1. http://prezi.com/vv3mc72o_mqo/copy-of-britain-and-the-nationalist-challenge-in-india-1900-47/
NationalismandIndependence inIndia, c.1900-47
The Morley-MintoReforms1909
The reformswere broughtaboutby the Secretaryof State for India,JohnMorley,andthe Viceroy
Lord Minto.Theywere intendedtogive greaterrepresentationtoIndianinterests
•The Morley-MintoReformswerethe popularname forthe IndianCouncilsActof 1909
Why were the reformsintroduced?
•In 1905 there had beenanoutbreakof violence inIndiaafterthe province of Bengal hadbeen
dividedintotwobythe ViceroyLordCurzonThere wasa massive petitionandboycottsof British
goods
•In 1906 CongressdemandedHome Rule forthe firsttime

2. •JohnMorleywas a memberof the Liberal governmentsfrom1906 to 1914. The Liberalswere ready
to make changesinIndiawhile the Conservativeshadnotbeen
•Lord Minto wantedtostamp out the extremismthathaderuptedafterthe divisionof Bengal and
had beenthe subjectof anassassinationattemptinearly1909.
How didthe Morley-Mintoreformschange the governmentof India?
•The numberof membersof the Imperial Legislative Council wasincreasedto60 and 27 were to be
elected.
•Indianswere allowedtositon the Imperial Legislative Council forthe firsttime.
•Direct electionsforseatsonprovincial legislativecouncilswere introduced.Some now hada
majorityof elected.members.Thisgave Indiansamuchgreatervoice inProvincial governments.
•Muslimorganisationscampaignedforspecial representationof Musliminterests,whichledto
separate representationforMuslimsandotherminority groups.
•There were six Muslimrepresentativesonthe ImperialLegislative Council,aswell asotherson
some provincial councils.Thiswasthe firsttime thatspecificrepresentationwasgivento
‘communal’orreligiousgroups.

3. Why were the Morley-Mintoreformscriticised?
•Theydid notgive Indiansreal influence inadministration.
•Theytendedtodivide HindusandMuslimsbytreatingthemasseparate communities.
•Theyestablishedthe principle of communalisminIndianpolitics.Thatisthe treatingof different
religiousgroupsasdifferentpolitical groups.
•VeryfewIndianscouldactuallyvote.
I.
In whatwayswas the situationinIndiachangedbythe FirstWorld War?
•There was widespreadsupportforBritainduringthe war.1,250,000 Indianvolunteersfoughtinthe
Britisharmy,inthe Middle Eastand on the WesternFront.The firstIndiandivisionarrivedinFrance
inOctober1914 and took uppositionatYpres.
•In 1915 Mohandas Gandhi arrivedbackin IndiafromSouthAfrica.He supportedthe war against
Germanyand believedthatitwouldleadtoHome Rule.ManyIndianssharedthisbelief.
•In 1915 the Defence of IndiaActsuspendedcivillibertiesforthe durationof the war.
•Duringthe war demandforIndiancottonand otherraw materialsrose rapidlybringingincreased
prosperity.

4. •In 1917 there were outbreaksof violence inthe Punjab,whichgrew worse in1918 and 1919. These
were inresponse tothe failure of the Britishgovernmenttomake anystatementsaboutHome Rule.
•At the endof the war 13,000,000 Indiansdiedinthe world-wide epidemicof SpanishInfluenza.
•In 1919 the demandforIndianraw materialsfell andprosperitydisappeared.
What happenedinIndiaafterthe FirstWorldWar?
•In April 1918 the Secretaryof State for India,E.S. Montagu, and the Viceroy,LordChelmsford
produceda reportsuggestingreformsof the Indiangovernment.
•The Montagu-ChelmsfordReformswere announcedinAugust1918 and were eventuallyputinto
practice by the Governmentof IndiaActinDecember1919.
•The Reformswere welcomedbymanyIndians,butalsoopposedbyotherswhowere expecting
complete home rule.
•But before the Actwas passed,muchof the goodworkpromisedbythe reformswasundermined
by events elsewhere.
•In an efforttoput downthe terroristoutbreaksinthe Punjab,the RowlattActswere passedin
March 1919.

