Quit India Movement, Cripps Mission & Cabinet Mission

World War II and India — The Backdrop (1939–42)

The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 dramatically altered the Indian political landscape. The British Viceroy Lord Linlithgow unilaterally declared India a belligerent without consulting elected Indian legislators, prompting Congress to resign from provincial governments in October 1939. This act of defiance created a political vacuum that the Muslim League (under Jinnah) exploited, declaring a "Day of Deliverance" from Congress rule.

Key developments by 1942:

• Atlantic Charter (August 1941): Churchill and Roosevelt proclaimed the right of all peoples to choose their own government — Congress demanded this apply to India; Churchill insisted it did not
• Japanese advance (1941–42): Japan captured Malaya, Singapore (February 1942 — 85,000 British troops surrendered), and Burma — threatening India's eastern frontier
• Fall of Singapore shattered the myth of British military invincibility in Asia
• Political pressure mounted on Churchill to offer concessions to secure Indian cooperation in the war effort

Cripps Mission (March–April 1942)

Background and Composition

To secure Indian cooperation in the war and respond to US and Chinese pressure, British PM Winston Churchill sent Sir Stafford Cripps (a senior Labour minister and known sympathiser of Indian independence) to India in March 1942.

Key Proposals of the Cripps Mission

Rejection and Its Reasons

All major parties rejected the Cripps proposals:

Congress demanded a National Government with full control over defence — unacceptable to Churchill, who reportedly wanted the mission to fail. The mission ended on April 11, 1942 without agreement.

Significance: The failure of the Cripps Mission convinced Gandhi and the INC that British rule would not end voluntarily during the war — clearing the path for the Quit India Movement.

Quit India Movement — August Kranti (1942)

Prelude

Following the Cripps failure, Gandhi began drafting a resolution demanding British withdrawal. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) met in Bombay to consider the resolution.

The Gowalia Tank Speech — August 8, 1942

On the night of August 8, 1942, Gandhi addressed a massive crowd at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), where the AICC had passed the Quit India resolution. His speech gave the movement its battle cry:

"Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is: 'Do or Die'. We shall either free India or die in the attempt."

Gowalia Tank Maidan was subsequently renamed August Kranti Maidan (August Revolution Ground) to commemorate this historic event.

Key elements of the resolution:

• Immediate end of British rule in India
• Demand for non-violent mass struggle
• Gandhi designated "supreme commander" of the movement

Operation Zero Hour — Immediate British Response

The British government, anticipating the movement, launched "Operation Zero Hour" in the early hours of August 9, 1942:

• Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Kripalani — the entire top Congress leadership — were arrested before sunrise
• Congress was declared illegal; its offices sealed
• Over 100,000 people were arrested during the movement
• Firing on crowds, lathi charges, aerial bombing of villages in some areas of Bihar and eastern UP

The "Leaderless" Uprising

With all leaders arrested, what followed was a spontaneous, largely decentralised and often violent uprising:

Scale of disruption:

• Post offices, railway stations, telegraph offices attacked
• Railway lines cut; bridges blown up
• Government buildings attacked in Bengal, Bihar, UP, Maharashtra
• Congress leaders who escaped arrest — Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) (escaped Hazaribagh jail), Ram Manohar Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali (hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank on August 9) — led underground resistance

Underground Resistance and Parallel Governments

The most remarkable feature of the Quit India Movement was the formation of parallel governments in areas where British authority completely collapsed.

Satara Prati Sarkar (Maharashtra)

Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar (Bengal)

Other Parallel Governments

• Ballia (eastern UP): D.P. Tripathi declared independence for several days; quickly suppressed
• Midnapore (Bengal): partial parallel governance alongside Tamralipta

Non-Participation in Quit India

Several major political organisations did not join the Quit India Movement:

Post-War Context and the End Game (1945–47)

British Political Change

The general election of July 1945 in Britain brought the Labour Party to power under Clement Attlee — replacing Churchill. Labour was genuinely committed to Indian independence. Attlee announced that India would get self-government as soon as possible.

INA Trials and Their Political Impact

The Indian National Army (INA) trials (1945–46) of officers like Captain Shah Nawaz Khan, Colonel Prem Sehgal, and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon — accused of treason for fighting with Japan — backfired catastrophically on the British:

• INA soldiers were hailed as heroes by the Indian public
• The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (February 1946) demonstrated that the loyalty of the Indian armed forces could no longer be assumed
• Britain could no longer govern India by force — the military calculus had changed

Wavell Plan and Simla Conference (1945)

Viceroy Wavell proposed an all-Indian Executive Council with equal Hindu–Muslim representation. The Simla Conference (June–July 1945) failed because Jinnah insisted the Muslim League alone should nominate all Muslim members — Congress (which had Muslim members) rejected this.

