Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The one call that pushed India towards its ultimate freedom call was the rebel cry of the Congress between early August 1942 and September 1944. The resolution taken by Gandhi at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay was by far the strongest and most vociferous appeal made by the Congress, asking the British to leave India once and for all. Gandhi's call of "do or die" infused the masses with a life of its own.
Express web desk, August 9, 2017 [edited]
(i) Identify the above movement. Mention any two causes which led to the movement.
(ii) Mention any three impacts of the above movement.
(iii) Why did Gandhi launch the Dandi March? From where did he begin the march? Mention any two impacts of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
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(i) The movement identified in the passage is the Quit India Movement.
Two causes which led to the movement were:
- Failure of the Cripps Mission — The Cripps' Mission did not promise independence in the near future and did not propose any immediate transfer of power. Gandhiji described the proposals as a 'post-dated cheque on a failing bank'. Its failure left no further meeting ground between the British Government and the Congress.
- Japanese Threat — The Japanese Army had attacked Burma and was marching towards Assam. Gandhiji observed that the presence of the British in India was an invitation to Japan to invade India and that their withdrawal would remove the bait.
(ii) Three impacts of the Quit India Movement were:
- Though the movement was short-lived, its importance lay in the fact that it demonstrated the depth that nationalist feeling had reached in the country and the great capacity for struggle and sacrifice that the people had developed.
- It became evident that the British would no longer find it possible to rule India against the wishes of the people.
- It developed into a widespread mass uprising. People from different parts of India and from various communities participated in processions and demonstrations, and people in the Princely States also joined the movement.
(iii) Gandhiji launched the Dandi March to violate the Salt Law. The government had a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, and Gandhiji chose the Salt Law because the salt tax affected all sections of society, especially the poor.
He began the march from the Sabarmati Ashram, from where he marched to Dandi, a village on the Gujarat sea coast.
Two impacts of the Civil Disobedience Movement were:
- It widened the base of the freedom struggle. A large number of social groups like merchants and shopkeepers, peasants, tribals and workers in different parts of the country were mobilised for the Indian national movement.
- It brought women out of their homes to participate in politics and to make them equal partners in the freedom struggle.