5. The RowlattActs
•The Actsextendedthe Defence of IndiaActintopeacetime.
•Theyenabledthe governmentof Indiatoarrest and interntroublemakerswithouttrial andallowed
judgestotry offenderswithoutajury.
•This wasopposedbyall the Indianmembersof the Imperial LegislativeCouncil.
Why were the RowlattActsimportant?
•Theycame at a time,justafterthe end of the FirstWorld War, whenmanyIndianswere expecting
some formof self-government.
•Hopeshad beenraisedandthendashedbythe Montagu-ChelmsfordReforms,whichhadbeen
announcedinAugust1918.
•The RowlattActssuggestedthatthe BritishGovernmenthadnointentionof relaxingitsgripon
India.
•Whenthe Actswere passed,Bal Tilak,the leaderof the IndianNational Congress,wasinLondon.
ThisallowedMohandasGandhi toemerge asthe real leaderof Congress.Tilakdiedin1920, leaving
Gandhi unchallenged.
•Gandhi announceda hartal,a day of fastingandstoppage of work,andthis inturn ledto
widespreadprotestsandrioting,whichculminatedinthe AmritsarMassacre.

6. What causedthe AmritsarMassacre?
The AmritsarMassacre took place on13 April 1919. It followedaperiodof unrestinIndiabroughton
by the failure of the Britishtoofferanyrewardto Indiansfortheirsupportof Britainduringthe First
WorldWar.
•On March 18 the RowlattActs were passed,whichledGandhi toproclaimahartal,or day of fasting
and stoppage of work.
•Gandhi’spacifistidealswereignoredandinAmritsarfive Britonswere killedinariot.
•Brigadier-General Dyer,the Britishofficerincommandof the Punjab,bannedall public meetings,
but whena meetingwascalledfor13 April,he made noattemptto cancel it.Dyer apparently
decidedthatthe Indiansneededtobe taughta lesson.
The Massacre
•On 13 April DyerorderedhisGurkhatroops to fire onan unarmedcrowdinthe JallianwallahBagh,
an enclosedspace inthe holycityof Amritsar.
•The troopsfireduntil theirammunitionwasexhausted,killing379 people andwoundingmore than
1200, accordingto the Britishauthorities.Some historiansnow putthe deathtoll atmore than
2,000, however.
•In the aftermathof the massacre,500 studentsandteacherswere arrested;some were imprisoned
ina cage in the marketplace.

7. •A Britishwoman,Marcia Sherwood,wasassaultedbyyouthsandknockedoff her
bicycle.Dyerorderedall Indianswhopasseddownthe streetwhere she hadbeenattackedtocrawl
on all fours.
What effectsdidthe AmritsarMassacre have?
The main resultof the massacre was that manyIndianswhohadpreviouslybeenloyal tothe British
lostfaithinBritishjustice andjoinedthe campaignsforindependence.
•The violence ledGandhi calledoff hiscampaignof civil disobedience.
•Dyer wassummonedtoBritainandhis actionswere investigatedbythe HunterCommittee.
•Dyer’sexcuse thathe believedthathe hadstoppeda rebellionwasnotacceptedandhisbehaviour
was condemnedandhe wasaskedtoresign.
•But a debate inthe House of Lords ledtoa majorityof 121 -86 inhis favourandthe ‘MorningPost’
raised£23,000 for him,describinghimas The man whosavedIndia’.
•Dyer wasrewardedforhisactionsby beingpresentedwithajewelledswordengravedwiththe
words‘Saviourof the Punjab’.
•The actionsof Dyer were badenough,butthe failure of the Britishauthoritiestoact quicklyand
censure himconvincedmanyIndiansthatmisrepresentedthe truthaboutBritishpolicy.
The Governmentof IndiaAct,1919 – the Dyarchy

