Introduction
The Quit India Movement (August 1942) was the final, most intense mass movement of the
freedom struggle, launched in the middle of World War II, demanding an immediate end to British rule with
the call to "Do or Die."
Background — Cripps Mission (1942)
- With Japan advancing towards India's borders during WWII, the British sent Sir Stafford Cripps to negotiate Indian cooperation in the war effort, offering Dominion Status after the war and a right for provinces to opt out of the future Indian Union.
- Rejected by the INC as too little too late — Gandhi famously called it "a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank."
- Its failure convinced Congress leaders that only immediate, direct action would work.
Launch of the Movement
Flowchart — Quit India Timeline
AICC Bombay Session, 8 August 1942 — passes the "Quit India" resolution
↓
Gandhi's "Do or Die" speech at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay
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Entire top Congress leadership (Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and others) arrested within hours, on 9 August 1942
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Leaderless mass uprising — strikes, sabotage of communication lines, underground activity by younger leaders
Key Features of the Movement
| Feature | Detail |
|---|
| Underground Movement | Leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Usha Mehta ran underground networks, including the secret Congress Radio broadcasting station |
| Parallel Governments (Prati Sarkar) | Established in areas like Ballia (UP), Tamluk (Midnapore, Bengal), and Satara (Maharashtra), where local activists ran independent administration for months |
| British Response | Massive and swift repression — mass arrests, firing on crowds; the movement was suppressed within months but revealed the depth of popular anger |
Significance
- Though suppressed, it convinced the British that they could not govern India indefinitely against such widespread popular resistance.
- Marked the last major nationwide movement before independence; after 1942, focus shifted to negotiations (Simla Conference, Cabinet Mission) and communal tensions leading up to Partition.
✅ UPSC Focus: Cripps Mission's offer and why it was rejected · Date and location of the "Do or Die" speech · Names associated with the underground movement and parallel governments · Its role as the last major mass movement before 1947.