Quit India speech

2017 postage stamp of India commemorating the Quit India Movement
Date	August 8, 1942 (1942-08-08)
Venue	Gowalia Tank Maidan
Type	Speech
Target	British colonial government, Indian public
Organized by	Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi, 1942

The Quit India speech was given by Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of the Quit India movement, August 8, 1942. His address was issued shortly before midnight at the Gowalia Tank Maidan park in Bombay (present-day Mumbai),^[1] which has since been renamed August Kranti Maidan (August Revolution Ground).

The speech was given in support of Indian independence and the end of British colonial rule. He called for determined, but passive resistance and civil disobedience based on the principles of satyagraha ("truthful request")^[1] that signified the certitude that Gandhi foresaw for the movement, best described by his call to "Do or Die".

However, the movement did not end on a high note, since in less than twenty-four hours after giving his speech, Gandhi and almost the entire Indian National Congress leadership were imprisoned by the British colonial government under the grounds of the Defense of India Act.^[2] A greater number of Congress leaders would spend the rest of the war in jail. The Quit India speech is commonly referred to as the unifying call to action in pursuit of Indian independence during WWII-wartime India.

Background

In August 1942, Indian politician and social activist, Mahatma Gandhi, was a central figure to the Quit India campaign.^[3] He was the leader of the Indian National Congress,^[4] and the Quit India campaign was a national protest movement based on "satyagraha" (truthful request)^[1] that called for an end to British colonial rule in India and the establishment of Indian sovereignty^[5] through nonviolent resistance and peaceful violation of laws.^[1] The growth of the movement was largely driven by discontent with British colonial rule after the East India Company's territories in India was transferred to Crown control in 1858,^[5] ultimately culminating in a struggle between Indian independence activists and the British colonial authorities and leading to the Quit India Movement of 1942.

Having played a large role in the war effort, citizens across the country felt that they had the right to demand independence. The influence of the Indian experience of WWII had brought about the demand for the creation of a central, national Indian government, a demand that had elicited a popular nationwide response but which ultimately went ignored by the British colonial government.^[6]

In support of the Indian independence movement, the political party Indian National Congress (INC), under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi , delivered "The Quit India Call" on August 8, 1942.^[6] The speech, delivered in the midst of WWII, called for an end to British colonial rule as a means of ensuring the success of freedom and democracy^[5] for India.

Several Congress leaders, most importantly Nehru himself, were broadly sympathetic to the British in the war, but repeated attempts to get the British side to make concrete moves towards Indian independence as the basis of a temporary but viable compromise as the war endured all ended in failure. Churchill had previously staked his personal reputation on opposing Indian self-rule, in almost any form, and so was prepared to offer nothing to India’s nationalists.

The Congress's initial response to the war, a policy of individual civil disobedience, developed into the larger Quit India Movement of 1942, characterized by wider civil disobedience that was suppressed by the government with "unforgiving repression".^[7]

Gandhi's address, commonly referred to as the Quit India Speech, was made on the occasion of the main organizational wing of the INC's and the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) approval of the Quit India Resolution.^[1] The resolution, approved in the concluding session of the AICC's meeting at Bombay,^[5] authorized Gandhi to take whatever actions he deemed necessary to "force the British out of the country".^[8]

Procession view during the Quit India Movement, in Bangalore.

Purpose

Following the unilateral decision of the British colonial government to bring India into World War II, the 1939 resignation of Congress ministries led to a chain of events that were responsible for Gandhi's speech and the beginning of the Quit India Movement,^[1] a movement that expedited the Indian independence process.

Gandhi set out in his speeches to maintain the unification of India's diverse religious and ethnic groups. The increasing divide in the early 1940s between the separatist factions of the Hindu and Muslim majority populations meant that much of Gandhi's Quit India speech directly addressed their conflict and hostility.^[1]

The ratification of the movement by Gandhi and the AICC on August 8, 1942 meant the adoption of the Quit India resolution and the ensuing Quit India satyagraha which followed.^[9] Official Congress adoption of the Quit India Movement had to a considerable extent, worked to legitimize adherence to revolutionary and destructive actions which emphasized the role of youths and the core values of bravery, daring, and sacrifice.^[5] Gandhi's mantra of “do or die” ^[10] as embodied in his speech, remain important tools for interpreting his vision of non-violence and satyagraha,^[9] and its evolution alongside the pursuit of Indian independence.

Speech content and meaning

The Quit India speech was delivered in two languages, starting first in Hindi then followed by a shortened English version.^[1] Throughout the speech Gandhi affirms his commitment to non-violent protest and asserts that this movement would follow in the same fashion.^[3]

The speech begins with Gandhi outlining his intentions to gain independence for India to the All India Congress Committee. He makes two especially crucial points in this part of the speech; a resolution based on “ahimsa”, an ancient Indian principle of non-violence, and expressing no hatred towards the British.^[10] During the first part of the speech Gandhi reassured that their struggle was for India's independence not a fight for power. He proclaimed that “there had never been a more democratic struggle for freedom in world history than India's”.^[7]

After the resolution was passed, Gandhi presented the second part of his speech. Addressed to many subgroups such as Muslim's and Hindu's. Gandhi outlines what the resolution asks of their participation in the movement.^[10] Gandhi again preaches non-violence as his basic premise for the movement.^[5]

The third part of the speech was presented in English, in which Gandhi directly addressed the Western world. This third portion of the speech clearly described how the resolution called for the independence of India from British colonial rule in such a way that Western audiences would be able to understand. This third section also stated that “this overthrow of British Rule would begin immediately.”.^[10] It also provided an image of a unified India and provided a sketch of how the movement would play out. The English portion of the speech concluded with what would become the mantra of the entire Quit India Movement - “Do or Die.”.^[10] This phrase came from an 1854 poem titled “Charge of the Light Brigade'', written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson to commemorate a failed military action during the Crimean War.^[9] Gandhi had had a fascination with this phrase, using it several times in other addresses such as in 1904 to commemorate the actions of the British Indian Army in numerous conflicts they had fought over the “past several decades”, including the Younghusband expedition.^[9] It then became the mantra of the Quit India Movement.