8. •The firstGovernmentof IndiaActwaspassedinDecember1919 and put intoeffectthe Montagu-
ChelmsfordReforms.These setupthe system, whichbecame knownasthe ‘Dyarchy’.
•An Executive Councilwassetupto advise the Viceroy.Itincludedthe Viceroyhimself andthe
commander-in-chief andsix othermembers,includingthree Indians.
•The Imperial Legislative Council wasrenamedthe Imperial LegislativeAssemblyandwasenlarged
to 146, with106 electedmembers.Thiswastobe the lowerhouse of parliament.
•A Council of State was setup,with61 members.Thiswasto review legislationpassedbythe
Assembly.
•The Britishmembersof the Council dealtwithareassuchasdefence,foreignrelationsandtaxation;
the Indianmembersdealtwitheducation,sanitationandagriculture.
•In the IndianprovincesanExecutive Councilappointedbythe Governorwould be responsibletoa
LegislativeCouncil electedbypopularvote.
•Provincial governmentswouldnowhave bothIndianandBritishministers.
But only2.8% on Indianscouldvote andafterthe RowlattActs andAmritsar,thiswas toolittle too
late.
The SimonCommission

9. •In 1927 the SimonCommissionwasappointedtoreviewthe workingsof the Montagu-Chelmsford
Reforms.Itrecommendedresponsible governmentforthe provincesandafederal India,butno
changesinthe central government.
Why wasthe SimonCommissionineffective?
•The CommissionincludednoIndiansandledtomassprotests.Congressboycottedall of its
meetings.
•As a result,in1928 Jawaharlal Nehruwasable topersuade Congresstovote fortotal independence
for the firsttime.
•21st January1930 was proclaimedasIndependenceDayanda Declarationof Independence was
drawnup.
Gandhi’sSecondSatyagrahaCampaign
•Gandhi’ssecondcampaignbeganin1930 whenhe organiseda‘March to the Sea’to make salt.
The Salt March
•In March and April 1930, MohandasGandhi marched to the seain Gujerat.The journeytook
twenty-fourdays.Whenhe arrived,he tooka few grainsof saltfrom the sea.In doingso,Gandhi
was breakingthe lawof BritishIndia.
•The productionof saltwasa governmentmonopolyandthe marchwas part of Gandhi’snon-
violentcampaignagainstBritishrule inIndia.

10. •The Viceroy,LordIrwin,andthe governmenthadbeennotifiedinadvance of Gandhi’sintentions,
and he was dulyarrestedandimprisonedfrom1930 to 1931.
•In fact to manyIndiansGandhi’sactionswere puzzling,buthe wastryingto force the government
intoa positionthatbecame morallymore andmore indefensible.
•Soon 5,000,000 Indiansall overthe countrywere makingseasalt and it wasbeingsoldintowns
and citieseverywhere.Itbecame asymbol of defiance againstBritishrule.Boycottsof Britishcloth
and alcohol followed.Withinmonths60,000 Congressmembershadbeenarrestedandimprisoned.
The Round Table Conferences
The Round Table Conferenceswere heldinLondonfrom1930 to 1932. Theyincluded
representativesof all the Britishpolitical partiesandof all political opinioninIndia.
Why were the RoundTable Conferencesheld?
•The Dyarchywas not workingand the SimonCommissionhadprovedafailure.
•Communal differenceswere becomingincreasinglyseriousinIndia.
•The Labour GovernmentsawIndiaasa possible victoryata time whenitwasunderpressure at
home.

