany]] and stage an armed revolution against the British.<ref>''Rowlatt Report'' (§109–110); ''First Spark of Revolution'' by A.C. Guha, pp. 424–34.</ref> The [[Ghadar Party]] operated from abroad and cooperated with the revolutionaries in India. This party was instrumental in helping revolutionaries inside India catch hold of foreign arms. After the First World War, the revolutionary activities began to slowly wane as it suffered major setbacks due to the arrest of prominent leaders. In the 1920s, some revolutionary activists began to reorganize. [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]] was formed under the leadership of [[Chandrasekhar Azad]]. [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Batukeshwar Dutt]] threw a bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly on [[8 April]] [[1929]] protesting against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill. Following the trial (Central Assembly Bomb Case), [[Bhagat Singh]], [[Sukhdev]] and [[Rajguru]] were hanged in 1931. [[Allama Mashriqi]] founded [[Khaksars|Khaksar Tehreek]] in order to direct particularly the Muslims towards the independence movement.<ref>Khaksar Tehrik Ki Jiddo Juhad Volume 1. Author Khaksar Sher Zaman</ref> [[Surya Sen]], along with other activists, raided the [[Chittagong]] armoury on [[18 April]] [[1930]] to capture arms and ammunition and to destroy government communication system to establish a local governance. [[Pritilata Waddedar]] led an attack on a European club in [[Chittagong]] in 1932, while [[Bina Das]] attempted to assassinate [[Stanley Jackson]], the Governor of [[Bengal]] inside the convocation hall of [[Calcutta University]]. Following the [[Chittagong armoury raid]] case, [[Surya Sen]] was hanged and several others were deported for life to the [[Cellular Jail]] in [[Andaman]]. The [[Bengal Volunteers]] started operating in 1928. On [[8 December]] [[1930]], the [[Benoy Basu|Benoy]]-[[Badal Gupta|Badal]]-[[Dinesh Gupta|Dinesh]] trio of the party entered the secretariat [[Writers' Building]] in [[Kolkata]] and murdered Col. N. S. Simpson, the Inspector General of Prisons. On [[13 March]] [[1940]], [[Udham Singh]] shot [[Michael O'Dwyer]], generally held responsible for the [[Amritsar Massacre]], in London. However, as the political scenario changed in the late 1930s — with the mainstream leaders considering several options offered by the British and with religious politics coming into play — revolutionary activities gradually declined. Many past revolutionaries joined mainstream politics by joining [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] and other parties, especially communist ones, while many of the activists were kept under hold in different jails across the country. == Abhinav Bharat : Armed Revolution == India won her freedom from British rule due to the combined efforts of patriots of all persuasions. These included the armed revolutionaries, moderate and radical leaders as well as those who led mass movements. [[Veer Savarkar]] has been hailed as the ‘prince of revolutionaries’. It was Savarkar’s contention that freedom cannot be won by pleas and petitions. As early as 1900, Savarkar proclaimed that absolute political independence was his goal and incessant armed revolution was the means to achieve that goal. Savarkar regarded the work of revolutionaries like that of sappers and miners in the army. Some of them fearlessly went to the gallows; others underwent untold suffering and torture. Their sacrifice inspired later generations to plunge into mass movements. Through word and deed, Savarkar inspired generations of revolutionaries both in India and abroad. He is credited with placing the case for India’s freedom on the international scene. ==The climax: War, Quit India, INA and Post-war revolts== Indians throughout the country were divided over [[World War II]], as [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Linlithgow]], without consulting the [[British Raj#Beginnings of self-government|Indian representatives]] had unilaterally declared India a belligerent on the side of the [[allies]]. In opposition to Linlithgow's action, the entire Congress leadership resigned from the local government councils. However, many wanted to support the British war effort, and indeed the British Indian Army was one of the largest volunteer forces during the war.