Introduction
The movement was launched by Gandhi on 8th August in 1942. The movement was aimed at acquiring freedom from the British rule. Gandhi advocated for an orderly exit from the British rules; hence the movement involved a mass protest based on non-violence demonstration (Bhuyan, 78). In his speech, Gandhi urged the Indians to consider their freedom and be guided by their desires for such freedom. Apart from demanding for freedom, the Quit Indian movement was also aimed at stopping the British government from sending Indian nationals to participate in the World War II. Before the movement started, the Indian Congress and the British government engaged in talks that failed to yield results necessitating Gandhi to call for the action.
Argument why the Quit India Movement deserves inclusion on the most influential list
The Quit India Movement solidified the future of Indian people. The movement united the Indians to fight against their colonizer (Zaidi, 164). It is through the movement that the Indian people were able to resist the British rules through mass demonstrations led by Gandhi. In his speech, Gandhi advised people to act as if they were independent a proposal that was highly adopted by the Indians as they were tired of being colonized by the British government (Patil, 91). The speech by Gandhi served as an eye opener to the Indians as it encouraged them to fight for their independence despite the intimidations from the British government. The movement, therefore, deserves to be included in the list of most influential movements as it brought the Indian people together to fight for their rights.
The Quit India Movement was a mark of unity by the people of India and a determined approach to fighting for freedom. After the speech by Gandhi in 1942, the Indians joined hand to participate in the movement. Within one day of release of the report, Gandhi together with other Congress leaders were arrested and imprisoned. After the arrest, mass demonstrations were evident in India. In response to the mass protests, the British government ordered for sabotage, violence and bomb attacks throughout the country. Despite the request to the Indian people to engage in non-violence mass protests and demonstrations, the attacks by the British government made Indians opt for violence means to gain independence as soon as possible.
The Quit India Movement remains to be one of the most influential mass protests because, after the arrest of Congress leaders and Gandhi, the movement was left without leaders. The imprisonment of the key leaders did not stop the people from protesting for freedom as they were united to achieve their goal which was independence from the British (Chandra, 167). The masses had no coordinated leadership making every group adopt their methods to gain independence. The demonstrations were no longer coordinated as before. The people participated in mass killings and destruction of property which was against the speech by Gandhi and the wish of other leaders who were imprisoned together with Gandhi. Strikes, destruction of property and riots dominated the city of Madras (Hutchins, 83).
The mass protests involved even university and college students from various districts throughout the country. The students of Annamalai University in the South Arcot participated in processions, organized and coordinated strike and hoisting of flags. The students attended the protest to show their interest in an independent India. The students destroyed telephone wires to interfere with communication of the British government. The students of the Loyola College in Chingleput conducted strikes as well as obstruction of the electric trains. The students of the Engineering College and the Christian college in Chingleput also joined the Loyola College students in the strike. The student received thorough whipping and imprisonment as a result of their participation in the mass movement (Bose et al., 87). The involvement of student makes the movement influential hence the need to include it in the list. The actions of the students were aimed at helping other Indians in the grass root in fighting for freedom. The alteration of telephone and telegraph wires as well setting fires on buildings were significant indications that the Indians were determined in the struggle for independence.
It is through the Quit India Movement that the British government realized that in the long-run, it will not succeed in governing India. The British government, therefore, started developing detailed exit strategies from India. The movement proved to the government of Britain that India was no longer willing to be led by them. The movement also indicated that India was ready to do anything possible to gain independence. Britain after realizing this fact was forced to look for a peaceful way of getting out of the country (Savarkar, 106). The fact makes the movement crucial as it helped the Indians to deliver a message of their need for independence.
The movement expressed the unhappiness of Indian from the actions of the British government. The British government during the World War II were recruiting Indian soldiers to help it in the war against the Germans. Some of the Indian nationals were killed in a war that India alone would not have participated. The Indian territories were part of the British Empire; hence, Britain expected a direct support from India (Greenough, 361). The movement was one of the most influential movements as the British government felt the pinch. The movement was an important achievement of the Congress Party in expressing their desire for a free nation.
The Quit India Movement served as a unifying factor to the Congress Party. The party had to remain united throughout the struggle to try and yield the desired results. After realizing the potential capabilities of the Congress Party, the British government banned the party altogether. The efforts by the Congress Party led to arrests of many people as well as cutting off the Congress party. Gandhi was leased by the British government as his health was deteriorating (Ghose, 105). Despite the ill health of Gandhi, he continued with his determination of freeing other leaders of the party. He also participated in opposition role in the government.
Many people in India were not happy that Quit India Movement did not succeed. It was the expectation of the Indians that from the continued mass protests in the country, the movement would be successful in freeing India from the hands of Britain. By 1944, peace Britain had managed to restore peace in the country. By this time, the Congress leaders had not yet been released. The Indian Muslim League that had supported the British government all through criticized the Congress party of its failure in the movement (Hamid, 105). Despite the failure of the movement to free India, the British government was aware of the need of the Indian people Gandhi and the Congress Party. The movement, therefore, served some of its purpose of informing the Britain that the Indian were tired and needed freedom.
Conclusion
Gandhi launched the Quit India campaign in August 1942. The movement was aimed to free India from the control of British government. Gandhi in his speech advocated for peaceful demonstrations in all actions of the movement. After the arrest of Gandhi and Congress Party leaders, the participants in the protests went violently to activities of the destruction of the main infrastructural developments by the government. Many people were punished and others imprisoned. The movement deserves inclusion on the most influential list despites if failure to achieve all its desired goals. The campaign made the British government know that the Indians were in need of independence. The movement, therefore, informed the Britain that it will not succeed in ruling India in the long run. The reality made Britain start planning on a peaceful exit strategy from India.
Works Cited
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Greenough, Paul R. "Political Mobilization and the Underground Literature of the Quit India Movement, 1942–44." Modern Asian Studies 17.03 (1983): 353-386. Print.
Hamid, Abdul. Muslim separatism in India: a brief survey, 1858-1947. Lahore: Oxford University Press, Pakistan Branch, 1967, reprinted with corrections, 1967. Print.
Hutchins, Francis G. India's revolution; Gandhi and the Quit India movement. Harvard Univ Pr, 1973. Print.
Patil, Vishwanath Tammanagouda. Gandhi, Nehru, and the Quit India Movement: A Study in the Dynamics of a Mass Movement. BR Publishing Corporation, 1984. Print.
Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar, and G. M. Joshi. The Indian war of independence, 1857. Rajdhani Granthagar, 1970. Print.
Zaidi, A. Moin. The way out to freedom: an inquiry into the Quit India Movement conducted by participants. Orientalia (India), 1973. Print.
