WWII

WWII

Declaration of war
1. Linlithgow's statement
  1. Hypocritical - as he said they'd fight against rule of foreign power
  2. Congress - Provincial Ministers resign in protest
    1. Muslim League Leaders take their positions
2. No consultation with Indians
3. Congress
  1. Support war against fascism esp. Nehru
  2. Gandhi
    1. Thinks war should be solved through Ahimsa
    2. Offers to travel to Ger and negotiate with Hitler
4. Indian contribution
  1. 2million fought - all religious/communal groups
  2. Princes sent armies, munitions etc
    1. British dropped the idea of federation to ensure princes support
Impact of Churchill
1. Views/attitudes
  1. Imperialist
    1. Key member of India Defence League
  2. Saw India as 'jewel in the crown'
  3. Wants to maintain status quo
  4. stubborn, opionated
    1. Lord Zetland (SoSI) resigns when Churchill becomes PM - knows his views would be incompatible
2. Atlantic Charter 1941
  1. Agreement between Churchill and Roosevelt
  2. Cemented mutual belief in values of 'sovereign rights and self gov' for nations
    1. interpreted differently by C and R
      1. R meant all nations C pretended he thought it meant newly created countries
  3. Churchill had to sign - needed US support in WWII
3. 1940 offer
  1. Offered dominion status after the war
    1. Congress reject - are committed to 'purna swaraj'
  2. Brit knew this would be popular in U.S
  3. Churchill reluctant to offer even this limited solution
4. Cripps mission 1942
  1. Offer: Dominion status at end of war, more reps on executive council now
  2. Reaction - rejected Congress - Not Purna Swaraj
  3. British motivation for mission
    1. Appease US demands for more self gov - gain support in war
      1. Show international community Brit is at least trying to make reforms and its Indians' fault they aren't working
    2. Try and prevent Congress campaign
  4. Set up to fail?
    1. Didn't tell Linlithgow Cripps was going
    2. Knew that the offer would be rejected
    3. Wants to damage Cripps' rep too - political rival
Lahore Resolution 1940
1. Demand for a seperate Muslim state - Pakistan
2. Result of Congress' refusal to allow Muslims on Prov Govs after '37 elections
3. Made by Jinnah
4. Initially seen as a bargaining chip by Jinnah
5. Deliberately vague - wants to scare Congress into compromising
Quit India 1942-1943
1. Indian Actions
  1. Mass Civil disobedience campaign
  2. Some violent actions
    1. Attempt to seize Delhi using guerrila tactics
      1. Called on US soldiers to support
    2. Public transport targeted
    3. Riots, arson
2. British reactions
  1. Coordinated by Linlithgow
    1. Overides opposition of executive council
  2. Hundreds killed
  3. 500 imprisoned without trial
  4. Villages burnt
  5. Aircraft used to machine-gun crowd
  6. Violent reaction due to war time
  7. Successfully crushed by 1943
3. Why launched?
  1. Failure of Cripps mission
  2. Congress disillusionment with Political negotiations
INA
1. Independence group, led by Bose
  1. Bose met with Hitler looking for support - he sent them to the Japanese
2. Supported by Japanese
  1. Propaganda
  2. Equipment
  3. Men - taken from Japanese PoW camps.
3. Fought in India at Imphal and Kohima against the British
  1. Easily beaten - lack of org, equip etc.
4. A threat?
  1. Yes!
    1. Somewhere between 15 and 50 thousand troops
    2. Controlled Adaman Islands
    3. ability to create unrest in India
  2. No
    1. destroyed in battle
    2. Poor equip, org etc.
5. PoWs captured by British
  1. Prob for Brit - either let them go = weak or punish them = create unrest
  2. Put on trial one PoW from each religious community in attempt to seem fair.
    1. This unites opposition Britian forced to release them. Worst of both worlds
Wavell
1. why chosen?
  1. military
    1. Churchill wanted to continue hardline approach
    2. would follow orders
  2. no real political views
  3. Churchill thought he'd be easy to control
2. Bengal famine
  1. Solved the problem
  2. Took a humanitarian approach
  3. Successfully negotiates grain from Churchill against Ch's wishes
3. Practical - 'great man for solutions'
4. Simla Conference 1945
  1. Discuss moves towards further reform
  2. Wavell organised this despite Churhill's opposition
  3. No agreement reached - Jinnah particularly obstructive as he realises this gains him personal political power.

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	Created by Tom Lea over 11 years ago