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Especially during the [[Battle of Britain]], Gandhi resisted calls for massive civil disobedience movements that came from within as well as outside his party, stating he did not seek India's freedom out of the ashes of a destroyed Britain. However, like the changing fortunes of the war itself, the movement for freedom saw the rise of two movements that formed the climax of the 100-year struggle for independence. The first of these, the [[Azad Hind]] movement led by [[Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose]], saw its inception early in the war and sought help from the [[Axis Power]]s. The second saw its inception in August 1942 led by Gandhi and began following failure of the [[Cripps' mission]] to reach a consensus with the Indian political leadership over the transfer of power after the war. ===The Indian National Army=== {{main|Indian National Army|Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind| Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose}} {{Seealso| Legion Freies Indien|Battaglione Azad Hindoustan|Capt. Mohan Singh|Indian Independence League|INA trials}} [[Image:INA Jubilation.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Jubilant INA and Japanese troops after capturing a post on the Indo-Burmese Border. Although largely ignored by post-Independence historians of India, the contributions of the Azad Hind movement are now considered significant.<ref> Corbridge S & Harris J. ''Reinventing India''. Blackwell. 2000, p. 17.</ref>]] [[Image:Subhas Bose.jpg|thumb|150px|Netaji [[Subhash Chandra Bose]].]] The arbitrary entry of India into the war was strongly opposed by [[Subhash Chandra Bose]], who had been elected President of the Congress twice, in 1937 and 1939. After lobbying against participation in the war, he resigned from Congress in 1939 and started a new party, the [[All India Forward Bloc]]. When war broke out, the Raj had put him under house arrest in Calcutta in 1940. However, at the time the war was at its bloodiest in Europe and Asia, [[Subhash Chandra Bose#.22The Great Escape.22|he escaped]] and made his way through [[Afghanistan]] to Germany to seek [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis]] help to raise an army to fight the shackles of the Raj. Here, he raised with [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]]'s Indian POWs what came to be known as the [[Free India Legion]]. This came to be the conceptualisation in embryonic form of Bose's dream of raising a liberation Army to fight the Raj. However, the turn of tides in the Battlefields of Europe saw Bose make his way [[Subhash Chandra Bose#In Japan and South East Asia|ultimately to Japanese South Asia]] where he formed what came to be known as the [[Azad Hind Government]] as the Provisional Free Indian Government in exile, and organized the [[Indian National Army]] with Indian [[POW]]s and Indian [[expatriates]] at [[South-East Asia]], with the help of the [[Japan]]ese. Its aim was to reach India as a fighting force that would build on public resentment to inspire revolts among Indian soldiers to defeat the Raj. The INA was to see action against the allies, including the British Indian Army, in the forests of [[Burma Campaign#First Arakan campaign|in Arakan]], [[Burma]] and [[Assam]], laying [[Battle of Imphal|siege on Imphal and Kohima]] with the Japanese 15th Army. During the war, the [[Andaman and Nicobar]] islands [[Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II|were captured by the Japanese]] and handed over by them to the INA; Bose renamed them ''Shahid'' (Martyr) and ''Swaraj'' (Independence). The INA would ultimately fail, owing to disrupted logistics, poor arms and supplies from the Japanese, and lack of support and training.[http://mondediplo.com/2005/05/13wwiiasia] The [[Death mystery of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose|supposed death]] of Bose is seen as culmination of the entire Azad Hind Movement. Following the surrender of Japan, the troops of the INA were brought to India and a number of them charged with treason. However, Bose's audacious actions and radical initiative had by this time captured the public imagination and also turned the inclination of the native soldiers of the British Indian Forces from one of loyalty to the crown to support for the soldiers that the Raj deemed as collaborators.<ref> Edwardes, Michael, ''The Last Years of British India, Cleveland, World Pub. Co., 1964, p. 93''.<blockquote> The Government of India had hoped, by prosecuting members of the INA, to reinforce the morale of the Indian army. It succeeded only in creating unease, in making the soldiers feel slightly ashamed that they themselves had supported the British. If Bose and his men had been on the right side — and all India now confirmed that they were — then Indians in the Indian army must have been on the wrong side. It slowly dawned upon the Government of India that the backbone of the British rule, the Indian army, might now no longer be trustworthy. The ghost of Subhas Bose, like Hamlet’s father, walked the battlements of the Red Fort (where the INA soldiers were being tried), and his suddenly amplified figure overawed the conference that was to lead to independence.