Gandhi and the Freedom Struggle: The Decisive Phase – NDA History Notes

Introduction

On the night of 14–15 August 1947 CE, Jawaharlal Nehru stood at the microphone in the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi and spoke words that have echoed through history ever since: “Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge.” At midnight, India became independent. The flag of the British Empire was lowered. The tricolour was raised. After 190 years of Company and Crown rule, India was free.

But the moment of independence was also a moment of tragedy. The country that became free was not the country that the nationalist movement had imagined, a single democratic republic stretching from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. It was two countries, India and Pakistan, separated by a line drawn through Punjab and Bengal, with millions of people already moving or being driven across it in conditions of communal violence that would kill hundreds of thousands and traumatise a generation.

The man most responsible for making independence possible was not in Delhi that night. Mahatma Gandhi was in Calcutta — fasting, praying, and walking through neighbourhoods where Hindus and Muslims had been killing each other, trying to hold together with moral authority what politics had been unable to hold together with law.

The story of this chapter is the story of the final phase of the freedom struggle, how three parallel political tracks converged on August 1947 CE. The Congress track — from the 1937 elections through the Quit India Movement and the Cabinet Mission negotiations. The Muslim League track — from the Lahore Resolution’s demand for Pakistan in 1940 CE to Direct Action Day and the Great Calcutta Killings in 1946 CE. And the British government track — a succession of constitutional offers that moved from “independence after the war” to “independence now, and as two countries” within seven years.

NDA has tested this chapter on three specific facts: Gandhi’s fast against the Communal Award and the Poona Pact that ended it, the Haripura Congress of 1938 and Bose’s programme of economic and social reconstruction, and Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946 and the Great Calcutta Killings.

Master Timeline of the Decisive Phase

1932 CE       →  Communal Award. Gandhi’s fast. Poona Pact. [NDA 2009-II]
1935 CE       →  Government of India Act — basis for Constitution
1937 CE       →  Elections. Congress wins 7 provinces. Forms ministries.
1938 CE       →  Haripura Congress. Bose elected president. [NDA 2010-I]
                  First time Congress under Bose adopted economic + social reconstruction programme
1939 CE       →  Congress ministries resign. World War II begins.
1940 CE       →  August Offer. Lahore Resolution.
1942 CE       →  Cripps Mission. Quit India Movement — 8 August.
1945 CE       →  INA trials. Simla Conference. Labour government in Britain.
1946 CE       →  Elections. Cabinet Mission Plan.
16 Aug 1946   →  Direct Action Day. Great Calcutta Killings. [NDA 2010-I]
1946–47 CE    →  Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. Communal violence across India.
3 Jun 1947    →  Mountbatten Plan announced.
15 Aug 1947   →  Independence. Partition. India and Pakistan.
30 Jan 1948   →  Gandhi assassinated by Nathuram Godse at Birla House, Delhi.

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1. Three Parallel Tracks — Chapter Architecture

The decisive phase of the Indian freedom struggle (1935–1947 CE) is best understood as three parallel political tracks that converged at independence.

Track 1 — The Congress moved from provincial governance (1937–39) through the Quit India Movement (1942) to the Cabinet Mission negotiations (1946) and eventual acceptance of partition.

Track 2 — The Muslim League moved from electoral weakness in 1937 to the formal demand for Pakistan at Lahore (1940) to Direct Action Day (1946) and the achievement of Pakistan in 1947.

Track 3 — The British Government moved from the Government of India Act 1935 through wartime constitutional offers (August Offer 1940, Cripps Mission 1942) to the post-war decision to leave India quickly (Cabinet Mission 1946, Mountbatten Plan 1947).

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2. The Communal Award, Gandhi’s Fast, and the Poona Pact — 1932 CE

In August 1932 CE, the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award — a proposal for separate electorates for untouchables (Scheduled Castes), giving them a separate voter roll from which they would elect their own representatives.

