August Kranti Day: Date, history, and significance of Quit India Movement

Roshan Seth as Pandit Nehru in Shyam Benegal's televised epic historical drama series on Doordarshan, 'Bharat Ek Khoj' (1988), based on Nehru's book 'Discovery of India', written during his imprisonment at Ahmednagar fort for participating in the Quit India Movement (1942–46).

August Kranti Day marks the anniversary of the Quit India Movement which was kicked off by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers in the Indian National Congress as a nonviolent action against British rule. It is observed on August 8 and this year marks the 82nd anniversary of the movement.

History 

The Quit India Movement took place against the backdrop of World War II and although it started off as a nonviolent action, attempts by the British authorities to prevent the protests by arresting the Congress leaders backfired and triggered an escalation of violence. It resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 Indians, as well as the arrests of about 60,000 by the end of 1943. By March 1943 the Quit India Movement was definitively over.

Significance

While the Quit India Movement failed to achieve its aim of gaining India’s immediate independence from British rule, it was not a complete failure. It demonstrated the willingness of Indians to do what was required to gain independence. It also proved to the British government the necessity to decolonise after World War II.

The Quit India Movement ignited the desire for complete freedom among Indians. Furthermore, Britain’s changing power equation in world politics post World War II and the increased cost of managing India eventually led to the complete freedom of India on August 15, 1947.

Another key outcome of the Quit India Movement was the strengthening of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslim League, and their efforts to create a Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan on the Indian subcontinent as India gained its independence, Britannica stated.

It added that by cooperating with the British during wartime and by not participating in the Quit India Movement, Jinnah earned additional goodwill and support from them for the creation of a separate Muslim state. Accordingly, some historians believe that the 1947 partition of India was, in part, a consequence of the Quit India Movement.