India- Unit 2.4 Flashcards
L1=Impact of the Second World War on Politics:
What events took place?
- 1942:
- The Cripps Mission
- The Quit India Campaign
1943:
- Wavell becomes viceroy
- The Bengal Famine (1943-44)
1945:
-The Simla Conference
What was the impact of the SWW on India?
- Japanese invasions (working with Nazi Germany)
- British keen to secure a settlement with Indian people to maintain their full support in war effort
- viceroy Linlithgow confessed that if there was a land-borne invasion, India would be unable to do anything apart from scorched earth policy
- axis forces (aided by Bose) closer to invading subcontinent. By 1942, they were already attacking Indian ports, ships and aircraft
Where can find summaries of these events?
1) Booklet
2) Cavell summary (not yet uploaded)
3) Recap PowerPoints in GoodNotes
👀
Who was Cripps and how did he come to be appointed?
- Labour Party minister
- optimistic
- friend of Nehru and Gandhi and sympathetic to Indian aspirations
- Winston Churchill (prime minister) appointed him to lead a delegation to India to secure full Indian co-operation and support for war effort (bowed under-pressure for some sort of self-determination)
- interesting that it is a conservative prime minister appointing a labour figure (perhaps suggesting were not serious about making changes otherwise would have sent someone in own party).
What did Cripps offer on behalf of the British government?
- Mission held in New Delhi (23rd March) 1942
- dominion status similar to other dominions of empire
- allegiance to crown 👑 but not subordinate in domestic or external affairs 🌍
What were the successes and failures of the Cripps’ Mission?
✅all Indian parties could join an interim government of national unity under viceroy and council- operate until end of the war
❌Dominion status- never change position and British ultimately keep control
How did congress and the Muslim league differ in their responses to Cripp’s proposals?
- Gandhi- curios, rejected first part of the bargain-not willing to accept situation where states were allowed to opt out of a United India
- ML- ready to accept Cripps bargain- said separate state would not be a problem but rejected too had to remain part of constitutional making process
- Churchill and Linlithgow- did not affect congress demands- had to remain in control- showed would cling onto India at all costs and would end be accept as equal partners
Ended without any conclusions, Cripps went home empty handed 😟
Quit India Campaign-How did the British respond to failure of the Cripps Mission?
- both sides hardened their approaches to constitutional change
- Linlithgow stepped up press censorship and intercepts by special Branch of congress communications and planned to arrest all the congress leaders and deport them to Uganda, Gandhi being sent to Aden (fell through, governor of Aden objected to presence of Gandhi in Aden), arrest warrants would expire (lapse)
- Indicative of the level of panic felt in Whitehall
What differences in opinion did congress have? How was the campaign set up?
- Gandhi= pressuring congress to support a new Satyagraha, argued since Japan’s aggression was aimed at Britain- if India would go free they could make peace with Japan. Wanted idyllic rural lifestyle cut off from world, believed Indians should be left to God if not anarchy
- Nehru= disagreed with a Gandhi- refused to support fascism
- to commit a Satyagraha at a critical time for Britain- struggle with Nazi Germany and Axis Powers-some thought seemed like treachery and would set Raj against Congress making any reconciliation after the war difficult
- to remain quiescent (inert/ passive) would give an upper hand to Jinnah or Bose
- so decided to launch campaign
- ‘Quit India’ became public outcry in U.K and troops trying to defend frontiers against Japan
- knowing Raj would enforce repression, congress leaders before imprisonment called on their supporters to make India ungovernable
What were the successes and failures of the Quit India Campaign for Congress?
✅Gandhi anticipated Raj’s response- made demonstrators become own leaders-intuitive and forward thinking
❌Aims not met, death and went directly against Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence- people used pass to release frustration
❌9th August, Gandhi, Nehru and most of congress leaders were arrested and interned. Next 2 weeks, thousands of local activists were rounded up and imprisoned
❌offices were raided, files taken and funds frozen
❌Became out of control with no leaders, lost focus
❌Raj had time to prepare contingency plans due to congress’ indecision over the campaign
❌Riots, killings and murders of Europeans
❌damage and destruction of government property eg: revenue offices, police stations, signal boxes, telephone and telegraph lines pulled down (especially bad in a time of war)
❌Over a thousand deaths and over 3000 serious injuries directly attributed to the campaign
❌Failed to paralyse government (even in militant Hindu areas eg: Bihar)
❌Military remained loyal to the Raj in regiments only 216 soldiers gone absent without leave
❌Had not attracted support throughout India in terms of geography, religion, caste
❌Non-cooperation brought detention, despair and death
What actions did Wavell take when he became Viceroy of India?
- October 1943
- reinstated regular meetings of the 11 governors of the provinces of British India (Linlithgow never did them)
- enabled the Government of India to present with the British government with coherent advice and a unified point of view (more difficult for the British government to dismiss the views of provincial governors out of hand)
- disaster in Bengal tested Wavell’s leadership of the Raj
Why was Wavell chosen? Why did Churchill choose him?
