Quit India 1942 & INA-Bose
National Movement · भारत छोड़ो 1942 और INA-बोस · 18 facts
Quit India Movement was launched on August 8, 1942 at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session at Gowalia Tank, Bombay.
Gandhi gave the call 'Do or Die' (Karo ya Maro) during the Quit India Movement — it demanded immediate withdrawal of British rule from India.
Gandhi and all major Congress leaders were arrested on the morning of August 9, 1942 — this led to a spontaneous and leaderless mass uprising across India.
Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank after leaders were arrested — she became the symbol of the Quit India Movement.
Underground movement of Quit India: Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram Manohar Lohia, JP Narayan, Sucheta Kriplani kept the movement alive from underground.
Parallel Governments (Provisional Governments) were set up in Satara (Maharashtra) — led by Nana Patil; and Midnapore (Bengal) — led by Sushil Dhara.
Quit India Movement was called the 'August Revolution' — it shook British confidence that India could be held after the war, accelerating independence.
Indian National Army (INA) was first organized by Captain Mohan Singh in 1942 from Indian prisoners of war in Singapore after its fall to Japan.
Subhas Chandra Bose took over the leadership of INA in 1943 — he reorganized it as 'Azad Hind Fauj' and gave the slogan 'Jai Hind' and 'Delhi Chalo'.
Azad Hind Government (October 21, 1943) — Bose declared a Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore with himself as Head of State and Supreme Commander.
INA marched towards India through Burma — reached Imphal and Kohima in 1944 but was pushed back due to monsoons and British resistance.
INA Trial (1945-46) — Bhulabhai Desai, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Tej Bahadur Sapru defended INA officers at the Red Fort. Public outrage at the trials boosted nationalist sentiment.
Subhas Chandra Bose was called Netaji — he died in a plane crash in Taihoku (Taiwan) on August 18, 1945, at the age of 48.
Bose founded the Forward Bloc in 1939 after resigning as Congress President — he opposed Gandhi's policy of non-violence and favored armed struggle.
Ranee of Jhansi Regiment — an all-women regiment of INA led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal — was a unique feature of the Azad Hind Fauj.
RIN Mutiny (Royal Indian Navy Mutiny) in February 1946 — sailors mutinied in Bombay and other ports inspired by INA — it demonstrated Indian armed forces' nationalist sentiment.
Cripps Mission (1942) offered Dominion Status after WWII — Congress rejected it as it did not offer immediate independence; Gandhi called it 'a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank'.
The INA became a symbol of national pride — even those who surrendered to the British became heroes in the eyes of the Indian public.