</blockquote></ref><ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica''. [http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9311795 Indian National army]. After returning to India the veterans of the INA posed a difficult problem for the British government. The British feared that a public trial for treason on the part of the INA members might embolden anti-British sentiment and erupt into widespread protest and violence. URL Accessed on 19 Aug 06.</ref> After the war, the stories of the [[Azad Hind]] movement and its army that came into public limelight during the [[Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon#The Red Fort trial|trials of soldiers of the INA]] in 1945 were seen as so inflammatory that, fearing mass revolts and uprisings — not just in India, but across its empire — the British Government forbade the [[BBC]] from broadcasting their story.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3684288.stm Mutinies] (last section).</ref> Newspapers reported the summary execution of INA soldiers held at Red Fort.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/Netaji/images/nov_2_45.gif Many I.N.A. men already executed], Lucknow''. The Hindustan Times, November 2, 1945. URL Accessed 11-Aug-06.</ref> During and after the trial, [[Bombay Mutiny|mutinies broke out]] in the [[British Indian Armed forces]], most notably in the Royal Indian Navy which found public support throughout [[India]], from [[Karachi]] to [[Bombay]] and from [[Vizag]] to [[Calcutta]].<ref>[[Bombay Mutiny#Legacy and assessments of the effects of the Mutiny|Legacy and assessment of the effects of the mutiny]].</ref><ref>[[Indian National Army#Consequences of the I.N.A. Trials|Consequences of the I.N.A. Trials]]</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060212/spectrum/main2.htm Tribune India], accessed on 17-Jul-2006 </ref> Many historians have argued that it was the INA and the mutinies it inspired among the British Indian Armed forces that were the true driving force behind India's final independence.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060212/spectrum/main2.htm "RIN mutiny gave a jolt to the British"] by Dhanjaya Bhat, ''The Tribune'', February 12, 2006, retrieved July 17, 2006</ref><ref>Majumdar, R.C., Three Phases of India's Struggle for Freedom, Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1967, pp. 58–59.</ref><ref>R.C. Majumdar. History of the Freedom Movement in India. ISBN 0-8364-2376-3, reprint. Calcutta, Firma KLM, 1997, vol. III.</ref> ===Quit India=== {{main|Quit India Movement}} The Quit India Movement ''(Bharat Chhodo Andolan)'' or the ''August Movement'' was a [[civil disobedience]] movement in [[India]] launched in August 1942 in response to [[Gandhi]]'s call for immediate independence of India and against sending Indians to the World War II. At the outbreak of war, the Congress Party had during the Wardha meeting of the working-committee in September 1939, passed a resolution conditionally supporting the fight against fascism,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aicc.org.in/the_congress_and_the_freedom_movement.htm#the|title=The Congress and The Freedom Movement|accessdate=2007-09-24|publisher =Indian National Congress}}</ref> but were rebuffed when they asked for independence in return. In March 1942, faced with an increasingly dissatisfied sub-continent only reluctantly participating in the war, and deteriorations in the war situation in [[Europe]] and [[South East Asia]], and with growing dissatisfactions among Indian troops- especially in Europe- and among the civilian population in the sub-continent, the British government sent a delegation to India under [[Stafford Cripps]], in what came to be known as the [[Cripps' Mission]]. The purpose of the mission was to negotiate with the [[Indian National Congress]] a deal to obtain total co-operation during the war, in return of progressive devolution and distribution of power from the crown and the [[Viceroy]] to elected Indian legislature. However, the talks failed, having failed to address the key demand of a timeframe towards self-government, and of definition of the powers to be relinquished, essentially portraying an offer of limited dominion-status that was wholly unacceptable to the Indian movement.<ref name= Barkawi >Culture and Combat in the Colonies. The Indian Army in the Second World War. Tarak Barkawi. J Contemp History. 