The Road to Independence, 1942-48

• Japanese Advance and Fall of Singapore (1941-42):

  • Japanese expansion in South Asia created a desperate situation in 1941-42.
  • Singapore, considered unconquerable, fell on February 15, 1942.
  • British battleships and cruisers were unavailable for two weeks, leaving Asia open to Japanese forces.
  • Viceroy Linlithgow lacked sufficient forces in India to resist a Japanese landing.
• Congress rejected the Draft Declaration


  Perceived The Raj's attempt to cling onto India without equality
• Congress rejected the Draft Declaration
• Draft Declaration


  • Dominion Status
  • A new constitution
  • Indian participation where they could form an Indian union where if you do not want to be part of India, those that want to opt out can join Britain
• Cripps


  Well-liked and sympathetic
• Cripps Mission aimed to gain Indian cooperation for the war effort amid the Japanese threat
• Cripps flew home on the 12th April 1942, empty-handed
• Jinnah was in an awkward position as he was ready to accept this however had to reject it as to remain part of the constitution-making process
• The Raj rejected the Draft Declaration


  The Indian people saw it as The Raj’s attempt to cling onto India but not see it as an equal
• Gandhi pressured Congress to support satyagraha, but Congress initially refused
• The campaign failed by November 1942
• Only 216 soldiers had gone absent without leave; they did not attract support throughout India (Geography, religion or caste)
• Government repression

  Followed the Quit India Campaign
• Linlithgow's press censorship and plans to deport Congress leaders triggered panic
• Failed - some militant Hindus (Bihar) remained loyal to the Raj
• Quit India Campaign

  1942
• Ended by November 1942
• Congress shouted "Quit India," leading to arrests, riots, and destruction


  August 8, 1942
• Gandhi told the people to become their own leader (uncivilised) = Riots, Killings (Over 1000 deaths and over 3000 injuries), attacks and destruction of government property/infrastructure
• Attempted reconciliation between Congress and the Muslim League but failed
• Effective as Linlithgow had never done this and Wavell had enabled the Government of India to present the British government with coherent advice and a unified point of view
• The British government couldn’t discuss the views of provincial governors
• Wavell was appointed viceroy


  October 1943
• Prepared for independence and partition
• Wavell


  A military man focused on India's defence
• Met with the 11 provincial leaders to discuss & negotiate India’s future
• Annual death rate was between 1.2 million and 1.9 million
• Threat of Japanese invasion encouraged hoarding
• Churchill and Roosevelt refused to transport food, afraid of damaging the war effort
• Congress blamed the diversion of food to British troops
• Wavell’s request for a guaranteed million tons of grain throughout 1944 was met with an offer of 250,000 tons and a request for Indian rice
• Thousands of Indian people crowded into Calcutta begging and dying on the streets
• Wavell attempted to coordinate rationing and to stop profiteering (this diverted troops from the war)
• Wavell struggled to address the famine's consequences, facing resistance from Whitehall
• Churchill only listened to the advice he wanted to hear from Lord Cherwell (who claimed that the Bengal Famine was a statistical invention)
• Jinnah accused the British government’s incompetence and our irresponsibility
• Price of rice increased tenfold in May 1943
• By June 1944, Wavell had extracted 450,000 tons of grain from a reluctant government
• Wavell began a running battle with Whitehall, trying to buy more grain for India
• People began dying from smallpox, malaria, cholera, pneumonia and diseases related to malnutrition