UPSC Prelims 2011 · Question 24 of 100
UPSC Prelims 2011 question on Quit India Labour Participation
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2011
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectModern History
- TopicIndian National Movement
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
Which one of the following observations is not true about the Quit India Movement of 1942?
Show answer
Answer: D. It did not attract the labour class in general
Verdict
Correct Answer: It did not attract the labour class in general
Analysis
This observation is not true about the Quit India Movement of 1942. The movement did attract workers and the labour class, especially in major industrial centres.
The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, with the slogan “Do or Die.”
Although Gandhi intended it to be a non-violent mass struggle, the immediate arrest of Congress leaders on 9 August 1942 made the movement largely spontaneous and decentralised. In many places, people attacked symbols of British authority such as police stations, post offices, railway lines and telegraph lines.
The statement that it did not attract the labour class is incorrect. Workers participated through strikes, hartals and shutdowns in industrial centres such as Bombay, Ahmedabad, Jamshedpur and other towns. Therefore, labour participation was an important feature of the movement.
Extra UPSC info
Quit India Movement is also called the August Movement.
It became a largely leaderless and spontaneous movement after the arrest of top Congress leaders.
Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan.
Underground resistance was carried out by leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Usha Mehta.
Usha Mehta ran the underground Congress Radio.
Parallel governments were formed in places like Ballia, Tamluk and Satara.
The movement was not officially supported by the Muslim League, Communist Party of India and Hindu Mahasabha.
How to crack it
The Quit India Movement was one of the most spontaneous and widespread mass movements of the freedom struggle. The claim that it did not attract the labour class is incorrect because workers actively participated through strikes and protests.