The Story of India’s Final March towards Independence (1939-46)
Introduction: India’s Freedom Struggle and the Shadow of World War II
History often moves in unexpected rhythms — sometimes slowly, through reforms and resolutions; sometimes violently, through wars that reshape the destiny of nations. The Second World War was one such turning point — not just for Europe, where the battle began, but also for India, where it became the final and decisive stage of the long struggle for freedom.
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, few in India could imagine how deeply this European conflict would alter their own political landscape. Within days, the British Government of India declared India a participant in the war, without consulting the Indian National Congress or the elected representatives in the legislature.
That single act — done without the consent of Indians — exposed, once again, the fundamental hypocrisy of British rule. Britain claimed to be fighting for democracy and freedom across the world, while in India, it continued to deny both to the very people it governed.
Thus, from the very outset, World War II placed the Indian national movement in a moral dilemma. The question was not simply about supporting or opposing the war — it was about defining what freedom meant. If the war was being fought in the name of liberty, then could India fight on the side of an empire that itself suppressed liberty at home?
The Congress’s Dilemma: Between Ideals and Realities
At Wardha, in September 1939, the Congress Working Committee met under an atmosphere of confusion and tension. The members condemned the Nazi aggression — after all, fascism represented everything the Indian freedom struggle stood against — but at the same time, they declared that India could not morally or politically participate in a war for democratic principles while being enslaved.
This was not merely political rhetoric; it reflected a deep ethical position. Gandhi and the Congress leadership were asking: How can the enslaved fight for the freedom of others?
The Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, remained unmoved. His refusal to give even the smallest assurance of Indian independence pushed the Congress to take a firm stand. By October 1939, all Congress ministries across the provinces resigned — a silent but powerful protest that marked the beginning of a new and more confrontational phase in India’s struggle.
The Turning Tide: Radicalism, Repression, and Renewed Resolve
As the war expanded across Europe and Asia, Indian politics too began to radicalize. The younger generation — restless and impatient — started to lose faith in British promises and in the slow constitutional methods.
The Ramgarh Session of 1940, under Maulana Azad, declared that nothing short of complete independence would now be acceptable. Parallel to this, Subhas Chandra Bose, no longer within Congress but still deeply nationalist, held his Anti-Compromise Conference, calling upon Indians to refuse all cooperation with the British war effort.
The British, anxious to win Indian support, offered the August Offer of 1940, promising vague future dominion status. Both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected it — the Congress because it was too little, the League because it wanted a separate political recognition for Muslims.
This rejection symbolized how far trust had broken between the ruler and the ruled.
When all negotiations failed, Gandhi once again turned to his moral weapon — Satyagraha. But this time it was not a mass movement; it was an Individual Satyagraha, begun in October 1940 with Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagrahi and Jawaharlal Nehru the second. The purpose was simple yet profound: to assert the Indian’s right to free speech and conscience.
The Cripps Mission and the Final Break
By 1942, the war had reached a critical phase. Japan had entered the conflict and advanced rapidly through Southeast Asia. The British, facing existential threats, needed India’s cooperation more than ever. In desperation, they sent Sir Stafford Cripps, a left-leaning member of the British Cabinet, with proposals for Indian self-government after the war.
But once again, the British were unwilling to transfer real power during the war itself. The Congress found the offer hollow, while the Muslim League rejected it for other reasons. The Cripps Mission failed, and the gap between the two sides became irreparable.
The Great Uprising: Quit India and People’s Power
Out of this frustration was born one of the most powerful and spontaneous movements in Indian history — the Quit India Movement of August 1942, often remembered as the “August Kranti.”
At the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay, the Congress under Gandhi declared that the British must “Quit India” immediately and leave Indians to manage their own destiny. Gandhi’s call was unambiguous — “Do or Die.”
The British response was swift and brutal. Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, and almost every senior leader were arrested within hours. The Congress was banned, its offices raided, and communications censored.
Yet, the fire could not be extinguished. In the absence of top leadership, ordinary people — students, workers, peasants, and underground activists — took charge. In many regions, they set up parallel governments, seized local control, and kept alive the spirit of rebellion through underground networks, secret radio broadcasts, and clandestine publications.
Names like Aruna Asaf Ali, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Usha Mehta, and Biju Patnaik became synonymous with courage and idealism. The government suppressed the movement within weeks, but the moral blow to British authority was irreversible.
A New Dimension: The Indian National Army and the Global Context
While the Congress-led movement unfolded within India, another form of resistance was taking shape abroad.
Indian soldiers captured by Japan during the war were reorganized by Captain Mohan Singh into the Indian National Army (INA). Later, when Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Southeast Asia in 1943, he took command of the INA and gave it a new spirit under the slogan:
“Give me blood, and I will give you freedom.”
The INA fought valiantly alongside Japanese forces in Burma and on India’s northeastern borders. Although it could not secure military success, its symbolic impact was extraordinary.
When the war ended and INA officers were tried in Delhi, the entire nation — including the Congress — rose in emotional solidarity with them. This unity across political lines marked a significant shift: by the end of the war, British moral authority in India was completely destroyed.
The War and the Winds of Freedom
By 1945, the global war had ended with the defeat of fascism. But in India, it had produced a different kind of victory — a victory of national consciousness.
The Quit India Movement had shown that Indians would no longer accept subordination, even under the harshest repression. The INA trials had rekindled patriotic pride. The economic drain of the war had weakened Britain itself.
The Second World War, thus, became the final testing ground of British rule in India. It forced the empire to confront the truth that its time was over, and that India’s freedom was no longer a distant dream, but an unstoppable reality.
