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Quick recap: Quit India and the INA on one page

Quit India and the INA, 1937–1946 · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

All three parts of the chapter condensed for quick revision: the Congress ministries and the League's revival, Tripuri and the Forward Bloc, the war and the resignations, the Lahore resolution, the August Offer and the individual satyagraha, the Cripps Mission, the Quit India Movement and its parallel governments, the C. R. formula, Bose and the INA, the Red Fort trial and the naval mutiny of 1946.

This chapter covers the nine years from the first elections under the Government of India Act 1935 to the naval rising of 1946. Part 1 followed the Congress into office in the provinces and out again when Britain took India into the Second World War. Part 2 covered the failed Cripps offer and the Quit India Movement of 1942. Part 3 covered Subhas Chandra Bose, the Indian National Army and the post-war upsurge. The thread joining them is the steady loss of British control: first over Indian politics, then over the streets, and finally over Indian soldiers and sailors.

Quit India and the INA at a glance
EventDateKey fact
Congress ministries take officeJuly 1937Seven provinces, later eight
Day of Deliverance22 December 1939Called by Jinnah on the ministries' exit
Lahore resolutionMarch 1940'Independent states' for Muslim-majority zones
August Offer8 August 1940Dominion status as the goal; rejected
Individual satyagrahaFrom 17 October 1940Vinoba Bhave first, Nehru second
Cripps MissionMarch–April 1942Provincial option; rejected by all major parties
Quit India resolution8 August 1942Gowalia Tank, Bombay; 'Do or Die'
Provisional Government of Free India21 October 1943Proclaimed by Bose at Singapore
Red Fort trialFrom November 1945Shah Nawaz Khan, Sahgal, Dhillon
Royal Indian Navy mutiny18–23 February 1946Began at HMIS Talwar, Bombay

Part 1. Under provincial autonomy, the Congress won the 1937 elections in most provinces and formed ministries in July 1937, first in seven provinces and later eight; the Muslim League did poorly. In about 28 months the ministries released prisoners, passed tenancy and debt laws and launched basic education. The League revived under Jinnah, attacked Congress rule in the Pirpur Report (1938) and celebrated the ministries' resignation as a 'Day of Deliverance' (22 December 1939). Bose won the 1939 Congress presidency against Pattabhi Sitaramayya but resigned after the Pant resolution at Tripuri and formed the Forward Bloc.

When the Viceroy declared India a party to the war on 3 September 1939 without asking Indian leaders, the Congress ministries resigned in October–November 1939. In March 1940 the League's Lahore resolution demanded 'independent states' for the Muslim-majority zones. The August Offer of 8 August 1940 promised dominion status as the goal and a post-war constitution-making body, with an assurance that no system would be forced on the minorities; the Congress rejected it. Gandhi answered with the individual satyagraha from 17 October 1940, choosing Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagrahi and Nehru as the second.

Part 2. With Japan at India's door, Britain sent the Cripps Mission in March 1942. Its Draft Declaration offered dominion status after the war, an elected constitution-making body with princes' nominees, the right of provinces to stay out, and British control of defence meanwhile. Every major party rejected it. The Congress Working Committee then called at Wardha (14 July 1942) for the immediate end of British rule, and the All India Congress Committee passed the Quit India resolution at Gowalia Tank, Bombay, on 8 August 1942, where Gandhi gave the call 'Do or Die'. Before dawn on 9 August the leaders were arrested.

Leaderless, the movement became a mass revolt: strikes in the cities, then attacks on railways, telegraph lines and police stations in the countryside. Underground leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Aruna Asaf Ali kept it going, and Usha Mehta ran a secret Congress Radio. parallel governments rose in Ballia, Tamluk and Satara. Repression was severe, and the Muslim League, the Communist Party of India and the Hindu Mahasabha stayed away. Gandhi fasted for 21 days in 1943 and was released in May 1944; the C. R. formula and the Gandhi-Jinnah talks of September 1944 failed to bridge the gap over Pakistan.