11. The Governmentof IndiaAct,1935
•The resultof the RoundTable Conferenceswasthe Governmentof IndiaActin1935. For the first
time Indiansplayedasignificantpartinthe governmentof theircountry,butthe Britishretainedreal
control.
•Indiawas dividedintoelevenprovinces, eachof whichhada legislative assemblyanda provincial
government.The provinceswouldcontrol almostall policies,withthe exceptionof defence and
foreignaffairs.The Legislative Assemblieswouldbe mostlyIndian.
•Each province wouldhave anappointedgovernor,whoretainedthe powertoact in an emergency,
for example toprotectthe interestsof minorities,ormaintainlaw andorder.
•There wouldalsobe a central parliamentinDelhi,withtwochambers.Inbothchambersthere
were electedandappointedmembers.The Assemblycontained250 seatsfor Indianconstituencies
and 125 seatsfor the Indianprinces.
•The Viceroywouldstillbe appointedbyWestminsterandwouldbe responsiblefordefenceand
foreignaffairs.Butthe Viceroywouldhave tofollow the advice of anExecutive Committee,which
was mostlyIndian.
Reactionstothe Governmentof IndiaAct
Congressrejectedthe Governmentof IndiaActbecause:
•It wanteda complete breakfromBritain,nota ‘halfwayhouse’anditdidbelievethatthe British
intendedtogive Indiacomplete independence.

12. •It didnot wantto have to make special provisionforminorities,whichmightlimititspowerinthe
future.
Congressinthe late 1930s
•Between1931 and193 5, Nehruspentmost of histime inprisonforrefusingtoobeyorders
preventingfromattendingCongressconferences.He thenleftIndiaforEurope withhiswife who
was seriouslyill.
•Nehrureturnedin1937 to leadthe campaigninthe firstelectionstothe new parliamentafterthe
Governmentof IndiaAct.NehruwantedCongresstotake partin the elections,butthentorefuse to
participate inthe assemblies.
•In the 1937 elections,the firstunderthe Governmentof IndiaAct,Congresswon715 seats,out of a
total of 1,585. This wasa massive victoryas938 seatswere reservedforminorityinterests.
•Congresstookpowerineightstates,butonlyaftera statementthatthere wouldbe nointerference
fromgovernors.Nehruopposedthe decisiontotake office,butacceptedit.Whenthe first
parliamentmetin1937, Gandhi was replacedasleaderof CongressbyJawaharlal Nehru.
The impact of war on Indiaand Britain
In September1939, Lord Linlithgow,the Viceroy,announcedthatIndiahaddeclaredwaron
Germanywithoutconsultingthe IndianAssembly.
How didthe MuslimLeague react?

13. •Whenwar broke out in1939, the MuslimLeague backedBritain’sdeclarationof waronGermany
and supportedthe governmentthroughout.Thisgave Jinnahthe opportunitytopresshisclaimsfor
a separate Muslimstate.
•In March 1940 Jinnahspoke of a Muslimstate for the firsttime,adoptingthe name
Pakistan,whichmeant‘Landof the Pure’and whichwasalsoan acronym of the namesof the four
provincesof north-westIndia.
•MA Jinnahusedthissituationasameansof winningthe supportof the British.The League also
increaseditsmembershiptomore than2,000,000.
How didCongressreact?
•In September1939 Gandhi urgedthe Britishgovernmenttonegotiate withHitlerandto use
peaceful methods.
•Nehruhad justreturnedfromEurope andbelievedthatIndiashouldsupportBritainagainst
Fascism,butshoulddoit of her ownfree choice.
•CongresssupportedNehru,butwasangeredbythe Viceroy’sannouncementthatIndiawasat war
withoutanyconsultationof Indianopinion.The Congressstate governmentsresignedinprotestat
the Viceroy’sactions.
•In July1940 Congressaskedthata National Governmentshouldbe setupas a rewardfor Indian
supportduringthe war.
•Whenthe Viceroyfailedtogive asatisfactoryreply,Congressdecidedtorecommence civil
disobedience.Nehruandnearly1700 leadingmembersof Congresswere arrestedin1940.