- successful in Middle East 1940
- Churchill choice-chose a military man and one he thought could control from Whitehall (not the case)
- lack of understanding with political and negotiating skills
- wring person in wrong place at wring time
- unfamiliar ground of India
How did Wavell help the Indian cause?
-started time in office by touring the subcontinent, travelled as far as 1,500km a week, focused on troubled areas eg: Punjab, Bengal and United Province- tried to allay fears, settle dispute and boost morale- involved, proactive and interested
What happened during the Bengal Famine?
-causes by multiple factors such as poor harvests,distribution failures, loss of imports, wartime price inflation, severe weather conditions
- crop yield in 1943 was the worst that century
- recorded annual death rate rose above the average of 1.2 million to 1.9 million
- dying from disease- smallpox, malaria, cholera and pneumonia- malnutrition
- crowded into Calcutta in hope to find relief- begging and dying in the streets
- made worse- rich hoarded fearing an invasion from a Japan
- famine became a recruiting agent for the INA
- by 1943 the price of rice had risen tenfold
- Roosevelt (US President) also refused when asked to lend American ships to bring in wheat from a Australia also afraid of damaging own war effort
- estimated 1-3 million people died in the 3 years of the Bengal Famine
- whole villages were wiped out
How did the British government respond to the famine?
- wavell tried to co-ordinate rationing to try and stop profiteering, diverging troops from the war effort
- Wavell was in a battle with Whitehall trying to get more grain for India
- Churchill focuses on war effort and his advisor Lord Cherwell (paymaster general) told him the BF was a statistical invention
- Wavell’s request for a guaranteed million tons of grain throughout 194f was met with an offer of 250,000 tons and a request for more Indian rice
- June 1944- wavell had extracted 450,000 tons of grain from a reluctant government
How did congress and the Muslim league respond to the famine?
Jinnah= accused British government of incompetence and irresponsibility, pointed out wouldn’t stand did it if it happened in London- dying on streets of Calcutta
- congress= blamed the crises on the diversion of foodstuffs to British troops
- both ML + C made political capital out of the crisis
The Simla Conference:
-why were Britain now prepared to agree on settlement?
1) Britain was millions of pounds in debt to India for goods and services borrowed to help win the war
2) Terrorist activity and unrest in India- convinced Wavell and Secretary of State Amery another constitutional settlement had to be made
What major change did Wavell propose?
- proposal loosely modelled on that of Sir Stafford Cripps, difference- composition of Executive Council- similar to cabinet, Raj- ICS= highest leader of province- starting to expand
- radical action
Why was the conference adjourned?
- conference reached a deadlock on the issue of how Muslim members of the newly reconstituted Executive Council would be chosen
- adjourned 14th July- unable to break the deadlock between Congress and the Muslim League
- offer reversed- anti-climax
Summary of SIMLA CONFERENCE (2ND):
- 1945 (spring)
- travelled to London for meeting with British coalition
- wavell government and British cabinet was ready at a fresh attempt at an Indian settlement
- wavell returned to Delhi with a new scheme= executive council
- chosen did balanced representation of the main communities, equal proportions of Muslims and Hindus
- all members would be Indian (exception of viceroy and commander in chief-essential as long as defence of India remained a British responsibility)
- congress was unlikely to be happy= Muslims would inflate the importance of the Muslim constituency in India
- conference of Indian political leaders travelled to Simla eg: Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru, Azad, Muslim President of congress (sneered by Jinnah-nothing but a token Muslim)
- deadlock on how executive council would be chosen
- Jinnah= all be nominated by the Muslim league
- congress= not except (⬆️) restriction, inclusive party
- Muslims should represent congress as well as Muslim league
Similarities and differences between the First World War and Second World War:
🌜Similarities:
- huge military and economic contributions + on Homefront
- repression:
- Rowlatt and Amritsar
- Quit India= Linlithgow arresting congress leaders + wanting deportation to Uganda
- both acted as a catalyst for independence groups to take action
- British government attempted to agree on settlements eg: Montagu Declaration and Cripps/ Simla (but abandon/ no timescales etc)
- British introduced censorship eg: Rowlatt and response to Cripps
- decisions in India were controversial in Britain eg: Governmental of India Act 1919 and Bengal Famine
- viceroy committed to reform eg: Chelmsford and Wavell
- poor British response to a key event leads to frustrations eg: Amritsar and Bengal Famine
🌛Differences:
-more legislation made after first- Britain in control and made decisions without inclusion of India. In SWW tried to include them but unlike 1st decisions not made- internal division in India= Simla conference
-Indian leaders more outspoken and action- Quit India Campaign
- In SWW, the Indians themselves opponents/ hinderance not present after FWW
- after the SWW, the British are more willing to compromise
Impact of SWW: (RECAP):
🍂During the SWW, there was a threat of invasion
- axis forced (aided by Bose) were getting closer invaded the Indian subcontinent. By 1942, there were already attacking Indian ports, ships and aircraft
- viceroy Linlithgow confessed that if there was a land borne invasion, India would be unable to do anything apart from a scorched earth policy
- the British were therefore keen to secure a settlement with the Indian people to maintain their full support in the war effort
Article notes- “Has India’s contribution to the Second World War been ignored?”
