Examine how Quit India Movement was genuinely a mass movement.

The Quit India Movement of 1942:

1. In March 1942, the Cripps Mission failed as the British were not willing to promise independence for Indians even after the World War and rejected the Congress’s proposal for the formation of a National Government during the war.

2. The Congress now started the third mass movement against the British rule. On August 9,1942, Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Quit India’.

3. The main features of the Quit India Movement are as under:

Soon after the resolution was passed, the Congress was banned. All the important leaders were arrested. It provoked a wave of indignation among the people throughout the country. There were demonstrations. People resorted to the use of vigilance. The British Government used police and army to suppress the movement. Thousands of people were killed and over 70,000 arrested in less than five months. In this movement the farmers, the labourers, the teachers, the students, the men and the women, the people of rural as well of urban areas participated in a great number.

4. Despite several atrocities of the British Government to crush the movement, the people continued the struggle for freedom. It is a manifestation of their faith and courage against the British imperialists.