NotesBolt logoNotesBolt — Exam-ready book notes
Back

History · Spectrum Books A Brief History of Modern India

Chapter 24 : Post-War National Scenario

Table of contents45 sections
  1. 1.Post-War National Scenario
  2. 2.Two Strands of National Upsurge
  3. 3.Key Terms
  4. 4.📌 Exam Tidbits
  5. 5.Change in Government's Attitude
  6. 6.Key Terms
  7. 7.📌 Exam Tidbits
  8. 8.Congress Election Campaign and the INA Trials
  9. 9.Election Campaign for Nationalistic Aims
  10. 10.The INA Trials and Agitation
  11. 11.Congress Support for INA Prisoners
  12. 12.The INA Agitation—A Landmark on Many Counts
  13. 13.Key Terms
  14. 14.📌 Exam Tidbits
  15. 15.Three Upsurges—Winter of 1945-46
  16. 16.Three-Stage Pattern
  17. 17.Evaluation of Potential and Impact
  18. 18.Congress Strategy
  19. 19.Key Terms
  20. 20.📌 Exam Tidbits
  21. 21.Election Results (Winter 1945-46)
  22. 22.Key Terms
  23. 23.📌 Exam Tidbits
  24. 24.The Cabinet Mission
  25. 25.Why British Withdrawal Seemed Imminent Now
  26. 26.On the Eve of the Cabinet Mission Plan
  27. 27.Cabinet Mission Proposals
  28. 28.Different Interpretations of the Grouping Clause
  29. 29.Wavell's 'Breakdown Plan'
  30. 30.Acceptance and Rejection
  31. 31.Key Terms
  32. 32.📌 Exam Tidbits
  33. 33.Communal Holocaust and the Interim Government
  34. 34.Changed Government Priorities
  35. 35.Interim Government
  36. 36.Obstructionist Approach and Ulterior Motives of the League
  37. 37.Key Terms
  38. 38.📌 Exam Tidbits
  39. 39.Birth and Spread of Communalism in India
  40. 40.Characteristic Features of Indian Communalism
  41. 41.Reasons for Growth of Communalism
  42. 42.Evolution of the Two-Nation Theory
  43. 43.Key Terms
  44. 44.📌 Exam Tidbits
  45. 45.Quick-Recall Box

Chapter preview

Post-War National Scenario

Two Strands of National Upsurge

After the Second World War ended in 1945, Britain's position changed drastically. The two years between the end of the war and independence witnessed two basic strands of national upsurge:

  • Tortuous negotiations involving the government, the Indian National Congress, and the Muslim League, increasingly accompanied by communal violence, culminating in freedom and partition.
  • Sporadic, localised, and extremely militant united mass actions by workers, peasants, and states' peoples forming a countrywide strike wave. This was occasioned by:
  • INA Release Movement
  • Royal Indian Navy (RIN) revolt
  • Tebhaga movement
  • Worli revolt
  • Punjab Kisan Morchas
  • Travancore peoples' struggle (especially the Punnapra-Vayalar episode)
  • Telangana peasant revolt

Key Terms

ConceptDefinition
National upsurgeThe dual process of high-level political negotiations and militant, sporadic mass actions by workers, peasants, and states' peoples during the last two years of British rule.

📌 Exam Tidbits

  • Movements: INA Release Movement, RIN revolt, Tebhaga, Worli, Punjab Kisan Morchas, Travancore struggle (Punnapra-Vayalar), Telangana revolt.
  • Period: Post-1945 to 1947.

Change in Government's Attitude

  • June 1945: The government lifted the ban on the Congress and released its leaders, expecting a demoralised people but finding tumultuous crowds.
  • The Wavell Plan, backed by the Conservative government in Britain, failed to break the constitutional deadlock.
  • July 1945: The Labour Party formed the government in Britain. Clement Attlee became Prime Minister and Pethick Lawrence became Secretary of State for India.
  • August 1945: Elections to central and provincial assemblies were announced.
  • September 1945: It was announced that a constituent assembly would be convened after elections, working according to the spirit of the Cripps Offer.

7 Factors Dictating the Government's Changed Attitude:

  1. Global Power Shift: The UK was no longer a big power; the USA and USSR emerged as superpowers, both favouring Indian freedom.
  2. Labour Government: More sympathetic to Indian demands.
  3. European Politics: A wave of socialist-radical governments emerged across Europe.
  4. British Exhaustion: Soldiers were weary, and the economy was shattered. (By 1945, Britain owed India £1.2 billion and was drained by the US Lend-Lease agreement, paid off only in 2006).
  5. Asian Anti-Imperialism:…
This is a 350-word maximum preview. The complete chapter remains available only with the History plan.
Locked chapter

This chapter is part of the History plan

Subscribe to read every chapter on any device. Free chapters remain readable for everyone.

View plans
Chapter 25 : Independence with Partition