Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1
The All-India Congress Committee passed the Quit India Resolution on ............... .
- 8 July, 1942
- 8 August, 1942
- 1st September, 1942
- 2nd September, 1942
Answer
8 August, 1942
Question 2
The battle cry that Mahatma Gandhi gave for the Quit India Movement (1942) was:
- Keep your eyes open
- Tit-for-tat
- Do or Die
- Swaraj is My Birth Right
Answer
Do or Die
Question 3
Complete the given analogy:
Simon Commission : Civil Disobedience Movement
Cripps Mission : .....................
- Non-Cooperation Movement
- Anti-Partition Movement
- Quit India Movement
- Khilafat Movement
Answer
Quit India Movement
Question 4
Which of the following statements is Incorrect regarding the significance of the Quit India Movement?
- It warned the British that they were not wanted in India.
- The Movement hastened the British decision to quit India.
- Jai Prakash Narayan had a historic role to play in this Movement.
- There were violent occurrences because there was violence in Gandhi's tone when he spoke on Quit India Resolution.
Answer
There were violent occurrences because there was violence in Gandhi's tone when he spoke on Quit India Resolution.
Short Answer Questions
Question 1
What was that grave situation which urged British Government to send Sir Stafford Cripps on a Mission to India?
Answer
The entry of Japan in Second World War was a cause of great worry for Britain, USA and China. The war had come to the border of India and the efficient defence of India needed the fullest cooperation of the people of the country. The British Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill was still not showing any eagerness to reach an agreement with Indian leaders. Then came the pressure of the President of USA. The result was that Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British War Cabinet, was sent to India to solve the Indian problem.
Question 2
What name was given to the Mass Uprising of 1942?
Answer
The Mass Uprising of 1942 was called the Quit India Movement.
Question 3
On which day did the All-India Congress Committee pass the Quit India Resolution? What was Government's immediate reaction to it?
Answer
The All-India Congress Committee passed the Quit India Resolution on 8 August, 1942.
In the early hours of the morning of August 9, all the top leaders including Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Nehru were arrested. The government alleged that destruction of the means of communication formed a part of the Congress programme. As there was none to provide leadership to the people, violent riots began on a large scale throughout India.
Question 4
Name a prominent person who became a legendary figure because of the role he played in the Quit India Movement.
Answer
Jai Prakash Narayan became a legendary figure because of the role he played in the Quit India Movement.
Question 5
Which proposal in the Cripps Offer was sure to lead to a partition of India?
Answer
One of the proposals of the Cripps offer was that the British Government would accept the Constitution so framed subject to the condition that any Province or Provinces which did not accept the New Constitution could frame a Constitution of their own. They, singly or together, would be accorded the same status as the Indian Union had. Such a proposal was sure to lead to a partition of India.
Question 6
Which proposal in the Cripps Offer regarding Indian States (or Princely States) went against the principles of democracy and self-determination?
Answer
According to the proposal in the Cripps Offer, the people of the Princely States had not been given the right to elect their representatives to the proposed Constitution-making body. Their representatives were to be selected by the rulers. That was a negation of the principle of democracy.
Question 7
Mention any one point that would stress the significance of the Quit India Movement.
Answer
The Quit India Movement was symbolic of a new confidence that the people had attained. It warned the British that they were not wanted in India. It aroused among people a spirit of total sacrifice.
Structured Questions
Question 1
By the end of 1941 the situation became so critical that Britain had to make some gestures to win over Indians. Mention any four Proposals which Sir Stafford Cripps brought in order to negotiate an agreement with Indian leaders.
Answer
Sir Stafford Cripps brought the following four proposals in order to negotiate an agreement with Indian leaders-
- After the War was over India would be given the same Status as the other Dominions had.
- Immediately after the War, Constituent Assembly would be set up. The Princely States would be free to choose whether to join the Indian union or to stay out.
- The British Government would accept the Constitution so framed subject to the condition that any Province or Provinces which did not accept the New Constitution could frame a Constitution of their own. They, singly or together, would be accorded the same status as the Indian Union had. Such a Proposal was sure to lead to a partition of India.