Part 3. Bose escaped India in January 1941 and worked first from Germany. In Asia, Mohan Singh raised the first INA from prisoners after Singapore fell in 1942, but it broke down in December 1942. Subhas Bose took over in 1943 and proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India at Singapore on 21 October 1943. The INA raised its flag at Moirang in April 1944 but shared Japan's defeat at Imphal and Kohima. The Red Fort trial of November 1945 roused the whole country, and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of 18–23 February 1946 showed that Britain could no longer trust its own forces.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. The 'Day of Deliverance' was observed on 22 December 1939 by the Muslim League to mark

  1. the passing of the Lahore resolution
  2. the resignation of the Congress ministries
  3. the rejection of the August Offer
  4. the release of Muslim League leaders from prison
Show answer

Answer: B. the resignation of the Congress ministries

(b) is correct: Jinnah called for the day to celebrate the end of Congress rule in the provinces. (a) is wrong: the Lahore resolution came later, in March 1940. (c) is wrong: the August Offer came in August 1940. (d) is wrong: League leaders were not in prison at that time; the day had nothing to do with releases.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. The August Offer of 1940 gave each province the right to stay out of the future Indian Union.
2. Vinoba Bhave was chosen by Gandhi as the first individual satyagrahi in October 1940.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

(b) is correct. Statement 1 is false: the provincial option was part of the Cripps proposals of 1942. Statement 2 is true: Vinoba Bhave was first, Nehru second. So (a) and (c) are wrong because they accept statement 1, and (d) is wrong because statement 2 is true.

Q3. At the Tripuri session of 1939, the Pant resolution

  1. expelled Subhas Chandra Bose from the Congress
  2. asked the President to form the Working Committee in line with Gandhi's wishes
  3. declared Purna Swaraj as the goal of the Congress
  4. set up the National Planning Committee
Show answer

Answer: B. asked the President to form the Working Committee in line with Gandhi's wishes

(b) is correct: the resolution reaffirmed faith in Gandhi's leadership and asked Bose to appoint the Working Committee according to his wishes. (a) is wrong: Bose resigned the presidency; he was not expelled by this resolution. (c) is wrong: Purna Swaraj was adopted at Lahore in 1929. (d) is wrong: the National Planning Committee was set up in 1938 under Bose's presidency.

Q4. Which one of the following parties or organisations supported the Quit India Movement of 1942?

  1. Communist Party of India
  2. Muslim League
  3. Hindu Mahasabha
  4. Congress Socialists such as Jayaprakash Narayan
Show answer

Answer: D. Congress Socialists such as Jayaprakash Narayan

(d) is correct: Congress Socialists such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia led the underground phase. (a) is wrong: the CPI opposed the movement under its 'people's war' line. (b) and (c) are wrong: the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha stayed away.

Q5. Match List I with List II:
List I (Parallel government) — List II (Region)
A. Jatiya Sarkar — 1. Satara
B. Prati Sarkar — 2. Ballia
C. Chittu Pandey's rising — 3. Tamluk
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-3, B-1, C-2
  2. A-1, B-3, C-2
  3. A-2, B-1, C-3
  4. A-3, B-2, C-1
Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-1, C-2

(a) is correct: the Jatiya Sarkar was at Tamluk in Midnapore, the Prati Sarkar at Satara, and Chittu Pandey led the rising at Ballia. (b) swaps Tamluk and Satara. (c) places the Jatiya Sarkar in Ballia. (d) swaps Satara and Ballia.

Q6. Consider the following statements:
1. The Cripps proposals provided for members of the constitution-making body from the princely states to be nominated by the rulers.
2. The C. R. formula proposed a plebiscite of Muslims alone in the Muslim-majority districts.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 is true: princes' members were to be appointed, while British Indian members were elected. Statement 2 is false: the formula proposed a plebiscite of all adult inhabitants of those districts. So (b) and (c) are wrong because they accept statement 2, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q7. Consider the following statements:
1. The Provisional Government of Free India was proclaimed at Singapore on 21 October 1943.
2. The first INA trial at the Red Fort ended with the three accused being executed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 is true. Statement 2 is false: the three were sentenced to transportation for life, and the Commander-in-Chief remitted the sentences in January 1946, so they were freed. So (b) and (c) are wrong because they accept statement 2, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q8. Arrange the following events in chronological order:
1. Cripps Mission
2. August Offer
3. Royal Indian Navy mutiny
4. Proclamation of the Provisional Government of Free India
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 2-1-4-3
  2. 1-2-4-3
  3. 2-4-1-3
  4. 1-2-3-4
Show answer

Answer: A. 2-1-4-3

(a) is correct: August Offer (August 1940), Cripps Mission (March 1942), Provisional Government (October 1943), naval mutiny (February 1946). (b) puts Cripps before the August Offer. (c) puts the Provisional Government before Cripps. (d) puts the mutiny before the Provisional Government and Cripps before the August Offer.

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