14. The Cripps’Mission
•In April SirStaffordCrippswassentto Indiawith anofferof full dominionstatusandthe rightto
secede assoonas the warwas over.He alsosuggestedthatanyprovince thatdidnot wantto join
the newIndiashouldbe allowedtobecome independentonitsown.
•1942 Nehruand Congressrejectedthe offerof full Dominionstatusatthe endof the war.They
demandedimmediatecabinetgovernmentwithfullpoweranddecisionstakenbyIndiansinIndia.
Britainrefused.
•Congressalsowanteda unitedIndiaandwasnot preparedtoconsiderindependent provinces.
CongressdecidedinsteadtosupportGandhi’snon-violent‘QuitIndia’Campaign.
The Quit IndiaCampaign
•In August1942, duringthe SecondWorldWar, Gandhi announcedthe ‘QuitIndia1Campaign.He
said:
I wantfreedomimmediately,thisverynight,before dawn,if itcanbe had. Congressmustwin
freedomorbe wipedoutinthe effort.We shall eitherfree Indiaordie inthe
attempt.
•Gandhi demandedimmediate independence andthreatenedmassnon-violentactionif his
demandswere notmet.He demandedthatthe Britishleave Indiaimmediately,althoughthe armed
forcesfightingthe Japanese couldstay.

15. •DemonstrationsbeganinmanyIndiancities,peacefullyatfirstbutoftenturningviolent.Police
stations,governmentoffices,railways andtelephone lineswereall attacked.Suppliesforthe army
fightingagainstthe Japanese wereheldup.
•The disturbancesthatresultedwereonlyputdownby30,000 troops and resultedinmore than
1,000 deaths.
•Many Congressleaderswerearrested,includingGandhi andmostwere helduntil 1944.
•Congressitself wasdeclaredillegal anditsfundswere seized.Forthe nexttwoyearsCongress
virtuallyceasedtoexist.
•Nehruwas arrestedagainandimprisoneduntil1945. He wasreleasedafterthe LabourPartywon
the July1945 general electionandimmediatelyannouncedplansfordominionstatus.
How didthe SecondWorldWar change the political situationinIndia?
•Until 1939 Congresswasthe dominantforce inIndianpolitics.In1937 it wona clear victoryinthe
electionsafterthe Governmentof IndiaActof 1935.
•The MuslimLeague wasa relativelyminororganisation.The wargave the League itsfirst
opportunitytowinthe backingof the Britishfor a separate Muslimstate,Pakistan.
•The MuslimLeague grewinsize.By1945 it had2,000,000 members.

16. •These changesmade the MuslimLeague muchmore important.Inprovincial electionsin1945 it
won90% of the Muslimseats.
•Duringthe war the IndianArmyremainedloyal tothe Britishandmanymiddle classIndians
supportedthe Britishagainstthe Japanese,butonce the war endedthere waslesssupportfor
Britain
•Under Japanese rule,Nationalistmovementshadbeguninmanyareasof SouthEast Asia,troops
returningtoIndiabroughtthese ideasbackwiththem
SubhasChandraBose
•Bose was an opponentof Gandhi’snon-violentcampaignsandhadresignedfromCongressin1939.
He formedthe ForwardBloc,whichusedmilitantmethodstogainindependence.
•Whenthe SecondWorldwar broke outBose supportedthe Axis,butwasthenarrestedbythe
British.He escapedandfledtoNazi Germanyand thensailedtoSingapore,where the Japanese
allowedhimtorecruitIndianprisonersof wartoform the IndianNational Army.
•20,000 Indiansvolunteeredtojoinhimandfoughtinthe Japanese attemptstoinvade Indiafrom
Burma.
•In 1943 Bose formedthe ProvisionalGovernmentof Free India,waskilledinaplane crashin
Taiwanin1945.
•There was little real supportforThe IndianNational Army,butCongresswasfuriouswhenits
leaderswere putontrial for treasonandthensentencedtotransportationforlife.The sentences
were hurriedlychangedtodismissal fromthe army.