Mahatma Gandhi was in prison at Yerwada in Pune at the time. He was deeply opposed to the Communal Award, believing that separate electorates would permanently divide Hindu society into caste groups competing against each other politically, making Hindu social reform impossible and institutionalising untouchability as a political category.

Gandhi undertook a fast unto death against the Communal Award. [NDA 2009-II] The fast was a profound moral crisis. If Gandhi died, the political consequences for the nationalist movement would be incalculable.

The Poona Pact — September 1932 CE

The crisis was resolved through negotiations between Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar — conducted at Yerwada Prison and through intermediaries. The result was the Poona Pact of September 1932 CE. [NDA 2009-II]

Under the Poona Pact, the separate electorate for untouchables was replaced by a joint Hindu electorate, Hindus of all castes voting together. But the number of reserved seats for untouchables in provincial legislatures was substantially increased compared to what the Communal Award had proposed.

Gandhi discontinued his fast upon the conclusion of the Poona Pact. [NDA 2009-II]

Three critical distinctions for NDA — Gandhi fasted against the Communal Award, not against the Poona Pact. The Poona Pact was what ended the fast, not what caused it. And the Poona Pact replaced separate electorates with reserved seats in a joint electorate — it did not maintain separate electorates. [NDA 2009-II]

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3. The 1937 Elections and Congress Ministries

The Government of India Act 1935 CE provided the framework for the first genuine elections in India. The Congress decided to contest.

The results were decisive. The Congress swept to power in seven of eleven provinces — winning clear majorities in Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, and the North-West Frontier Province. The Muslim League fared badly — demonstrating that it did not yet command the loyalty of most Muslim voters.

Congress formed governments in seven provinces, the first experience of actual governance at the provincial level. The Congress ministries resigned in October 1939 CE when Britain declared India at war with Germany without consulting Indian political leaders. The Congress demanded a British commitment to Indian independence as a condition for war cooperation. When Britain refused, the Congress withdrew from provincial government.

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4. The Haripura Congress — 1938 CE

Within the Congress, the mid-1930s saw a contest between different visions of what independent India should look like. In 1938 CE, at the Haripura session, Subhas Chandra Bose was elected Congress President.

The Haripura Congress is a milestone because it was the first time the Congress under Subhas Chandra Bose adopted a programme of economic and social reconstruction. [NDA 2010-I]

The programme included proposals for national planning, industrialisation, and the upliftment of the poorest sections of Indian society. Bose saw the Congress not only as a vehicle for political independence but as the leading institution of a thoroughgoing transformation of Indian society and economy.

The Haripura Congress was not significant only because Bose was elected president. Its tested significance is the programme of economic and social reconstruction, the specific tested phrase. [NDA 2010-I]

Bose was re-elected Congress President at the Tripuri session in 1939 CE — defeating Gandhi’s candidate Pattabhi Sitaramaiah. But Gandhi’s supporters controlled the Congress Working Committee, and Bose found himself unable to implement his programme. He resigned from the Congress Presidency and eventually formed his own organisation, the Forward Bloc.

[Image Suggestion: A photograph of the Haripura Congress session of 1938 — showing Subhas Chandra Bose presiding — representing the pivotal moment when the Congress first adopted a programme of economic and social reconstruction]

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5. The Lahore Resolution — 1940 CE

The Muslim League’s poor performance in the 1937 elections was a shock. Under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the League reconstituted itself into a mass organisation and began to build a genuinely popular following among Indian Muslims.

At its session in Lahore in March 1940 CE, the All India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution — formally demanding the creation of independent Muslim states in the Muslim-majority regions of northwestern and northeastern India.

The Lahore Resolution was a defining moment. Before it, the Muslim League’s demand was for greater Muslim representation and protection within a united India. After it, the demand was for a separate state. Note that the word “Pakistan” was not used in the resolution itself — the demand was clear in substance, but the specific name came later in popular use.

