Quit India Movement

A mass campaign launched by the Indian National Congress in August 1942 demanding an immediate end to British rule. British authorities arrested its leaders, but protests and sabotage continued across India.

Gowalia Tank Maidan: A Mumbai public ground, now called August Kranti Maidan, where the Congress adopted the Quit India resolution on 8 August 1942. Gandhi issued the campaign’s call to action here on the eve of his arrest.
World War II: A global war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis powers and the Allies. Britain’s wartime demands on India intensified disputes over consent and political authority.
Mahatma Gandhi: An Indian nationalist leader who advocated mass nonviolent resistance and led major campaigns against British rule. He proposed the Quit India campaign and gave it the “Do or Die” exhortation.
Quit India arrests: The British government’s mass detention of Congress leaders and activists following the movement’s launch in August 1942. Removing national leaders forced protests to continue through local and underground networks.
Do or Die: The English rendering of Gandhi’s Hindi exhortation, “Karo ya Maro,” urging Indians to secure freedom or die trying. The slogan condensed the urgency of Quit India into a call for resolute action.
Indian National Congress: A political organization founded in 1885 that became a leading force in India’s independence movement. Congress adopted the Quit India resolution and organized the demand for British withdrawal.
Jawaharlal Nehru: An Indian nationalist leader who became the first prime minister of independent India. As a senior Congress leader, he was arrested with the organization’s other top figures in August 1942.
Indian National Army: An armed force formed from Indian prisoners of war and expatriates to fight British rule during World War II. Its wartime challenge, alongside Quit India, increased pressure on British authority in India.
Civil disobedience: The deliberate breach of laws or official commands to challenge government authority without using violence. Quit India drew on mass noncooperation, though its decentralized protests also included violent acts.
August Offer: A British proposal made in 1940 promising India a role in framing its future constitution after the war. Congress rejected it as inadequate, leaving the constitutional conflict unresolved.

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