17. Independence andpartition:the role of Mountbatten
•From 1939 and 1945 Britainspentmore than£1,000,000,000 on India.Thisexpenditure couldnot
be continued.In1945 Britainwaseconomicallyexhausted.
•In July1945 a Labour Governmentwaselected.The membersdidnotbelieve thatBritainhada
rightto governthe Empire.Theywantedtogive Indiaindependence asquicklyaspossible.
•In February1946 there wasa mutinyinthe Indiannavy.The mutinyspreadto the Indianarmy.This
made the situationevenclearer;itmeantthatBritaincouldnot governIndia.
The CabinetMission
•In 1946 the Labour governmentsentthe CabinetMissiontoIndiatoreporton the
situationandrecommendastructure foran independentIndia.ItrecommendedaunitedIndiawith
protectionforMuslims.
•The provinces wouldbe groupedtogethersothatsome areashad a Hindumajorityandsome had a
Muslimmajority.These groupswouldbe responsibleforall dayto dayaffairs.The central
governmentwouldonlybe responsible forforeignaffairs,defence andcommunications.
•Nehruand Congresswere still hopingforaunitedIndia,butappearedtobe readyto accept the
Cabinetplan.Gandhi statedthatit was‘the bestthe Britishgovernmentcouldhave produced’.
•The MuslimLeague alsoacceptedthe CabinetMission’s proposals,eventhoughitdidnotallow for
an independentPakistan.

18. What wentwrongwiththe CabinetMission’splan?
•Electionsforthe newAssemblytookplace,inwhichCongresswon205 seatsand the Muslim
League won73, butafter the resultswere announcedCongresswentbackonitsdecisionand
rejectedthe plan.
•AfterCongress’srefusal toacceptthe Cabinetplan,the MuslimLeague alsowithdrew support.
•Jinnahwasangry that Congresshadturneddownthe CabinetMission’sproposals.On16 August
1946, he calledforDirectAction.Thiswas meantto be a seriesof peaceful demonstrationstoput
pressure onthe BritishandCongress.
DirectAction
DirectActionwas M. A. Jinnah’spolicyof tryingtoforce the pace in Indiaafterthe CongressParty
rejectedthe proposalsof the CabinetMissionin1946.
•Jinnahwanteda separate PakistanforMuslims,buthadbeenpreparedtoacceptthe Cabinet
Mission’sproposalsof aunitedIndiawithbuiltinsafe guardsforMuslims.
•WhenNehruand the Congressleadersrejectedthisidea,Jinnahdecidedtotrytoshow how strong
feelingswere foraMuslimstate.He calledfornation-wide demonstrationson16 August1946. The
resultwasdisaster.
•Jinnahhad anticipatedpeaceful demonstrations,butlocal leadersinterpretedhisappealsascalling
for violence.

19. •In Calcuttathere was fightingbetweenMuslimsandHindus,whichresultedin5,000 deaths.The
Britishwere unable tostopit.Thiswas repeatedinmanypartsof India.
•Jinnahwashorrified bythe resultsof hisactions,butthe damage had beendone.Directa£tion
showedjusthowfarapart the twocommunitiesreallywere.
•Gandhi triedto stop the violence byvisitingthe areasandmeetingMuslimleaders.He fastedto
force Hindusto stop attackingMuslims.
What were the effectsof DirectAction?
•Both Congressandthe MuslimLeague were appalledbythe violence andagreedtojointhe
Viceroy’sinterimgovernment,butwere unable toworktogether.Inthe meantimeviolence spread
across northernIndia.
•The Viceroy,LordWavell,nowtoldthe governmentinBritainthatthe situationinIndiawasgetting
out of control.
•ClementAttlee,the prime minister,decidedtofix adate forBritishwithdrawal fromIndia.He
announcedthattheywouldleave nolaterthanJune 1948.
The appointmentof Mountbatten
•A newViceroy,LordMountbattenwasappointedinFebruary1947. He wasthe lastViceroyof
India.He took office inFebruary1947 andadvisedthe prime minister,ClementAttlee,thatadate
shouldbe fixedforindependence.Attleedecidedthatthe Britishwouldleave atmidnighton28
August1947.

