Independence & Partition (1940–1947)
Overview
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1940-1947 Overview | Final decade saw breakdown of British rule during WWII. Trajectory moved from seeking reforms to demanding immediate withdrawal (Quit India 1942), culminating in Cabinet Mission, Partition, and Integration of Princely States. |
1. WWII & Early Resistance (1940–1942)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| August Offer (1940) | Lord Linlithgow. Offered Dominion Status, Constituent Assembly, and Advisory War Council. Rejected by Congress and League. |
| Individual Satyagraha (1940) | Launched by Gandhi to assert free speech against war involvement. 1st: Vinoba Bhave; 2nd: J.L. Nehru. |
| Cripps Mission (1942) | Stafford Cripps. Offered Dominion Status post-war and "right to secede" for provinces. Gandhi called it a "post-dated cheque". |
2. Quit India Movement (1942)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Launch & Operation Zero Hour | Launched 8 Aug 1942 at Gowalia Tank, Bombay. Slogan: "Do or Die". Immediate arrest of top leaders under Operation Zero Hour. |
| Underground Resistance | Aruna Asaf Ali (hoisted flag), Ram Manohar Lohia, Usha Mehta (underground radio). CPI did not support movement as USSR joined Allied side. |
| Parallel Governments | Chittu Pandey in Ballia; Satara (Prati Sarkar, longest); Tamluk (Jatiya Sarkar in Bengal). |
3. Missions & Plans (1944–1946)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| C.R. Formula & Wavell Plan | C.R. Formula (1944): Rajagopalachari proposal for INC-League post-war plebiscite. Wavell Plan (1945): Equal Hindu-Muslim representation in Viceroy's Council; failed at Simla Conference. |
| Cabinet Mission (1946) | Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps, Alexander. Rejected Pakistan; proposed three-tier federation with Grouping (A, B, C). Initially accepted, later rejected by League. |
4. Partition & Integration of Princely States (1947–1961)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mountbatten Plan & Radcliffe Line | Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947): Accepted Partition, fixing 15 Aug 1947. Radcliffe Line demarcated Punjab and Bengal borders. Indian Independence Act 1947 created India and Pakistan. |
| Integration of States (Patel & Menon) | Sardar Patel & V.P. Menon integrated 565 states. Junagadh (Plebiscite); Hyderabad (Operation Polo 1948); Kashmir (Instrument of Accession by Hari Singh); Goa (Operation Vijay 1961). |
🩸 Direct Action Day (1946)
- Direct Action Day (16 Aug 1946): Called by the Muslim League under Jinnah to press the demand for Pakistan after the League rejected the Cabinet Mission's grouping scheme. It triggered the Great Calcutta Killings, large-scale communal violence that spread to Bihar and Noakhali, and hardened the case for Partition.
- Attlee's Declaration (20 Feb 1947): British PM Clement Attlee announced Britain would transfer power by June 1948 at the latest; Mountbatten subsequently advanced this deadline to 15 August 1947.
UPSC High-Yield Recall & Exam Traps
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cripps Mission Opt-Out Provision | Provinces given explicit right to opt out of new constitution (seed of partition). |
| CPI Stance on Quit India | Communist Party of India did not support Quit India because USSR joined Allies against Hitler. |
| Cabinet Mission Proposal | Rejected two separate states; proposed single Indian Union with Grouping of provinces. |
| First Two Individual Satyagrahis | 1st: Vinoba Bhave; 2nd: Jawaharlal Nehru. |