41(2), 325–355.pp:332</ref> To force the Raj to meet its demands and to obtain definitive word on total independence, the Congress took the decision to launch the Quit India Movement. The aim of the movement was to bring the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|British Government]] to the negotiating table by holding the Allied War Effort hostage. The call for determined but [[passive resistance]] that signified the certitude that Gandhi foresaw for the movement is best described by his call to ''Do or Die'', issued on [[8 August]] at the [[Gowalia Tank|Gowalia Tank Maidan]] in Bombay, since re-named ''August Kranti Maidan'' (August Revolution Ground). However, almost the entire Congress leadership, and not merely at the national level, was put into confinement less than twenty-four hours after Gandhi's speech, and the greater number of the Congress khiland were to spend the rest of the war in jail. <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[image:QUITIN7.JPG|left|thumb|300px|Quit India procession at Bangalore]] --> On [[August 8]] [[1942]], the Quit India resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The draft proposed that if the British did not accede to the demands, a massive Civil Disobedience would be launched. However, it was an extremely controversial decision. At Gowalia Tank, [[Mumbai]], Gandhi urged Indians to follow a non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi told the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British. The British, already alarmed by the advance of the Japanese army to the India–Burma border, responded the next day by imprisoning Gandhi at the [[Aga Khan Palace]] in [[Pune]]. The Congress Party's Working Committee, or national leadership was arrested all together and imprisoned at the Ahmednagar Fort. They also banned the party altogether. Large-scale protests and demonstrations were held all over the country. Workers remained absent en masse and strikes were called. The movement also saw widespread acts of [[sabotage]], Indian under-ground organisation carried out bomb attacks on allied supply convoys, government buildings were set on fire, electricity lines were disconnected and transport and communication lines were severed. The Congress had lesser success in rallying other political forces, including the [[Muslim League]] under a single mast and movement. It did however, obtain passive support from a substantial Muslim population at the peak of the movement. The British swiftly responded by mass detentions. A total over 100,000 arrests were made nationwide, mass fines were levied, bombs were airdropped{{Fact|date=February 2007}} and demonstrators were subjected to public flogging. The movement soon became a leaderless act of defiance, with a number of acts that deviated from Gandhi's principle of non-violence. In large parts of the country, the local underground organisations took over the movement. However, by 1943, ''Quit India'' had petered out. ===RIN Mutiny=== {{main|The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny}} <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:RIN Mutineers Memorial.jpg|right|thumb|200px|RIN Mutineer’s Memorial in [[Mumbai]].]] --><!-- FAIR USE of RIN_Mutineers_Memorial.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RIN_Mutineers_Memorial.jpg for rationale --> The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (the RIN Mutiny or the Bombay Mutiny) encompasses a total strike and subsequent [[mutiny]] by the Indian sailors of the [[History of the Indian Navy|Royal Indian Navy]] on board ship and shore establishments at [[Bombay]] (Mumbai) harbour on [[18 February]] [[1946]]. From the initial flashpoint in [[Bombay]], the [[mutiny]] spread and found support through [[India]], from [[Karachi]] to [[Calcutta]] and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors. The RIN Mutiny started as a strike by ratings of the Royal Indian Navy on the [[18 February|18th February]] in protest against general conditions. The immediate issues of the mutiny were conditions and food, but there were more fundamental matters such as [[racist]] behaviour by British officers of the [[Royal Navy]] personnel towards Indian sailors, and disciplinary measures being taken against anyone demonstrating pro-nationalist sympathies. By dusk on [[19 February]], a Naval Central Strike committee was elected. Leading Signalman M.S Khan and Petty Officer Telegraphist Madan Singh were unanimously elected President and Vice-President respectively..<ref>Encyclopaedia of Political Parties. By O.P Ralhan pp1011 ISBN 8174888659 </ref> The strike found immense support among the Indian population already in grips with the stories of the [[Indian National Army]]. The actions of the mutineers were supported by demonstrations which included a one-day general strike in [[Bombay]]. The strike spread to other cities, and was joined by the [[Air Force]] and [[Mumbai Police|local police forces]]. Naval officers and men began calling themselves the Indian National Navy and offered left-handed salutes to British officers. At some places, NCOs in the [[British Indian Army]] ignored and defied orders from British superiors. In [[Madras]] and [[Pune]], the British garrisons had to face revolts within the ranks of the [[British Indian Army]]. Widespread riotings took place from [[Karachi]] to [[Calcutta]]. Famously the ships hoisted three flags tied together — those of the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]], [[Muslim League]], and the Red Flag of the [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI), signifying the unity and demarginalisation of [[communal]] issues among the mutineers. <!