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6. British Constitutional Offers — 1940 to 1946 CE

Proposal	Year	Key Features	Outcome
August Offer	1940 CE	Dominion status after war. Expanded Executive Council. Post-war constituent assembly.	Congress rejected. League conditionally accepted.
Cripps Mission	1942 CE	Dominion status after war. Post-war constituent assembly. Right of provinces to opt out.	Both rejected. Gandhi — “post-dated cheque on a crashing bank.”
Wavell Plan / Simla Conference	1945 CE	Equal Hindu-Muslim representation in Executive Council.	Failed — League demanded exclusive Muslim nomination rights.
Cabinet Mission Plan	1946 CE	United India. Three-tier federal structure. Three provincial groupings.	Initially accepted by both. Collapsed over grouping clause dispute.
Mountbatten Plan	3 June 1947 CE	Partition. Two independent dominions. 15 August 1947 CE.	Accepted by Congress and League. Independence followed.

Gandhi famously called the Cripps Mission proposals a “post-dated cheque on a crashing bank”: the offer of dominion status after the war was worthless if Britain lost, and the right of provinces to opt out undermined Indian unity.

The Cripps Mission was rejected by the Congress — not accepted. The Cabinet Mission Plan was the one initially accepted by both sides before collapsing.

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7. The Quit India Movement — 8 August 1942 CE

The failure of the Cripps Mission and the continued advance of Japanese forces convinced Gandhi that the time had come for Britain to leave India immediately.

At the All India Congress Committee session in Bombay on 8 August 1942 CE, Gandhi gave his famous ‘Do or Die’ speech — “We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.” The Congress passed the Quit India Resolution — demanding immediate British withdrawal from India.

The British government responded within hours. Before dawn on 9 August 1942 CE, Gandhi, Nehru, and virtually the entire Congress leadership were arrested. The Congress was declared an illegal organisation.

The leaderless Quit India Movement became a spontaneous mass uprising. Railway lines were cut. Telegraph lines were destroyed. Government buildings were attacked. The movement spread rapidly, particularly in Bihar, eastern United Provinces, and parts of Maharashtra. The British suppressed it with considerable force. Gandhi was imprisoned until 1944 CE.

The Quit India Resolution was passed on 8 August 1942 CE — the arrests followed on 9 August. Not the other way around.

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8. The INA Trials, the RIN Mutiny, and Why the British Left

The INA Trials — 1945–46 CE

Indian National Army officers were brought to trial for treason at the Red Fort in Delhi after Japan’s defeat. The trials backfired. To ordinary Indians, the INA officers were patriots who had risked everything for India’s freedom. The Congress provided legal defence. Massive demonstrations expressed public support for the accused. The INA trials demonstrated that the British could no longer count on the loyalty of Indian public opinion.

The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny — February 1946 CE

In February 1946 CE, ratings of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied in Bombay — and the mutiny spread to other naval stations. Indian naval personnel raised the Congress, Muslim League, and Communist Party flags together, a striking image of cross-political nationalist solidarity. The mutiny sent an unmistakeable message: even the Indian armed forces on which British rule depended could no longer be relied upon for unconditional loyalty.

Why the British Left — Five Reasons

The British decision to leave India was driven by five converging factors. Military unreliability — the RIN Mutiny and INA trial reactions demonstrated that Indian servicemen were no longer reliably loyal. Economic exhaustion — World War II had left Britain deeply indebted. International pressure — the United States opposed colonialism and pressed for Indian independence. Labour government’s will — the British Labour Party government that came to power in July 1945 CE was genuinely committed to Indian independence. Quit India legacy — the 1942 movement had made it unmistakeable that India could not be governed against the wishes of its people.

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9. Direct Action Day — 16 August 1946 CE

On 16 August 1946 CE, Jinnah called ‘Direct Action Day’ — a day of direct political action to press the demand for Pakistan. [NDA 2010-I]

The Direct Action Day led to widespread communal riots, beginning in Calcutta with the Great Calcutta Killings — in which thousands of Hindus and Muslims were killed over several days. [NDA 2010-I] The violence then spread to other parts of Bengal and to Bihar.

