History | Colonial rule and the nationalist challenge in India, 1919–47

Hello History Learners! Welcome to the Nationalist Challenge in India (1919–1947)

Welcome to one of the most exciting, challenging, and pivotal periods in modern history! This chapter focuses on how the people of India, led by extraordinary figures like Mahatma Gandhi, successfully challenged the massive power of the British Empire.

This isn't just a story about politics; it’s about mass movements, moral conviction, and the struggle for self-determination. Don't worry if some of the names and dates seem confusing—we will break down the events step-by-step to show you exactly how India achieved independence.

Why This Period is a "Depth Study"

You need to understand the causes, the events, and the consequences of the nationalist movement. We will look closely at why Britain's control crumbled between the two World Wars and how the tragic decision to partition the subcontinent was made.

Section 1: The Aftermath of World War I and the Rise of Conflict (1919–1922)

The Broken Promise

Indians had enthusiastically supported Britain during World War I (1914–1918), hoping that their loyalty would be rewarded with greater self-rule (home rule). Instead, Britain tightened its grip. This sense of betrayal fueled the nationalist fire.

Key Repressive Legislation: The Rowlatt Acts (1919)

To deal with perceived threats of unrest, the British government passed the Rowlatt Acts. These acts allowed the government to arrest anyone without trial and imprison them for up to two years.

• What it meant: It effectively ended basic civil liberties like the right to legal defense.
• Indian Reaction: Nationalists felt humiliated. They famously protested, demanding: "No Vakil (Lawyer), No Dalil (Argument/Appeal), No Appeal."

Did You Know? This was the moment Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi truly entered the political forefront. He called for a nationwide strike (hartal) against the injustice.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 1919)

This event turned disappointment into outrage and marked a major turning point in the struggle.

1. On 13 April 1919, thousands of peaceful protestors gathered in an enclosed garden called Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar (Punjab).
2. They were celebrating a religious festival (Baisakhi) and peacefully protesting the arrests of two nationalist leaders.
3. General Reginald Dyer, believing the assembly was illegal, arrived with troops and ordered them to open fire on the crowd without warning.
4. Hundreds were killed and thousands injured, trapped within the walls.

The massacre horrified India. It destroyed any remaining faith many Indians had in British justice or benevolence. Even though Dyer was eventually forced to resign, the damage was done—the stage was set for large-scale non-violent resistance.

Section 2: Gandhi and the Philosophy of Non-Violent Resistance

Gandhi developed his unique method of resistance, which fundamentally changed the fight for freedom.

Understanding Satyagraha

Satyagraha translates roughly to "truth force" or "soul force." It is the central principle of Gandhi's approach.

• Definition: It means resisting oppression through peaceful means, based on morality and truth, rather than physical force.
• How it works: The goal is to make the oppressor feel guilty and change their heart, not to defeat them with violence. Think of it like being so morally right and so peaceful that the other side looks completely unjust by comparison.
• Key Technique: Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience.

The First Major Movement: Non-Cooperation (1920–1922)

Gandhi urged Indians to withdraw all support from the colonial government. This was a nationwide protest that involved practical steps:

• Boycotting British goods (and burning imported cloth).
• Refusing to pay taxes.
• Students leaving government-run schools and colleges.
• Indians resigning from government jobs and returning British titles/honors.

This movement showed the British the scale of the Indian opposition and involved millions, crossing class and regional lines.

The Shock Ending: Chauri Chaura (1922)

The Non-Cooperation Movement was intended to be strictly non-violent. However, in 1922, violence broke out in the village of Chauri Chaura, where protestors clashed with police, resulting in the death of several officers.

Gandhi was deeply troubled by this violence. He believed India was not yet ready for pure non-violent protest and immediately called off the entire movement. Many leaders disagreed, but Gandhi’s moral authority was absolute.

The Civil Disobedience Movement and the Salt Satyagraha (1930)

After a period of quiet building, Gandhi launched his next major challenge: Civil Disobedience. This meant deliberately breaking specific, unfair laws.

The Focus: The British tax on salt.

Salt was essential for survival, yet the British controlled its production and heavily taxed it. For Gandhi, this tax was a symbol of British exploitation. Imagine a government taxing the air you breathe—that's how oppressive the salt tax felt.

The Dandi March (Salt March)

• The Event: In March 1930, Gandhi and a group of followers walked over 240 miles from his ashram to the coastal village of Dandi.
• The Act: Upon reaching the sea, he publicly broke the law by picking up a lump of natural, untaxed salt.
• The Impact: This simple act sparked a nationwide movement. Millions started making illegal salt, leading to mass arrests (including Gandhi's). It gained worldwide media attention and embarrassed the British severely.

Section 3: Political Steps and Deadlocks

The Round Table Conferences (1930–1932)

Following the enormous success of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the British agreed to negotiate. They held three conferences in London, inviting Indian leaders to discuss future constitutional reforms.