- The Constituent Assembly would conclude a Treaty with the British Government. This Treaty would cover "all matters arising out of the complete transfer of responsibility from British to Indian hands." Besides other matters, they would guarantee the protection of racial and religious minorities in India.
Question 2
The failure of Cripps Mission was due to many reasons. In this context answer the following questions:
(a) Mention any four reasons why the Cripps Proposals were rejected by the Congress?
(b) Why were the Cripps Proposals rejected by the Muslim League?
Answer
(a) Four reasons for the rejection of the Cripps Proposals by the Congress were-
- Cripps did not bring with him the promise of Independence in the near future, because the Constituent Assembly to frame India's Constitution was to be set up after the War.
- Cripps proposed that any Province or Provinces which did not accept the new Constitution could frame a Constitution of their own. Such proposals could naturally divide India into a number of independent states.
- The people of the Princely States had not been given the right to elect their representatives to the proposed Constitution-making body. Their representatives were to be selected by the rulers. That was a negation of the principle of democracy.
- Until the New Constitution was framed the Government desired full participation of Indian leaders in Viceroy's Executive Council. But the problem about this proposal was that the Viceroy was to retain full control over matters like War and Defence. In fact, in war times defence covers almost the whole of administration. The Congress wanted a true National Government, with Viceroy acting as a Constitutional Head and with all subjects including defence under the control of this Government.
(b) The Muslim League rejected the proposals of Sir Stafford Cripps because it felt that the prospect of achieving Pakistan was bleak. It demanded "a definite pronouncement in favour of Partition."
Question 3
On August 8, 1942 the All-India Congress Committee passed the famous Quit India Resolution. Mention the Japanese threat to India's security as one of the main reasons that led to the passing of this Resolution.
Answer
Japan posed a serious threat to India.
- The Congress was greatly perturbed by the developments in South-East Asia.
- Japanese bombers raided Shanghai and their armies overran the Philippines and Malaya.
- They occupied Burma (Myanmar) also and then marched towards Assam.
- The War thus had come to the very border of India.
- Our great anxiety was - what should be done if India was attacked by Japan? Had Japanese armies attacked they could quickly occupy India without much opposition.
- There was nothing that Indians could do to resist it.
- This feeling of helplessness irritated many leaders, and in particular Jawaharlal Nehru. He even advised people to resort to guerilla warfare in the event of a Japanese invasion.
- Gandhi and other leaders were now convinced that the situation called for complete Independence — immediate and unconditional. Only then could the people realise that the defence of the country was their duty and their alone.
Question 4
The failure of the Cripps Mission brought about a distinct change in the attitude of the Congress, which was now asking the British to quit India. In this context answer the following questions:
(a) What did the Quit India Resolution say?
(b) What was the Impact or Significance of the Movement?
Or
Mention any four consequences of the 1942 Movement.
Answer
(a) The Congress Working Committee met at Wardha in July, 1942.
- It adopted a long resolution, that came to be known as the Quit India Resolution.
- It demanded that "British rule in India must end immediately".
- The All-India Congress Committee met at Mumbai to consider the Resolution.
- After lengthy discussion it was passed on 8 August, 1942.
- The Resolution said, "No future promises or guarantees can affect the present situation. Only the glow of freedom can now release that energy and enthusiasm of millions of people which will immediately transform the nature of the War."
- If this demand was not conceded, the Congress declared its resolve to start a mass struggle on non-violent lines under Gandhiji's leadership.
(b) Four consequences of the 1942 Movement were as follows-
- The 1942 Movement was an important landmark in India's struggle for freedom. It was by far a very serious uprising that saw disturbances practically all over India.
- The Movement was symbolic of a new confidence that the people had attained. It warned the British that they were not wanted in India. It aroused among people a spirit of total sacrifice.
- There was nothing to stop Indians from attaining their freedom. It was just a matter of time. The Movement hastened the British decision to quit India.
- In the history of British rule in India, no such revolt had occurred earlier. The youngest of the generations (school children), the youths (college and university students) and an older generation of experienced politicians, they all had joined in the struggle for Independence. In the Quit India Movement the Indian Revolution reached its climax.