Question

Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

“I, therefore, want freedom immediately, this very night, before dawn, if it can be had. ... Fraud and untruth today are stalking the world. .... You may take it from me that I am not going to strike a bargain with the Viceroy for ministeries and the like. I am not going to be satisfied with anything short of complete freedom. .... Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is: “Do or Die”. We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery. (Mahatma Gandhi addressing the Congress delegates on the night of 8 August, 1942)

1. State briefly the reasons that led Mahatma Gandhi to assert that he would not strike a bargain with the Viceroy.
2. Which movement was started as a consequence of Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Do or Die? Explain briefly what all happened during this movement.
3. Was this movement a success or a failure? Give reasons to support your answer.

Answer 1

1. • He demanded immediate and complete independence, not limited or gradual concessions such as ministries or partial autonomy; he would not accept anything short of full freedom.
   • The failure of offers like the Cripps proposals (which did not promise near‑term independence and left difficult questions about partition and princely states) convinced Gandhi that negotiation would not secure real freedom.
   • The wartime situation (fear of Japanese advance) made Gandhi believe British presence endangered India; he therefore wanted British withdrawal rather than bargaining for limited powers.
2. • The movement was the Quit India Movement (also called the August Movement), launched after Gandhi’s “Do or Die” call on 8 August 1942. Its aim was to force the British to leave India immediately by mass civil disobedience, strikes and protests.
   • The British reacted with a severe and immediate crackdown: top Congress leaders (including Gandhi) were arrested within 24 hours, the Congress was banned, the press was muzzled, demonstrations were met with machine‑gun fire and even aerial bombing in places, many towns were placed under military control, and thousands were arrested or killed. By the end of 1942 roughly 60,000 people had been arrested and nearly ten thousand were reported killed.
3. • Short term: The movement did not achieve its immediate objective (the British did not quit) and was brutally suppressed, so in that narrow sense it was a failure.
   • Long term: It was an important and significant step toward independence, it showed the depth and breadth of national feeling, demonstrated Indians’ willingness to struggle and sacrifice, united large sections of society, and convinced the British that continued rule would be increasingly untenable; these consequences helped pave the way for later developments (including post‑war negotiations and other anti‑colonial pressures) that led to independence in 1947. For these reasons the movement is often judged a strategic success despite its immediate repression.