Cabinet Mission Plan (1946)

Composition

The Cabinet Mission (February–June 1946) comprised three senior British Cabinet ministers:

• Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India) — Chairman
• Sir Stafford Cripps (President of the Board of Trade)
• A.V. Alexander (First Lord of the Admiralty)

Key Proposals

The Cabinet Mission Plan (May 16, 1946) proposed a three-tier federal structure as a compromise between a united India and Pakistan:

Tier 1 — All-India Union: Handling defence, foreign affairs, and communications; a constituent assembly to draft a federal constitution.

Tier 2 — Provincial Groups:

Tier 3 — Individual Provinces: Residual subjects; provinces could opt out of groups after initial constitution-making.

Acceptance with Reservations

• Congress accepted the plan but with reservations — Nehru publicly stated in July 1946 that the Constituent Assembly was sovereign and not bound by the grouping scheme
• Muslim League initially accepted but withdrew acceptance on July 29, 1946 after Nehru's statement
• Princely states were to negotiate their own terms

Historical Significance

The Cabinet Mission Plan was the last attempt to keep India united. Its failure — owing to Congress–League mutual distrust — made partition increasingly inevitable.

Direct Action Day — August 16, 1946

On July 29, 1946, the Muslim League withdrew acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan and announced Direct Action Day for August 16, 1946, to press for Pakistan.

In Calcutta (under a Muslim League ministry led by Suhrawardy), August 16 was declared a public holiday. The day unleashed catastrophic communal violence:

• Over 5,000 deaths and 100,000 people made homeless in Calcutta within 72 hours
• Violence spread to Noakhali, Bihar, Bombay, and the United Provinces
• The Calcutta killings triggered a spiral of retaliatory communal violence across undivided India

Direct Action Day marked a point of no return in the communal polarisation of the subcontinent.

Mountbatten Plan and Partition (1947)

Viceroy Mountbatten (appointed February 1947) accelerated the timeline:

• Attlee declaration (February 20, 1947): Britain would transfer power no later than June 1948
• Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947): Partition of India into India and Pakistan; provinces could vote on accession; Boundary Commission under Sir Cyril Radcliffe
• Timeline brought forward to August 15, 1947 (over a year early)
• Indian Independence Act, 1947 (passed July 18, 1947): Two dominions — India and Pakistan — from August 14–15, 1947

The speed of partition left 14–17 million people displaced and led to approximately 1–2 million deaths in the communal violence of 1947.

Chronological Summary

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims

1. The "Do or Die" call in the Quit India Movement was given at: (UPSC CSE Prelims 2013)

   • (a) Lucknow (b) Gowalia Tank, Bombay (c) Sabarmati Ashram (d) Wardha
   • Answer: (b)

2. Which of the following statements about the Quit India Movement (1942) is/are correct?

   1. It was launched on 8 August 1942
   2. Communist Party of India supported the movement
   3. Muslim League did not participate in the movement
   • (a) 1 and 3 only

3. The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) proposed a three-tier federation. Which of the following was a feature of the plan?

   • Grouping of provinces into sections A, B, and C with distinct Muslim-majority configurations for groups B and C

4. The parallel government established in Satara district of Maharashtra during the Quit India Movement (1942) was called: (UPSC CSE Prelims 2009)

   • Prati Sarkar

Mains

1. The Quit India Movement of 1942 was a spontaneous popular uprising that changed the nature of the Indian freedom struggle. Examine this assessment with reference to underground resistance, parallel governments, and the movement's long-term political consequences. (GS1 — 15 marks)

2. "The Cabinet Mission Plan was India's last chance to avoid partition." Critically examine the factors that led to the failure of the plan and assess the responsibilities of the major parties involved. (GS1 — 15 marks)

3. Analyse the significance of the Indian National Army trials (1945–46) and the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (1946) in accelerating British decision to transfer power to India. (GS1 — 10 marks)

Exam Strategy

For Prelims:

• Date the Gowalia Tank speech: August 8, 1942 (resolution passed); August 9 is when Operation Zero Hour began
• Cripps Mission: March–April 1942; Cabinet Mission: May 1946; Direct Action Day: August 16, 1946
• Satara Prati Sarkar leader: Nana Patil; Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar established: December 17, 1942
• CPI was against Quit India Movement (because of USSR-Britain wartime alliance)
• RSS and Muslim League: both non-participants in Quit India

For Mains:

• Use three analytical lenses for Quit India: (1) as a mass movement — scale and spontaneity; (2) as a turning point — INA trials, naval mutiny, Labour Party victory; (3) as political failure — Congress imprisoned, Muslim League strengthened
• For Cabinet Mission: structure around what it proposed → who accepted and why → why it failed → consequences
• Always distinguish: Cripps Mission (1942) ≠ Cabinet Mission (1946); common error in mains answers
• Direct Action Day should be linked to the Cabinet Mission's failure — it was the consequence of breakdown, not a spontaneous event

Key Quotations:

• Gandhi on Cripps proposals: "post-dated cheque on a failing bank"
• Gandhi's Do or Die: "We shall either free India or die in the attempt"
• Nehru's July 1946 statement about Constituent Assembly sovereignty — the trigger for League withdrawal