winston churchill was british pm during the quit india movement.
who was british pm during the quit india movement?
winston churchill
even though it was wartime, the british were prepared to act. almost the entire leadership of the indian national congress was imprisoned without trial within hours of gandhi's speech. most spent the rest of the war in prison and out of contact with the masses. the british had the support of the viceroy's council (which had a majority of indians), of the all india muslim league, the princely states, the indian imperial police, the british indian army and the indian civil service. many indian businessmen profiting from heavy wartime spending did not support the quit india movement. many students paid more attention to subhas chandra bose, who was in exile and supporting the axis powers. the only outside support came from the americans, as president franklin d. roosevelt pressured prime minister winston churchill to give in to some of the indian demands. the quit india campaign was effectively crushed. the british refused to grant immediate independence, saying it could happen only after the war had ended.
quit india movement
following the hindu mahasabha's official decision to boycott the quit india movement,syama prasad mukherjee, leader of the hindu mahasabha in bengal, (which was a part of the ruling coalition in bengal led by krishak praja party of fazlul haq), wrote a letter to the british government as to how they should respond, if the congress gave a call to the british rulers to quit india. in this letter, dated 26 july 1942 he wrote: “let me now refer to the situation that may be created in the province as a result of any widespread movement launched by the congress. anybody, who during the war, plans to stir up mass feeling, resulting internal disturbances or insecurity, must be resisted by any government that may function for the time being”. in this way he managed to gain insights of the british government and effectively give information of the independence leaders. mukherjee reiterated that the fazlul haq led bengal government, along with its alliance partner hindu mahasabha, would make every possible effort to defeat the quit india movement in the province of bengal and made a concrete proposal as regards this: “the question is how to combat this movement (quit india) in bengal? the administration of the province should be carried on in such a manner that in spite of the best efforts of the congress, this movement will fail to take root in the province. it should be possible for us, especially responsible ministers, to be able to tell the public that the freedom for which the congress has started the movement, already belongs to the representatives of the people. in some spheres it might be limited during the emergency. indian have to trust the british, not for the sake for britain, not for any advantage that the british might gain, but for the maintenance of the defense and freedom of the province itself. you, as governor, will function as the constitutional head of the province and will be guided entirely on the advice of your minister. even the indian historian r.c. majumdar noted this fact and states: "shyam prasad ended the letter with a discussion of the mass movement organised by the congress. he expressed the apprehension that the movement would create internal disorder and will endanger internal security during the war by exciting popular feeling and he opined that any government in power has to suppress it, but that according to him could not be done only by persecution... in that letter he mentioned item wise the steps to be taken for dealing with the situation ... "
quit india movement