Quit India Movement: Provisions, Cause and Outcomes

Quit India Movement

The Quit India movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in Gowalia Tank Maidan, Mumbai on the 8th and 9th of August 1942. The Quit India movement lead to sorrowful consequences for the people related to the movement. The Congress party was declared an unlawful association and the officials were raided all over the country, the leaders were arrested, and ultimately this led to an increase in chaos in India.

The Quit India movement is also known as India August Movement or August Kranti. On 8th August 1942, the Indian National Congress (INC), was led by Mahatma Gandhi. Two slogans attracted most of the attention, one was ‘Quit India’ or ‘Bharat Chodo‘ and ‘Do or Die’. The Quit India movement was supposed to be a peaceful and non-violent movement that only aimed to urge the British to leave India and grant Independence. Gandhi gave separate instructions to each age group and a working group in India about the movement. In this article, you will get to know about the provisions of the movement, instructions by Gandhi, causes, and outcomes of the Quit India movement.

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Quit India Movement: Provisions

1. The immediate end of British rule in India.
2. Declaration of free India commitment to defend itself against all kinds of imperialism and fascism.
3. After the withdrawal of the British, the formation of a provisional government of India.
4. Sanctioning a civil disobedience movement.

Quit India Movement: Gandhi’s Instructions

1. Government servants were instructed not to quit their job but to proclaim loyalty to Indian National Congress.
2. Soldiers were instructed to continue being with the army but refrain from firing on compatriots.
3. Peasants were instructed to pay the agreed-upon rent only to the anti-government Zamindars/landlords, if there were pro-government, no rent should be paid.
4. Students were instructed to leave their studies only if there were confident enough.
5. Princes were instructed to support the people and accept their sovereignty of them.
6. People of the princely states were instructed to support their ruler only if he was anti-government.

Quit India Movement: Causes

• The second world war started in 1939 in Japan. It was a part of the Axis powers that were opposed to the British in the war.
• The British abandoned their territories in South-East Asia.
• This made India doubtful about the ability of the Britishers to protect them from the Axis powers.
• Mahatma Gandhi also believed that Britishers will abandon India and let Japan invade the country.
• The failure of the Cripps Mission led to the Indian National Congress to declare a mass civil disobedience movement.

Quit India Movement: Outcomes

• The prominent Indian leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and all others were arrested.
• British choose violence to stop the disobedience movement and resorted to lathi-charge.
• They declared the Indian National Congress as an unlawful association.
• The Quit India movement changed the course of negotiations with the British government and the consequences led to the Independence of India.