The Second World War and the Decline of British Authority
- When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, it automatically included India without consulting Indian leaders, sparking anger among nationalists.
- The Indian National Congress (INC) demanded immediate independence in exchange for wartime support, but Britain refused.
- The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, supported the British war effort, strengthening its position as a loyal negotiating partner.
- Economic strain, Japanese advances in Southeast Asia, and anti-colonial sentiment weakened British control in India.
- The war revealed that Britain lacked the military and financial strength to maintain its empire after 1945.
Definition
Imperial Overstretch
The weakening of Britain’s global power due to economic exhaustion after World War II.
Definition
Atlantic Charter (1941)
- Agreement between Churchill and Roosevelt promising the right of self-determination, which Indian leaders used to argue for independence.
Case study
Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army
Bose’s Leadership and Ideology
- Subhas Chandra Bose, a former INC leader, rejected Gandhi’s non-violence and sought independence through armed struggle.
- After escaping British arrest in 1941, Bose allied with Germany and Japan, forming the Indian National Army (INA) to fight the British.
- The INA aimed to liberate India by military force, rallying under the slogan “Delhi Chalo” (On to Delhi).
- Bose’s government-in-exile, the Provisional Government of Free India, was recognized by Axis powers.
- Although the INA’s military campaign failed, Bose’s actions demonstrated an alternative form of nationalism rooted in militancy.
Legacy and Impact
- The INA trials (1945–46) of captured soldiers in Delhi generated huge sympathy among Indians, uniting Congress, Muslim League, and leftist groups in outrage.
- The British were alarmed by widespread public protests and mutinies in the Royal Indian Navy (1946).
- Bose became a symbol of revolutionary patriotism, even for those who disagreed with his Axis alliance.
- The trials exposed the collapse of British moral legitimacy, showing that even loyal Indian soldiers were turning against colonial rule.
- His movement pressured Britain to recognize that continued rule in India was untenable.
The Cripps Mission, Mountbatten, and the Partition of 1947
- In 1942, Britain sent Sir Stafford Cripps to offer constitutional concessions in exchange for Indian wartime cooperation.
- The Cripps Mission promised Dominion status after the war and the right of provinces to opt out, which alarmed the INC and encouraged the Muslim League.
- Both Congress and the League rejected the plan: Congress demanded immediate independence, and the League insisted on recognition of a separate Muslim homeland.
- The failure of negotiations, combined with wartime inflation and famine (notably the Bengal Famine of 1943), further discredited British rule.
- By 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, was sent to oversee the transfer of power amid escalating communal violence.
Definition
Cripps Mission (1942)
British proposal offering India post-war Dominion status, rejected by both Congress and the Muslim League.
Definition
Mountbatten Plan (1947)
The final British plan to divide India into two independent dominions, India and Pakistan.
Case study
Mountbatten and the Partition of India (1947)
The Road to Partition
- Communal riots in Calcutta (1946), Noakhali, and Punjab revealed that coexistence between Hindus and Muslims had collapsed.
- The failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) to create a federal India pushed the League toward full independence.
- Mountbatten concluded that partition was the only viable solution to prevent civil war.
- The Mountbatten Plan (June 1947) advanced the date of British withdrawal from 1948 to August 1947, leaving little time for orderly transition.
- The borders of India and Pakistan were drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, often arbitrarily, dividing provinces, communities, and families.
Consequences of Partition
- Partition displaced nearly 12–15 million people, with over one million deaths due to communal violence.
- Both new governments faced enormous refugee and security crises immediately after independence.
- The princely state of Kashmir became a major point of conflict when its ruler acceded to India despite a Muslim-majority population.
- For Britain, partition marked the end of empire in South Asia, symbolizing imperial decline.
- For India and Pakistan, it created enduring legacies of bitterness, nationalism, and identity politics that shaped their postcolonial trajectories.
Common Mistake
- Treating the Partition as a sudden event instead of analyzing the long-term political, communal, and wartime causes.
- Ignoring the role of economic exhaustion and international pressure on Britain’s decision to grant independence.
Exam technique
- Highlight how World War II exposed the limits of British control and accelerated decolonization.
- Explain the links between the Cripps Mission, Quit India, and Mountbatten’s actions, showing continuity.
- Use key statistics and dates (Cripps Mission 1942, INA trials 1945, Mountbatten Plan 1947) to anchor analysis.
Theory of Knowledge
- How does war alter the balance of power between colonizer and colonized?
- Can a nation’s independence achieved through partition be considered a success or a tragedy?
- To what extent does moral authority determine the legitimacy of political power?
Self review
- Assess the impact of the Second World War on the weakening of British control in India.
- Examine the significance of Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army in India’s struggle for independence.
- To what extent did the Cripps Mission (1942) and the Mountbatten Plan (1947) contribute to the partition of the South Asian subcontinent?