--===Significance=== The true judgment of contributions of each of these individual events and revolts to India’s eventual independence, and the relative success or failure of each, remains open to historians. Some historians claim that the ''Quit India Movement'' was ultimately a failure<ref>[http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/Q_0017.htm Banglapædia]</ref>{{Refimprove|date=June 2007}} and ascribe more to the destabilisation of the pillar of British power in India —- the British Indian Armed forces. Certainly the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] at the time of Independence, [[Clement Atlee]], deemed the contribution of ''Quit India'' as minimal, ascribing stupendous importance to the revolts and growing dissatisfaction among Royal Indian Armed Forces as the driving force behind the Raj’s decision to leave India<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060212/spectrum/main2.htm Dhanjaya Bhat, writing in ''The Tribune''], Sunday, February 12, 2006. Spectrum Suppl. <blockquote><p>Which phase of our freedom struggle won for us Independence? Mahatma Gandhi’s 1942 Quit India movement, or the INA army launched by Netaji Bose to free India, or the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946? According to the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, during whose regime India became free, it was the INA and the RIN Mutiny of February 18–23 1946 that made the British realise that their time was up in India.</p> <p>An extract from a letter written by P.V. Chuckraborty, former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, on March 30 1976, reads thus:</p> <blockquote>When I was acting as Governor of West Bengal in 1956, Clement Attlee, who as the British Prime Minister in post war years was responsible for India’s freedom, visited India and stayed in Raj Bhavan Calcutta for two days. I put it straight to him like this: ‘The Quit India Movement of Gandhi practically died out long before 1947 and there was nothing in the Indian situation at that time which made it necessary for the British to leave India in a hurry. Why then did they do so?’ In reply Attlee cited several reasons, the most important of which were the INA activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which weakened the very foundation of the British Empire in India, and the RIN Mutiny which made the British realise that the Indian armed forces could no longer be trusted to prop up the British. When asked about the extent to which the British decision to quit India was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s 1942 movement, Attlee’s lips widened in smile of disdain and he uttered, slowly, ‘Minimal’.</blockquote> Accessed on 17-Jul-2006</ref><ref name="Majumdar">Majumdar, R.C., ''Three Phases of India's Struggle for Freedom,'' Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1967, pp. 58–59. <blockquote>There is, however, no basis for the claim that the Civil Disobedience Movement directly led to independence. The campaigns of Gandhi… came to an ignoble end about fourteen years before India achieved independence… During the First World War the Indian revolutionaries sought to take advantage of German help in the shape of war materials to free the country by armed revolt. But the attempt did not succeed. During the Second World War Subhas Bose followed the same method and created the INA. In spite of brilliant planning and initial success, the violent campaigns of Subhas Bose failed… The Battles for India's freedom were also being fought against Britain, though indirectly, by Hitler in Europe and Japan in Asia. None of these scored direct success, but few would deny that it was the cumulative effect of all the three that brought freedom to India. In particular, the revelations made by the INA trial, and the reaction it produced in India, made it quite plain to the British, already exhausted by the war, that they could no longer depend upon the loyalty of the sepoys for maintaining their authority in India. This had probably the greatest influence upon their final decision to quit India.</blockquote></ref>. Some Indian historians, however, argue that, in fact, it was ''Quit India'' that succeeded{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. In support of the latter view, without doubt, the war had sapped a lot of the economic, political and military life-blood of the Empire, and the powerful Indian resistance had shattered the spirit and will of the British government. However, such historians effectively ignore the contributions of the [[Extremism|radical]] movements to transfer of power in 1947. Regardless of whether it was the powerful common call for resistance among Indians that shattered the spirit and will of the [[British Raj]] to continue ruling India, or whether it was the ferment of rebellion and resentment among the British Indian Armed Forces<ref>[http://mondediplo.com/2005/05/13wwiiasia WWII Asia], [http://mondediplo.com/ Le Monde Diplomatique], 2005-05-13.