Direct Action Day and the Great Calcutta Killings demonstrated how close India had come to the edge of communal civil war. For the British, watching Indian cities burn while trying to negotiate a constitutional settlement, the conclusion was clear: power had to be transferred quickly.

★ IMPORTANT Three elements of Direct Action Day are tested together. [NDA 2010-I] Date — 16 August 1946 CE. Who called it — Muslim League. Purpose — specifically to press for Pakistan. Consequence — Great Calcutta Killings — thousands died. All four must be known. NOT called for economic reasons. NOT a minor disturbance.

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10. The Cabinet Mission Plan and the Mountbatten Plan

The Cabinet Mission Plan — 1946 CE

The Cabinet Mission Plan proposed a united India with a three-tier federal structure, a weak centre handling only defence, foreign affairs, and communications, and provinces grouped into three sections: Section A (Hindu-majority provinces), Section B (Muslim-majority northwest), Section C (Muslim-majority northeast).

Both the Congress and the Muslim League initially accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan. But disagreement over the grouping clause caused the League to withdraw its acceptance. The plan collapsed. The Cabinet Mission Plan was never implemented. Partition became the alternative.

The Mountbatten Plan — 3 June 1947 CE

Lord Mountbatten arrived as the last Viceroy in March 1947 CE with instructions to transfer power by June 1948 CE. He concluded quickly that a united India was impossible and accelerated the timeline dramatically.

The Mountbatten Plan (also called the June 3rd Plan) was announced on 3 June 1947 CE — proposing the partition of British India into two independent dominions — India and Pakistan — with power transferred on 15 August 1947 CE — more than a year earlier than originally planned.

Both the Congress and the Muslim League accepted the Mountbatten Plan. The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament in July 1947 CE. On 15 August 1947 CE, India and Pakistan became independent.

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11. Gandhi’s Final Role — Partition, Violence, and Assassination

Gandhi and Partition

Gandhi opposed the partition of India until the very end, believing that Hindus and Muslims could live together as equal citizens in one country. He called partition “a spiritual tragedy.” He was increasingly isolated. Both Nehru and Patel had concluded that partition was the only way to achieve independence quickly and prevent worse communal violence.

When partition came, Gandhi spent the months around independence not in Delhi celebrating but in Bengal and Bihar — walking from village to village, fasting, and trying to stop communal violence. His moral authority was enough to stop the killing in Calcutta. Lord Mountbatten called his post-independence presence in Calcutta “the equivalent of a boundary force of 50,000 soldiers.”

Gandhi’s Assassination

On 30 January 1948 CE, less than six months after independence, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist who believed Gandhi had betrayed Hindu interests by being too sympathetic to Muslims and by accepting partition on terms he found unacceptable.

Gandhi was shot at point-blank range at a prayer meeting at Birla House in Delhi. He died with the name of God on his lips: “Hey Ram.”

Jawaharlal Nehru’s announcement to the nation began — “The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere.”

The Three-Chapter Story — A Reflective Conclusion

The story of India’s freedom struggle across Chapters N6, N7, and N8 is a single coherent narrative.

N6 — Nationalism is born. The Indian National Congress is founded. The moderate and extremist phases define the movement’s character. The Swadeshi movement brings mass participation for the first time.

N7 — Gandhi transforms nationalism into a mass movement. Satyagraha becomes the method. Champaran, Bardoli, and the Civil Disobedience Movement demonstrate it works at every scale.

N8 — The movement reaches independence. The Quit India Movement declares the final demand. The Muslim League’s parallel track ends in Pakistan. The British transfer power. India becomes independent on 15 August 1947 CE.

Gandhi, who had made independence possible, did not live to see the India he had imagined. He was murdered by someone who blamed him for the terms on which freedom had been achieved.

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