Study Guide · Chapter 8
World War II and the Final Push (1939–1947)
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- August Offer (1940): A British proposal offering limited concessions (Dominion Status as an eventual, undated goal, and Indian representation for constitution-making); rejected by the Congress as inadequate.
- Individual Satyagraha (1940–41): A limited, symbolic protest movement, with Vinoba Bhave chosen as the first individual satyagrahi, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru, protesting India's forced involvement in WWII without consent.
- Cripps Mission (1942): Led by British Cabinet minister Sir Stafford Cripps, offering post-war Dominion Status with a right for provinces to opt out of the proposed Indian union; rejected by the Congress as offering too little, too late — Gandhi famously described it as "a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank."
- Quit India Movement (August 1942): Launched by Gandhi at the Bombay session of the AICC with the call "Do or Die" ("Karo ya Maro"); nearly the entire senior Congress leadership was arrested within hours, leading to a spontaneous, often locally-led, and at times violent mass uprising across the country (attacks on government buildings, communication lines, and the establishment of short-lived "parallel governments" in a few areas, such as the Ballia and Satara/Tamluk regions, and the Jatiya Sarkar in Midnapore, Bengal). Aruna Asaf Ali famously hoisted the Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, as senior leaders were arrested.
- Indian National Army (INA): Reorganised and led by Subhas Chandra Bose from 1943, after his dramatic escape from house arrest in Calcutta and journey via Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, and Germany, and then by submarine to Japanese-controlled Southeast Asia. Bose formed the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind) in Singapore (October 1943), with its own currency, postage stamps, and a women's regiment (the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal). The INA fought alongside Japanese forces in the unsuccessful Imphal and Kohima campaigns (1944). Bose died in a plane crash in Taiwan (Formosa) in August 1945 (a subject of some ongoing historical and popular controversy/conspiracy theories, though most credible historical investigation supports the crash account).
- INA Trials (Red Fort Trials, 1945–46): Trial of INA officers (including Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Sahgal, and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon) for treason at Delhi's Red Fort; provoked massive public sympathy and protest across India, cutting across communal lines, and is regarded as a significant catalyst pushing British resolve toward a swift transfer of power.
- Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny (February 1946): A major mutiny by Indian naval ratings in Bombay and other ports, reflecting the depth of anti-colonial sentiment even within British-Indian armed forces by this stage.
- Cabinet Mission Plan (1946): Proposed a complex federal structure with grouped provinces to accommodate Muslim League concerns while preserving a united India; ultimately failed when the League's participation collapsed and it called for Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), which triggered severe communal violence, especially the "Great Calcutta Killings."
- Interim Government (September 1946): Formed under Viceroy Lord Wavell, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice President of the Executive Council (de facto Prime Minister), later joined by the Muslim League as well amid ongoing tension.
- Mountbatten Plan (June 1947) and the Indian Independence Act (1947): Provided for the partition of British India into India and Pakistan, effective 15 August 1947 (see Modern India and Acts and Reforms notes for full detail).
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