20. Why wasIndiapartitioned?
•The consequencesof DirectActionwere amajorfactor inthe decisionof the Britishgovernment
and the lastviceroy,LordMountbatten,to insistonpartitionandtotry to bringabout independence
as soonas possible.
•Because of the communal violence MountbattenbecameconvincedthataunitedIndiawas
impossible.He announcedthattwocountrieswouldbe created,IndiaandPakistan.
•The Britishdecisiontoleave forcedCongresstoacceptthe ideaof partition.Congressacceptedthe
ideaof PakistanandJinnahagreedto the divisionof Bengal andthe Punjab,whichhe hadwantedto
be entirelywithinPakistan.
•To reduce the communal violence andotherbordersquabbles,Mountbattenbroughtforwardthe
date of Independencebyfourteendaystomidnighton14 August.
•Mountbattensetup the Radcliffe Commissiontofix the borderbetweenthe twocountries.This
drewup a dividinglinebetweenIndiaandPakistaninlessthanthree months
What effectsdidPartitionhave uponIndiaandPakistaninthe yearsfrom1947 to 1949?
•The decisionsof the Radcliffe Commissionleft5,000,000 MuslimsinIndiaand 5,000,000 Hindusin
Pakistan.Sikhs,whohadarguedforspecial treatmentwere ignoredaltogether.
•For many people,memoriesof the eventsof 1946 to 1947 remainedstrong.Manypeople triedto
cross the borderinthe monthsafterindependence.

21. •At least600,000 people were killedinthe Punjabalone.Trainscarryingrefugeeswerestoppedand
thousandswere slaughtered.
•Religiousdifferenceswere difficulttoovercome andhave become more seriouswiththe
emergence of militantsMuslimandHinduparties.
The princelystates
•Mountbattenleftthe Indianprincestodecide if theywantedtojoinIndiaorPakistan.By15 August
all but three stateshadchosen.HyderabadandJunagadhwere forciblyoccupiedbythe Indianarmy,
but inKashmirthere wasa Hindurulerof a mainlyMuslimstate.
•Aftera Muslimrevolt,the rulerappealedtoIndiaforhelpandKashmirwasoccupiedbybothIndian
and Pakistani forces.Thishasbeenthe situationeversince.
Gandhi afterthe SecondWorld War
•Afterthe SecondWorldWar Gandhi’sinfluence inCongressfellasitbecame clearthat the Labour
GovernmentwantedIndiatobecome independentassoonaspossible andthatpartitionwas
inevitable.
•Gandhi was totallyopposedtopartitionandwantedtocreate a unitedIndiainwhichall religions
were equal.He evensuggestedthe Jinnah,the leaderof the MuslimLeague shouldbecome the
prime ministerof Indiaif thatwouldpreventpartition,
•WhenDirect Actionledtoviolence inAugust1946, Gandhi attemptedtorestore peace byvisiting
the worst areas,meetingMuslimleadersandfasting.

22. •On 15 August,IndependenceDay,Gandhi wasinCalcuttain the worstarea of violence.He actedas
a ‘one man boundaryforce’keepingHindusandMuslimsapart.
In January1948 Gandhi was murderedbyanextreme Hindu,NathuramGodse.
Why wasGandhi murdered?
•He believedinaunitedIndiaatall costs.He was readyto acceptM. A. Jinnahasthe prime minister
of India,if itwouldkeepIndiaunited.
•He didnot followall of the rulesHinduism.He mixedwithUntouchables.He workedwithMuslims,
and some extreme Hindusbelievedthatthiswasgoingtoofar.
•He had intervenedinAugust1946 to try to stop HindusattackingMuslims