The Indian Nation in 1942

The Indian Nation in 1942, a collection of essays edited by Gyanendra Pandey, takes an in-depth look at the Quit India Movement, its causes and consequences, and reactions to it across the country. In his Introduction, Pandey says that the intensity and spread of the movement was contingent on a number of factors: the ‘immediacy’ of World War II in different parts of the subcontinent; the British government’s preparedness to put down any resistance that might interfere with War supplies; and the sharp differences of opinion among nationalist leaders and parties about the stand they should adopt in the face of the 1942 international crisis. The movement’s strongest centres were Bombay, Satara and Ahmedabad in the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the north, and Bengal and Orissa in the east. Madras (on account of Congress leader C. Rajagopalachari’s opposition) and Kerala (due to the Communist Party’s opposition) were relatively quiet during this time. The general ‘aloofness’ of Muslims to the movement, the author says, could be attributed in part to the growth of an independent Muslim political leadership and a separate Muslim constituency. Dalit groups, poor peasants and landless labourers were also hesitant to join the movement, which was led predominantly by rich peasants, small landlords and students from petty-bourgeois backgrounds. 1: ‘The Quit India Movement in Medinipur District’ In this essay, Hitesranjan Sanyal says that the political agitation in Medinipur district of Bengal was driven by unrest among the peasantry...