Audience

August Kranti Maidan, Mumbai

A wide variety of sources estimate there was between forty thousand and one hundred thousand people attending Gandhi's speech.^[10] The first group that Gandhi was aiming his address to was the Muslim population of India.^[1] Gandhi spoke to the Muslim population in his speech to inspire “a unity of hearts and a joint effort by Hindus and Muslims in the fight for freedom.”.^[1] He believed that the freedom of India would benefit all Indians, and that religious differences should be put aside for the benefit of the movement.^[1]

Another group that Gandhi addressed in his speech was the committee members who voted on the Quit India Resolution. Gandhi acknowledged all members for their commitment to the voting process and thanked them for participating, both those who voted for and against the resolution.^[1]

Gandhi also spoke directly to other groups, such as “journalists, princes, landlords, soldiers, government officials, and students”.^[1] He called on these groups to stand in solidarity through non-violent protest against British colonial rule. In opposition to previous speeches, Gandhi did not ask these groups to halt their work and classes but rather to continue, with the mentality and action of free subjects and social groups in passive resistance.^[1]

Impacts

Gandhi's speech led to an immediate reaction from both the Indian public and the British colonial government. Following the Quit India speech, the citizens of India reacted in “mass upheaval of unprecedented dimensions.”.^[6] The speech ultimately led to the passing of the Quit India Resolution by the All India Congress Committee, as well as the re-enactment of the non-violence and noncooperation policy.^[5] The British colonial government, meanwhile, took the speech in a threatening manner and subsequently launched several major crackdowns on the Indian National Congress and its supporters.^[6] Just hours after the speech, Gandhi and other prominent Indian nationalist leaders were arrested and imprisoned by the British, all of whom were eventually released.^[1] Gandhi gave the speech to leave his colleagues with a message and with the hope that doing so may delay or stop his arrest entirely when he said, “After last night's speech they will never arrest me”.^[8]

Following the speech, there was a significant uptick from the Indian public in support of the independence movement. There was a widespread belief among members of the public that India was finally going to gain its independence. This sentiment was misguided since the British would perceive it as a threat to their control.^[1] Consequently this would lead to crackdowns from the colonial government, resulting in widespread violence from the Indian nationalists in response, despite Gandhi's non-violence policy. In the months that followed the speech, the country was wracked by pro-independence protests and violence. For 2 years, “208 police stations, 332 railway stations, and 945 post offices or telegraph lines were damaged or destroyed”.^[1]

In particular, Gandhi's speech choices would impact various Indian subgroups: the switch from Hindustani to English was especially strategic in sending a message to a larger audience. The transition in language provides imagery of a united front as well as being able to inform the western world of their struggle for independence. The stark contrast in language within one speech brings focus to who Gandhi is addressing. It provided clarity to who he was addressing and invited a wide variety of groups to be his audience.^[10] The inclusion of more than one language brings even more emphasis to Gandhi's philosophy of the Quit India Movement; the strongest India is a multicultural India.^[10] Switching languages within the speech draws attention to the diversity within India and the “ethical values of different communities, especially those that have been impacted politically and are forced to speak multiple languages.”.^[10]

Initial response and reception

Later on the evening of the Quit India Speech and the Congress's ratification of the Quit India Resolution, Gandhi and other Congress affiliates from top leaders to ordinary rank-and-file members were arrested and imprisoned by the government under the grounds of the Defense of India Act.^[2] This act allowed the government the ability to carry out supposedly preventative detention, swelling the number of total arrests to some twenty thousand.^[2] In addition, press coverage surrounding the speech was heavily limited. The publishing of any part of Gandhi's speech, the support of the Congress's call to action, and critiques of the British colonial government's actions were forbidden.^[2]  

Press reporting of the speech and Gandhi's last message did not pose any immediate danger to the British colonial government due to the swift ban on it.^[11] The arrests of members of the AIWC and AICC also meant the distribution of both the speech and resolution to the public failed. Subsequently it meant that the colonial government's tactics had prevailed early on in controlling the Indian press and depriving Congress of its leadership, leaving the movement “directionless at its inception”.^[11]

Gandhi's mantra of “Do or Die" was ultimately successful due to the efforts of the underground press.^[2] Through letters and fasting, imprisoned Gandhi was able to engage in a discourse with the Viceroy of India, also commonly referred to as the Governor-General of India, the monarch's official representative who retained complete authority over all of India.^[2] This dialogue did not bring about Gandhi's release or lead any significant progress for the campaign. However reporting by the underground press made the Indian population aware that a discussion was indeed taking place, giving people some hope of settlement.^[2] Acting as the unifying call to action for a campaign of civil disobedience, the Quit India movement spread far across the Indian subcontinent and had lasting effects from August 1942, the formal inception of the movement, until September 1944,^[2] nearing the final stages of WWII.

Britain's response to the movement has been analyzed as one of the most significant parts of the Indian independence movement. The events of the Quit India Movement in 1942 had worked to persuade the British to leave India without establishing various measures of continued British control, measures which effectively acted as safeguards and which had “previously been demanded as a condition of withdrawal” ^[8] from the Indian subcon

See also

• Tryst with destiny
• List of speeches
• Gandhi Heritage Portal

References