The Quit India Movement of 1942 is also known as the:

The Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan) is also known as the "August Kranti" (August Revolution), because it was launched in August 1942.

Background:

• The failure of the Cripps Mission in April 1942 disappointed Indians.
• The Japanese advance in South-East Asia and Burma created fear that India might be invaded.
• Rising prices and shortages during the war caused discontent.
• Gandhi felt that the British presence in India was an invitation to Japan to invade, and that the British should leave India immediately.

The Quit India resolution:

• The Congress Working Committee met at Wardha (July 1942) and accepted the idea of a struggle.
• The All-India Congress Committee passed the Quit India resolution in Bombay on 8 August 1942.
• The leaders were arrested early the next morning, and the people took up the movement on their own.

Why "August Kranti":

• The movement started in August 1942, and it was a mass uprising, which the British described as the most serious rebellion since 1857.
• The ground in Bombay where the resolution was passed, the Gowalia Tank Maidan, is now called the "August Kranti Maidan".
• 9 August is observed as "August Kranti Divas" (Quit India Day).

Features of the movement:

• Strikes, demonstrations, and attacks on symbols of British authority, such as police stations, post offices and railway lines.
• Parallel governments were set up in Ballia, Tamluk and Satara.
• Underground activities were led by socialist leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.
• Usha Mehta ran an underground radio station (Congress Radio).

Suppression:

• The government suppressed the movement with great force; about 1,00,000 people were arrested, and many were killed in police firing.
• By 1943, the movement had been largely crushed.

Significance:

• The movement showed the depth of anti-British feeling among the Indian people.
• It convinced the British that they could not rule India for long.

Why not the other options?

• ✗There was no "Bharat Chhodo Andolan" in 1930.
• ✗"Sepoy Mutiny" refers to the Revolt of 1857.
• ✗"Swadeshi Andolan" refers to the movement of 1905.