In 1939, Indian nationalists were angry that British
Governor-General of India,
Lord Linlithgow, brought India into the war without consultation with them. The Muslim League supported the war, but Congress was divided. At the outbreak of war, the Congress Party had passed a resolution during the Wardha meeting of the working committee in September 1939, conditionally supporting the fight against the Axis, but were rebuffed when they asked for independence in return: Gandhi had not supported this initiative, as he could not reconcile an endorsement for war (he was a committed believer in non-violent resistance, used in the
Indian Independence Movement and proposed even against
Adolf Hitler,
Benito Mussolini, and
Hideki Tojo). However, at the height of the
Battle of Britain, Gandhi had stated his support for the fight against racism and of the British war effort, stating he did not seek to raise an independent India from the ashes of Britain. However, opinions remained divided. The long-term British policy of limiting investment in India and using the country as a market and source of revenue had left the Indian Army relatively weak and poorly armed and trained and forced the British to become net contributors to India's budget, while taxes were sharply increased and the general level of prices doubled: although many Indian businesses benefited from increased war production, in general business "felt rebuffed by the government" and in particular the refusal of the British Raj to give Indians a greater role in organising and mobilising the economy for wartime production.
Subash Chandra Bose remarked that a "new chapter in Indian freedom struggle began with the Quit India Movement". After the onset of the world war, Bose had organised the
Indian Legion in
Germany, reorganised the
Indian National Army with Japanese assistance and, soliciting help from the
Axis powers, conducted a
guerrilla war against the British authorities. Viceroy
Linlithgow remarked the movement to be "by far the most serious rebellion since 1857". In his telegram to
Winston Churchill on 31 August he noted: I am engaged here in meeting by far the most serious rebellion since that of 1857, the gravity and extent of which we have so far concealed from the world for reasons of military security. Mob violence remains rampant over large tracts of the countryside and I am by no means confident that we may not see in September a formidable attempt to renew this widespread sabotage of our war effort. The lives of Europeans in outlying places are in jeopardy. When American Republican presidential candidate
Wendell Willkie and
YMCA official
Sherwood Eddy planned to meet Gandhi, Linlithgow deemed it to be American interference in "our own business" and asked Churchill to dissuade them.
Cripps mission In March 1942, faced with a dissatisfied sub-continent only reluctantly participating in the war and deterioration in the war situation in Europe and with growing dissatisfaction among Indian troops and among the civilian population in the sub-continent, the British government sent a delegation to India under
Stafford Cripps, the
Leader of the House of Commons, in what came to be known as the
Cripps Mission. The purpose of the mission was to negotiate with the
Indian National Congress a deal to obtain total co-operation during the war, in return for
devolution and distribution of power from the crown and the
Viceroy to an elected Indian legislature. The talks failed, as they did not address the key demand of a timetable of self-government and of the powers to be relinquished, essentially making an offer of limited dominion-status that was unacceptable to the Indian movement. Gandhi's reaction to this statement was; "the old policy of divide and rule is to continue. Congress has asked for bread and it has got stone." According to the instructions issued by High Command, the Congress ministers were directed to resign immediately. Congress ministers from eight provinces resigned following the instructions. The resignation of the ministers was an occasion of great joy and rejoicing for the leader of the Muslim League,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He called the date i.e. 22 December 1939
The Day of Deliverance. Gandhi urged Jinnah against the celebration of this day, however, it was futile. At the Muslim League Lahore Session held in March 1940, Jinnah declared in his presidential address that the Muslims of the country wanted a separate electorate, Pakistan. Meanwhile, crucial political events took place in England. Chamberlain was succeeded by Churchill as prime minister. This meant that the Marquis of Zetland who had piloted the 1935 Act, much to Churchill's chagrin, resigned as Secretary of State for India. In order to pacify the Indians in the circumstance of the worsening war situation, the Conservatives were forced to concede some of the demands made by the Indians. On 8 August, the Viceroy issued a statement that has come to be referred to as the "
August Offer". However, Congress rejected the offer followed by the Muslim League. In the context of the widespread dissatisfaction that prevailed over the rejection of the demands made by the Congress, at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Wardha, Gandhi revealed his plan to launch individual civil disobedience. Once again, the weapon of
satyagraha found popular acceptance as the best means to wage a crusade against the British. It was widely used as a mark of protest against the unwavering stance assumed by the British.
Vinoba Bhave, a follower of Gandhi, was selected by him to initiate the movement. Anti-war speeches ricocheted in all corners of the country, with the satyagrahis earnestly appealing to the people of the nation not to support the government in its war endeavours. The consequence of this satyagrahi campaign was the arrest of almost fourteen thousand satyagrahis. On 3 December 1941, the Viceroy ordered the acquittal of all the satyagrahis. In Europe the war situation became more critical with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Congress realised the necessity for appraising their program. Subsequently, the movement was withdrawn. Cripps' mission of March 1942 and its failure also played an important role in Gandhi's call for The Quit India Movement. In order to end the deadlock on 22 March 1942, the British government sent Sir Stafford Cripps to talk terms with the Indian political parties and secure their support in Britain's war efforts. A draft declaration of the British Government was presented, which included terms like the establishment of Dominion, the establishment of a Constituent Assembly, and right of the provinces to make separate constitutions. However, these were to be only implemented after the cessation of the World War II. According to Congress, this declaration offered India an only promise that was to be fulfilled in the future. Commenting on this Gandhi said, "It is a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank." Other factors that contributed were the threat of Japanese invasion of India and the realisation of the national leaders of the incapacity of the British to defend India. ==Resolution for immediate independence==