- still used to provide for allies eg: cotton, explosives…
- more than 2 million Indian soldiers participated
- 89,000 died in military service
- 2.3 million soldiers manned Indian army
- 3 million Bengalis killed by famine
- more than half a million South Asian refugees fled Myanmar
- 14th Army= multinational force of British, Indian and African units
- 30 Indians won Victorian crosses in 1940s
- all volunteers, not conscripted
- non-combatants- cooks, mechanics, tailors…
- saw as a job- earning money to eat not seen as heroism
- dangerous low skilled jobs eg: some died in industrial accidents- eg: explosion in Bombay Harbour in 1944, 80,000 made homeless
- some elite south Asians made profit from war and transformed their fortunes
- most Anglo-Indians
- partition of 1947- carving up of country
- women mined for coal in Bihar and Central India
- recaptured Burma for Allies
- Helpful in fight
- loaded cargo and died from disease
Impact of the war on Congress, Muslim league, Forward Bloc (reactions):
1)CONGRESS:
- felt sympathetic to Britain and their right against fascism. Urged the British government to negotiate with Hitler, using peaceful means
- ordered all members to resign from provincial ministries (this was not a sensible idea- actually meant that provinces returned to direct British government)
- denounced the idea of partition as a mad scheme. Toured India trying to strengthen their own position
- Withdrew their ministers from provinces where it had the majority in order to show their dislike for India in the war. This also showed their determination to free India from foreign domination
- shocked and horrified- the Government of India Act was supposed to be some sort of power- sharing and now the British were enforcing decisions
- not prepared to commit themselves openly to a government that had not consulted them prior to the declaration of war, not were they prepared to fight unless they were granted immediate Swaraj
2)MUSLIM LEAGUE:
- saw the political upheaval as an opportunity; called for celebrations and prayers of thanksgiving
- discussions begun over the creation of a separate state- Pakistan. Favoured partition
- in May 1940, accepted an invitation from Lord Linlithgow to discuss issues relating to war. Agreed that the government would not adopt any new constitution without the prior approval of this group
- worked with the Raj and the British government to support the war effort so to strengthen their own position in India
- saw the loss of congress ministries as an opportunity. Initially expressed a desire to work with Nehru
- called a meeting in Lahore in 1940. Discussed 2 main principles for any new constitution:
1) Minorities had to be protected
2) Separate independent states should be formed for Muslims in those areas of the country where they had the majority
3)FORWARD BLOC:
- a terrorist organisation aimed at getting the British to quit India. Published their first newspaper in the month that war was declared
- urged military action against the British. This resulted in an arrest of the leader for treason but he escaped and went into exile.
- tried to convince Stalin to support the Indian Independence struggle. This failed so they went to Germany instead. The Nazis encouraged the publication of anti-British propaganda urging Indians to rise up against British tyranny
- in Japan, formed the Indian National Army (INA) from Indian prisoners of war. Planned a full-scale land invasion of India. In 1944 6000 soldiers of the INA invaded India- 600 of these deserted to the British, 400 were killed, 1,500 died from desentry and malaria. The rest surrendered.
CONCLUSIONS:
-Campaign for Independence in 1930-42:
- congress was showing that it still had control over Indians
- congress campaigning to end Raj
- Muslim league was greatly strengthening
- the Raj had shown they could still hold India by force and that they still had some popularity
RESOURCES TO LOOK OVER 👀!!
1) Article- “How Churchill ‘starved’ India”
2) Factfile- Wavell
Give some key statistics (from article) of how Churchill ‘starved’ India:
- exported more than 70,000 tonnes of rice between January and July 1943 for consumption in Britain which would have kept 40,000 Indian people alive for a full year
- In the Autumn of 1943- UK’s food and raw material stockpile for its 47 million people (14 million fewer than that of Bengal) swelled 18.5 million tonnes
How did the events in Britain and America influence the situation in India in 1930s/40s?
1)Britain:
- Depression
- Abdication crisis
- Jarrow and Hunger marches
- Second World War and re-armament
- welfare state-Beveridge report and NHS
- Ireland becoming Independent
- Empires in general collapsing- Palestinian partition and dominions
- National government
- competition from other countries
- currency and gold standard
- loans to USA
- labour government
2)America:
- The Great Depression
- Second World War and rearmament
- Roosevelt and New Deal
- Threat of communism
- Anti-Empire
- Pearl Habour-Japan
- seen as the peacemakers
