National Movement In India–partition And Independence: 1939-1947

India was under British rule during World War II. The British government sent Indian troops to fight in West Asia and northern Africa against the Axis Powers. India also produced essential goods such as food and uniforms. 2.5 million Volunteer force was provided by India.

Japan supported Germany in World War 2 because of some reasons like:

• Both the countries had the same dictatorial goals for their governments.

• Japan wasn't a Nazi country. But Emperor Hirohito of Japan had the same hatred for the Allied Countries which Hitler had.

It was not morally correct to support Germany or Japan in the wars because of their anti-humanitarian practices. The German practices which were against humanity were:

1) Jews were excluded from German society, bullied and persecuted.

2) terror campaigns were conducted

3) Germans Physically attacked the Jewish population.

4) Jews were squeezed out of the economy.

The Japanese practices which were against humanity were:

1) Emperor Hirohito of Japan took his own decision to start WWII in quest of for more resource and declare more land for Japan.

2) Japan’s “Nationalism” was equal to “Nazi” goals, together with autocrats ruling the countries.

Therefore, it is not excusable to support Japan and Germany in World War II.

The agreement to divide colonial India into two separate states was taken before independence

• one with a Muslim majority (Pakistan) and

• the other with a Hindu majority (India)

This partition is commonly seen as the outcome of the conflict between the nations' elites.

The Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj and

The partition was set forth.

These are the various reasons for the Partition of the country:-

1) Communal violence in Bengal (January 1947)

2) Communal violence in Punjab in (March 1947)

3) Provincial elections in 1937

4) The frequent violence which broke out in August 1946

5) The continuous fail in compromise attempts.

6) The divide and rule policy of the British resulted in supporting Muslims

7) Muslim league opined that Congress was a Hindu party and demanded partition.

8) The Muslim league asked for a separate electorate

Thus the separation of Hindus and Muslims through India-Pakistan partition was the only solution to bring harmony.

There were aims for the British to implement ‘divide and rule’ policy in India. They were:

1) means of undermining the Indian states’ influence on each other

2) means of Consolidating their authority.

By 1858, when British Empirical rule was established firmly in India,

The British rulers started playing Indians against one another in many ways:

a) Princes against people

b) Hindu against Muslims

c) Caste against castes

d) Provinces against provinces.

The drastic effect of divide and rule policy was a partition of India at the gain of independence. The policy resulted in:

1) Destruction of Friendships

2) Stressful minds and hearts

3) Ruined families

4) Hacking of geographical land

5) Continuous social tension between Hindu- Muslim community

6) Misreading of history

7) Denial of tradition

The condition was similar in Nigeria too. This strategy of creating tension between was made by British in Nigeria. The British made splits in various ethnic groups in Nigeria In the south, the British introduced Christianity, primarily to the Igbo population.

Both Hindu and Muslim religion were used in the politics before partition

Hindu religion

1) Strong Hindu organizations were formed.

2) Hindu Maha Sabha was formed in 1922

3) RSS was formed in 1925

4) These organizations made initiatives to spread Hinduism in India

5) They tried to influence Congress party to take actions against the Muslims in India.

6) The organizational activities of Hindu made tensions among Muslims

Muslim religion

1) Muslim League was formed in 1906

2) The aim of this organization was the safeguard of Muslims

3) The league demanded autonomy in the Muslim majority areas in India. (1940, March 23)

4) The Muslim masses were convinced about the benefits of partition by the Muslim League (1940-1946)

In these ways, religion was misused, and it resulted in the great sore of India- the partition.

It was under the leadership of Gandhi that Indian National Movement became a mass movement. He molded the millions, and he largely succeeded in doing so. His contribution has two main relevances:

a) He changed the peasants and workers from a depressed, fearful and desperate, mass, who were bullied and crushed by every dominant interest into a people with self-respect and self-reliance.

b) He transformed the incapable people to people who were capable of united action and sacrifice for a larger cause.

The peasants were organized by the Communist Party of India and its affiliated trade union –All India Trade Union Congress in the last years of the freedom struggle.

The important revolts of the workers and peasants were:

1) Royal Indian Navy revolt (also called the Royal Indian Navy mutiny or Bombay mutiny) on 18 February 1946. It was a hunger strike to protest against bad food and behavior of the British officers.

2) Tebhaga movement in 1946. It was in Bengal and considered important because of the massive participation of women workers. It was led by Kisan Sabha.

3) The Telangana Rebellion or "Telangana Bonded Labour Movement" or "Telangana Peasants Armed Struggle" was a peasant rebellion against the feudal lords of the Telangana region in Hyderabad and the princely state of Hyderabad, between 1946 and 1951.

4) Punnapra-Vayalar revolt in 1946 was initiated by the farmers in Travancore region in Kerala.

Thus there was a massive uprising from the part of the working class all over India in the last phase of the freedom struggle.

These are the effects of partition in India:

1) The partition displaced over 14 million people

2) Numerous refugee camps

3) Large-scale violence

4) 1.26 million Muslims were missing

5) 50,000 women abducted in riots

6) The death toll was from 200000 to 2 million.

These are the political response to mass migration following partition:

1) Gandhiji stood with the victims of partition and helped them in camps and hospitals

2) The Congress party passed the resolution on “ the rights of minorities”

3) The Hindu organizations were satisfied with the decision of partition

4) In 1947 the league became Pakistan’s dominant political party. In that year it was renamed the All Pakistan Muslim League.

At the time of independence India was totally disunified and was scattered as princely states. Therefore the formation of the Indian nation was a challenging task.

The conditions in India at the time of independence were:

1) 554 princely states, having different types of revenue sharing arrangements with the British

2) several colonial enclaves controlled by France and Portugal

3) the princely states with complete internal self-government

4) the existence of divine rights of kings

5) issues in border-states

The challenging task to form new Indian nation included:

1) the complete political integration

2) merging smaller states to the administrative system

3) full and exclusive jurisdiction

4) democratization, constitutionalization, and centralization of all the states

5) Reorganization of all sectors of life.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897. He led a vibrant life till his death (18 August 1945). He was an Indian nationalist whose rebellious patriotism made him a hero in India. But his attempt during World War II to rid India of British rule with the help of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left an undecided legacy.

He had the following qualities which are perfect for a social worker.

1) leadership quality

Netaji means "Respected Leader). the name granted to him in the early 1940s by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It was later used throughout India because of his heroic efforts in the Indian freedom struggle.

2) Bravery

1) Bose had been a leader of the youth, radical, wing of the Indian National Congress in the late 1920s and 1930s,

²⁾ He became Congress President in 1938 and 1939.

3) Mahatma Gandhi called him the 'patriot of patriots'

4) He inspired thousands of young men and women.

3) Diplomacy

1) Bose realized that the British would have to be hard-pressed to leave India, he determined that his enemy’s enemy was his friend.

2) He visited Germany and Japan to get their support.

3) This doesn’t necessarily mean that he ignored the Nazi ideology. He was willing to use whatever aid he could get in order to bring freedom to India.

4) Selfless contribution

1) He died young, in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945 and was idealistic and uncorrupted.

2) He remains as a man of action and thought

3) He devoted himself for the freedom of India

5) Practical knowledge about the freedom movement
1) He formed Indian National Army (INA) which fought against British.

2) He was the first leader in the world to give weapons to women to fight for the country.

3) He traveled to countries and convinced them for World War II to join his army. This destabilized the British power in India as they didn't have enough army to rule after that.

4) It was Netaji whom the British feared most.

5 ) He also met with Hitler in Germany and the Japanese to get support for INA to fight British.

These qualities of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose are incomparable, and he remains the icon for youth even today.