</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060212/spectrum/main2.htm Tribune India] 2006-02-12.</ref> what is beyond doubt, is that a population of millions had been motivated as it never had been before to say ultimately that independence was a non-negotiable goal, and every act of defiance and rebel only stoked this fire. In addition, the British people and the British Army seemed unwilling to back a policy of repression in India and other parts of the Empire even as their own country was recovering from war.--> ==Independence, 1947 to 1950== [[Image:Transfer of power in India, 1947.jpg|thumb|225px|Transfer of power, 15 August 1947.]] {{main|History of the Republic of India|political integration of India|partition of India|Pakistan movement}} On [[3 June]] [[1947]], Viscount [[Louis Mountbatten]], the last British [[Governor-General of India]], announced the partitioning of the British Indian Empire into a secular India and a Muslim [[Pakistan]]. On [[Yom-e-Istiqlal|14 August 1947]], Pakistan was declared a separate nation from them. At midnight, on [[Independence Day (India)|15 August 1947]], India became an independent nation. Violent clashes between [[Hindu]]s, [[Muslim]]s, and [[Sikh]]s followed. Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]] invited Mountbatten to continue as [[Governor General of India]]. He was replaced in June 1948 by [[Chakravarti Rajagopalachari]]. Patel took on the responsibility of unifying 565 princely states, steering efforts by his “iron fist in a velvet glove” policies, exemplified by the use of military force to integrate [[Junagadh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir]], and [[Hyderabad state]] ([[Operation Polo]]) into India. The Constituent Assembly completed the work of drafting the constitution on [[26 November]] [[1949]]; on [[26 January]] [[1950]] the [[Republic of India]] was officially proclaimed. The Constituent Assembly elected Dr. [[Rajendra Prasad]] as the first [[President of India]], taking over from Governor General Rajgopalachari. Subsequently, a free and sovereign India absorbed three other territories: [[Goa]] (from Portuguese control in 1961), [[Pondicherry]] (which the French ceded in 1953–1954<!--Which year? 1953 or 1954?-->) and [[Sikkim]] which was absorbed in 1975. In 1952, India held its first general elections, with a voter turnout exceeding 62%. ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} == References == {{loc}} * [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html#in0022 Library of Congress] * {{cite book | title = The Indian Mutiny 1857–1858 | first = G W | last = Forest | authorlink = G. W. Forest | id = ISBN 81-7536-196-4 }} * {{cite book | title = Discovery of India | first = Jawaharlal | last = Nehru | authorlink = Jawaharlal Nehru | id = ISBN 0-19-562359-2 }} * {{cite book | title = [[The Story of My Experiments with Truth|An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth]] | first = Mohandas | last = Gandhi | authorlink = Mohandas Gandhi | id = ISBN 0-8070-5909-9 }} * {{cite book | title = [[Freedom at Midnight]] | first = Larry | last = Collins | authorlink = Larry Collins | publisher = [[Dominique Lapierre]] | id = ISBN 0-00-638851-5 }} *'History of Forts in North Malabar' Nandakumar Koroth * {{cite book | first = Gianni | last = Sofri | authorlink = Gianni Sofri | title = Gandhi and India: A Century in Focus | edition = English edition translated from the Italian | others = Janet Sethre Paxia (translator) | publisher = The Windrush Press | location = Gloucestershire | year = 1995–1999 | id = ISBN 1-900624-12-5 }} * {{cite book | title = Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century | year = 1968 | first = Anil | last = Seal | authorlink = Anil Seal | id = ISBN 0-521-06274-8 }} * {{cite journal | title = India: Imperialism, partition and resistance | url = http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj77/ashman.htm | first = Sam | last = Ashman | authorlink = Sam Ashman | journal = [[International Socialism (journal)|International Socialism]] | issue = 77 | year = December 1997 }} * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Hoover | Given1 = Karl. | Year = 1985 | Title = The Hindu Conspiracy in California, 1913-1918. German Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2. (May, 1985), pp. 245-261 | URL = | Publisher = German Studies Association | ISBN = 01497952 }}. * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Brown | Given1 = Giles | Year = 1948 | Title = The Hindu Conspiracy, 1914-1917.The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 17, No. 3. (Aug., 1948), pp. 299-310 | Publisher = University of California Press | ID = ISSN 0030-8684 }}. *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Popplewell | Given1 = Richard J | Year = 1995 | Title = Intelligence and Imperial Defence: British Intelligence and the Defence of the Indian Empire 1904-1924. | URL = http://www.routledge.com/shopping_cart/products/product_detail.asp?sku=&isbn=071464580X&parent_id=&pc= | Publisher = Routledge | ISBN = 071464580X }}. * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Hoover | Given1 = Karl. | Year = 1985 | Title = The Hindu Conspiracy in California, 1913-1918. German Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2. (May, 1985), pp. 245-261 | URL = | Publisher = German Studies Association | ISBN = 01497952 }}. *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Hopkirk | Given1 = Peter | Year = 1997 | Title = Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire. | URL = | Publisher = Kodansha Globe | ISBN = 1568361270 }}. *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Fraser | Given1 = Thomas G | Year = 1977 | Title = Germany and Indian Revolution, 1914-18. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Apr., 1977), pp. 255-272. | URL = | Publisher = Sage Publications | ID = ISSN: 00220094 }}. *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Strachan | Given1 = Hew | Year = 2001 | Title = The First World War. Volume I: To Arms | URL = | Publisher = Oxford University Press. USA. | ISBN= 0199261911 }}. *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Lovett | Given1 = Sir Verney | Year = 1920 | Title = A History of the Indian Nationalist Movement | URL = | Publisher = New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company | ISBN = 81-7536-249-9 }} * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Sarkar | Given1 = B.K. | Year = 1921 | Title = Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 1. (Mar., 1921), pp. 136-138. | URL = | Publisher = The Acedemy of Political Science | ID = ISSN: 00323195 }}. * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Tinker | Given1 = Hugh | Year = 1968 | Title = India in the First World War and after.Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1918-19: From War to Peace. (Oct., 1968), pp. 89-107 | URL = | Publisher = Sage Publications | ID = ISSN: 00220094 }}. * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 =Collett | Given1 = Nigel | Year = 2007 (New ed) | Title = The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer | URL = | Publisher = Hambledon & London | ISBN = 1852855754 }}. * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 =Chandler | Given1 = Malcolm | Surname2=Wright | Given2=John | Year = 2001 | Title = Modern World History. | URL = | Publisher = Heinemann Educational Publishers. 2nd Review edition | ISBN = 0435311417 }}. == Further reading == *Peter Ackerman, and Jack Duvall, A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict ISBN 0-312-24050-3 *R.C. Majumdar, History of the Freedom movement in India ISBN 0-8364-2376-3 *Amales Tripathi, Barun De, Bipan Chandra, Freedom Struggle ISBN 81-237-0249-X *Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour: An Account of the Indian Army, its Officers and Men ==External links== {{portal|Indian independence movement|AzadHindFlag.png}} * [http://allama-mashriqi.8m.com/ Allama Mashriqi] * [http://www.sikhism.com/articles/origin_non_violence.htm Origin of Non-Violence] * [http://www.freeindia.org/dynamic/ Independence movement] * [http://web.mahatma.org.in/flash.html Mahatma Gandhi] * [http://goidirectory.nic.in/ Indian Government] * [http://www.rajamahendrapratap.com Raja Mahendapratap] * [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/timeline.htm Timeline of Indian independence movement] * [http://www.panthic.org/news/129/ARTICLE/2623/2006-07-16.html Truth behind 1857 parts I], [http://www.panthic.org/news/129/ARTICLE/2639/2006-07-23.html II] & [http://www.panthic.org/news/125/ARTICLE/2660/2006-07-30.html III] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/south_asia_indian_independence_posters/html/1.stmIndian Independence Campaign Posters] {{Indian independence movement}} [[Category:European rule in India]] [[Category:Indian independence movement]] {{Link FA|ml}} {{Link FA|kn}} [[bn:ভারতের স্বাধীনতা আন্দোলন]] [[es:Movimiento de Independencia indio]] [[fa:جنبش استقلال هند]] [[fr:Mouvement pour l'indépendance de l'Inde]] [[hi:भारतीय स्वतंत्रता संग्राम]] [[id:Gerakan Kemerdekaan India]] [[kn:ಭಾರತದ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಚಳುವಳಿ]] [[ml:ഇന്ത്യയുടെ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യസമരം]] [[no:Indisk selvstyrekamp]] [[simple:Indian independence movement]] [[zh:印度独立运动]]