• Why they failed: Crucially, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (representing the Muslim League) and Congress leaders like Gandhi had fundamentally different views on how power should be shared between Hindus and Muslims in a future, independent India.
• The result: No consensus was reached, and the main issues of power-sharing and minority rights remained unresolved.

The Government of India Act (1935)

Despite the conference failures, the British unilaterally passed a significant piece of legislation.

• Federal System Proposed: The Act aimed to create an All-India Federation (which never fully materialized).
• Provincial Autonomy: Most importantly, it granted a large degree of self-rule in the 11 provinces. Indian ministers were responsible for areas like education and health.
• The Power Divide: Crucially, the British retained control over vital areas like defense and finance.

The Congress participated in the elections under this Act in 1937 and won clear majorities in several provinces, proving their popular strength.

Section 4: The Deepening Communal Divide

While the nationalist movement grew stronger, the differences between India's two largest religious groups—Hindus and Muslims—also became sharper. This is known as communalism.

The Role of the Muslim League and Jinnah

The All-India Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, initially sought safeguards for Muslims within a unified India. However, after the experience of Congress rule in the 1937 provincial governments, Jinnah became convinced that Muslim interests would never be safe in a Hindu-majority state.

• The Lahore Resolution (1940): This resolution formally demanded that the Muslim-majority areas (in the Northwest and East) should be grouped to constitute "Independent States." This was the first official call for Pakistan.
• The Two-Nation Theory: Jinnah argued that Hindus and Muslims were two entirely separate "nations" with conflicting histories, cultures, and ways of life, making co-existence under a single government impossible.

The failure of Congress and the Muslim League to agree on power-sharing throughout the 1940s became the primary obstacle to a united independent India.

Section 5: World War II and the Final Confrontation (1939–1945)

India and the War Effort

When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, they automatically declared India was also at war—without consulting any Indian leaders.

• In protest, the Congress ministries resigned from the provincial governments established under the 1935 Act.
• The Muslim League, on the other hand, offered conditional support to the British, strengthening their political leverage.

The Cripps Mission (1942)

With the Japanese threatening India during the war, the British sent Sir Stafford Cripps to offer a deal: full dominion status (self-rule) after the war, provided India supported the war effort now.

The Congress rejected this offer because:

1. The promised independence was still too far in the future ("a post-dated cheque on a failing bank," as Gandhi put it).
2. The proposal included provisions that seemed to pave the way for Partition, which Congress staunchly opposed.

The Quit India Movement (1942)

Frustrated by British refusal to grant immediate independence, Gandhi launched the most intense movement of his career: the Quit India Movement.

• The Demand: The British must leave India immediately.
• The Slogan: Gandhi famously urged his followers to adopt the principle of "Do or Die"—meaning fight for freedom with the utmost peaceful determination, or perish trying.
• British Reaction: The British instantly arrested Gandhi and all major Congress leaders. The movement turned violent in some areas due to the lack of leadership. It was brutally suppressed, but it showed Britain that they could no longer govern India effectively without extreme force.

Section 6: The Final Steps to Independence and Partition (1945–1947)

The Post-War Reality

After WWII, Britain was exhausted and bankrupt. The new Labour government, led by Prime Minister Clement Attlee, was committed to granting independence. The question was no longer if India would become free, but how and when.

The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946)

Britain sent a delegation (the Cabinet Mission) to devise a constitutional structure for a united India. The plan proposed a loose federation with strong provincial power, designed to keep India unified while satisfying Jinnah's demand for Muslim safeguards.

• The plan was complex and ultimately failed because the two major parties (Congress and the League) interpreted its terms differently and refused to work together.

The Catalyst for Violence: Direct Action Day (1946)

Frustrated by the breakdown of negotiations, Jinnah called for a "Direct Action Day" on August 16, 1946, to demonstrate the Muslim desire for Pakistan. This quickly descended into catastrophic communal violence, particularly in Calcutta (Kolkata).

The scale of the rioting, murder, and chaos convinced many British officials, including the final Viceroy, that civil war was imminent and unavoidable unless the country was divided.

The Mountbatten Plan and Partition

In February 1947, Lord Mountbatten arrived as the last Viceroy with a mandate to transfer power quickly. Faced with relentless violence, he concluded that Partition was the only viable, albeit tragic, solution.

The final plan involved:

1. Division of British India into two sovereign states: India (Hindu majority) and Pakistan (Muslim majority, split into East and West).
2. Independence would be granted on 15 August 1947.
3. Provinces like Punjab and Bengal were divided based on Muslim/non-Muslim majorities, resulting in complex and painful boundary lines.

The Legacy of 1947

While independence brought joy and self-rule, Partition led to horrific consequences:

• Mass migration (up to 15 million people displaced as Hindus fled Pakistan and Muslims fled India).
• Widespread communal massacres (estimates range from hundreds of thousands to over a million dead).
• The creation of deep political hostility between the two new nations that continues today.

Keep practicing those dates and names—you've covered a huge amount of history here!