Quit India Movement was a mass civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942. He launched the movement in Gowalia Tank Maidan (now also known as August Kranti Maidan), and gave a call 'do or die'.
While launching the movement, he demanded that the British must leave India immediately or else mass agitations would take place.
The call for mass agitation was followed by widespread violence and sabotage. It was directed at railway stations, telegraph offices, government buildings, and other emblems and institutions of colonial rule.
Almost all prominent leaders of Congress were arrested, and it was banned. Moreover, the British further used police and army to suppress the movement.
Quit India Movement: History
One of the major triggers of Quit India Movement was British dragging India, without consent, into World War II to fight on behalf of Britain. Over 87,000 Indian soldiers (including those from modern day Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh) died in World War II.
The Cripps Mission (March 1942), lead by Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the War Cabinet, was an attempt to secure India's cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. Cripps was sent to discuss the British Government's Draft Declaration with Indian leaders. It granted India Dominion Status after the war. However, the Congress refused to discuss any terms unless it included total freedom.
Quit India Movement: Quotes and Images
Here are some quotes from Gandhi's Quit India speech on 8 August 1942.
“A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country."Mahatma Gandhi
“Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for India’s independence.”Mahatma Gandhi
“Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away always in the tide of time.”Mahatma Gandhi
“I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours.”Mahatma Gandhi
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