The Final Act of India’s Freedom Struggle (1945–46)
When the guns of the Second World War fell silent in 1945, the world had changed forever — and so had India.
The mighty British Empire that once ruled over vast continents now stood financially drained, morally shaken, and politically isolated. The colonies it had once dominated with pride now demanded self-rule with certainty. Among them, India stood foremost — restless, resolute, and ready.
The British rulers understood that the age of imperialism was ending. The question was no longer if India would get freedom, but how and on whose terms.
Britain’s Post-War Dilemma: How to Exit Gracefully
After the war, the British government faced two urgent problems in India:
- Political instability, with Congress leaders returning to the public sphere after years of imprisonment, and
- Communal polarization, which had deepened between the Congress and the Muslim League during the war years.
Viceroy Lord Wavell, sensing the approaching end of British rule, attempted to build an Indian coalition that could take charge of governance and maintain stability during the transition.
Thus was born the Wavell Plan, announced in June 1945 — a proposal meant to form an interim government run by Indians, while Britain retained control over defence and foreign affairs.
To give this plan a concrete shape, Wavell convened the Simla Conference. Leaders of all major parties — the Congress, the Muslim League, and others — were invited.
But the optimism was short-lived. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, now at the height of his political influence, insisted that the Muslim League alone had the right to nominate Muslim members to the new Executive Council. The Congress, which claimed to represent all Indians regardless of religion, refused to accept this communal veto.
The talks collapsed — and with it, so did Britain’s hope for an easy settlement.
From this point onward, no constitutional progress was possible without Jinnah’s approval — a reality that reflected both the League’s growing power and Britain’s willingness to play one community against another.
The INA Trials: The Return of Revolutionary Patriotism
While the political stage was deadlocked, a new wave of nationalism erupted from an unexpected source — the Indian National Army (INA).
After Japan’s surrender in 1945, thousands of INA soldiers — who had fought under Subhas Chandra Bose’s leadership to liberate India by force — were captured by the British and charged with treason.
The first major trial, held at the Red Fort in Delhi, involved Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Major-General Shah Nawaz Khan.
What began as a legal proceeding soon turned into a nationwide awakening. Across the country, people of every community and political ideology united in sympathy with the INA soldiers. Rallies, strikes, and demonstrations erupted in their support.
Even British loyalists within the army and administration began to question their conscience.
Faced with massive public pressure, the British government eventually had to release the accused officers.
The INA trials revealed something profound — that the emotional unity of Indians had outgrown the boundaries of party and religion. The myth of British moral superiority had shattered completely.
The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny: The Empire Trembles
Barely months later, this sentiment exploded again — this time within the ranks of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN).
On 18 February 1946, Indian sailors aboard the ship HMIS Talwar in Bombay went on strike, protesting against poor food, racial discrimination, and the humiliating behavior of British officers.
Within days, the strike spread to ships and dockyards across Bombay, Karachi, Madras, and Calcutta — involving nearly 20,000 sailors. They hoisted the tricolour, shouted slogans of “Jai Hind”, and demanded freedom.
For a moment, it seemed as if the empire might crumble from within.
However, the political leadership — both Congress and Muslim League — advised restraint, fearing an uncontrollable armed revolt. Only the Communist Party openly supported the mutiny.
The rebellion was eventually suppressed, but its psychological impact was enormous.
British officials later admitted that the RIN Mutiny shook the foundations of the Raj. The loyalty of the armed forces — the pillar of British power in India — could no longer be taken for granted. Independence, by now, was inevitable.
Elections of 1945–46: Two Mandates, One Nation Divided
As a final attempt to measure political sentiment, the British held general elections in 1945–46.
The results made the political divide unmistakably clear:
- The Congress swept almost all general (non-Muslim) constituencies, proving its claim as the voice of the Indian majority.
- The Muslim League, under Jinnah’s leadership, won nearly every seat reserved for Muslims, proving its dominance among Muslim voters and giving new strength to the demand for Pakistan.
In essence, the elections showed that India now had two political majorities living side by side — not yet separate countries, but no longer united either.
The Cabinet Mission: Britain’s Last Attempt at Unity
Alarmed by the deepening divide, the British government sent the Cabinet Mission to India in March 1946.
It consisted of Sir Pethick-Lawrence, Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander — three senior British ministers tasked with negotiating the final transfer of power.
The Mission proposed a plan that sought to keep India united while accommodating the communal concerns. It suggested a three-tier federation —
- Provinces,
- Groups of provinces (on communal lines), and
- A federal centre controlling defence, foreign affairs, and communications.
At first, both Congress and the Muslim League seemed willing to work with it — but each interpreted it in a way that suited its own vision.
When the League realized that the plan did not grant a clear path to Pakistan, it withdrew its acceptance and turned toward direct action.
The Congress, on the other hand, was unwilling to accept groupings that could weaken national unity.
The Cabinet Mission thus collapsed, like every British plan before it — unable to bridge the widening gulf between the two major political forces of India.
The Final Realization
By mid-1946, one truth had become undeniable: British authority in India was collapsing from all sides.
- The people were united in their demand for freedom.
- The armed forces were no longer reliable.
- The administrative machinery was losing legitimacy.
- And communal tensions were turning political disagreements into national divisions.
The empire that had ruled India for nearly two centuries now found itself standing on quicksand. The Wavell Plan, the Simla Conference, the INA trials, the RIN mutiny, the 1945–46 elections, and the Cabinet Mission Plan — all were different scenes of the same final drama: the disintegration of British control and the unstoppable rise of Indian self-determination.
Within a year, these events would culminate in the Mountbatten Plan of 1947 and the Partition of India — moments both triumphant and tragic, marking the end of colonial rule and the birth of a free nation.