Independence of India

1. INDEPENDENCE OF INDIA

2. Introduction Independence of India, observed annually on 15 August, is a national holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from British rule on 15 August 1947. India attained freedom following an independence movement noted for largely nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience led by the Indian National Congress (INC). Independence coincided with the partition of India, in which the British Indian Empire was divided along religious lines into the Dominions of India and Pakistan; the partition was accompanied by violent riots and mass casualties. On 15 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, who had become the first Prime Minister of India that day, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the Prime Minister has raised the flag and given a speech. The holiday is observed throughout India with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events. Indians celebrate the day by displaying the national flag on their attire, accessories, homes and vehicles; by listening to patriotic songs, watching patriotic movies; and bonding with family and friends. Books and films feature the independence and partition in their narrative. Separatist and militant organisations have often carried out terrorist attacks on and around 15 August, and others have declared strikes and used black flags to boycott the celebration.

3. History Of Independence The history behind Indian independence is very painful and is full of sacrifices. And only because of those sacrifices India freed herself from the shackles of British Empire on 15th August 1947. It was an endless struggle of millions faceless Indians, who made the inhabitants united and fought for the freedom of their own country. The year 1857 is a benchmark in the history of Indian independence. On 29th march 1875, a brave Indian soldier first ever raised his voice against the British Empire and later it resulted to Sepoy Mutiny. The name of the Indian soldier was Mangal Pandey, and the reason behind his revolt was, low wages of Indian workers than other British soldiers, racial discrimination and cultural misunderstandings. And another strong reason was the packing of the cartridges which was believed to be greased with cow and pig fat and soldiers had to tear the packing with their teeth in order to use it. And that was something which considered being very unholy for the Hindu soldiers. Combination of all these issues led to the violent uprising of Barrakpore Sepoy mutiny. Mangal Pandey, the Hindu soldier of the 34th Native infantry was hanged as because he had shot his sergeant major on the parade ground. This incident fanned the fire of the revolution.  On 10th may of the same year the enraged Indian soldiers and the common civilians of Meerut joined their hands to protest against the ill-treatment of the British on some native soldiers. Later this revolt took a big form but it was eventually put down by the effective British military.

4. First War Of Independence Causes Political causes The Indian sepoys were dissatisfied with treatment meted out with them. The Indian rulers – Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tatya Tope, Rani Laxmi Baiand Nana Saheb , had personal scores to settle with the British. The lord Dalhousie introduced the policy of annexations – ‘The Doctrine of Lapse’. This created fear and resentment among Indian rulers.

5. . Economic Causes The zamindari system exploited the peasants who were forced to grow only those crops that the British industries required. They were tortured or jailed on failure to pay the revenue on time. The common people faced unemployment and poverty. Social & religious Causes The Social Reforms by the British were considered an interference in the customs and traditions of the Hindus. The Hindu law of property was changed into enable a Christian convert to receive his share of ancestral property. Indians were not allowed to travel in first class train compartments.

6. . Military Causes The Sepoys had helped the British to establish their empire in India but instead of receiving awards or promotions they were humiliated by the British. There was a discrimination between the Indian and British soldier. The highest pay given to an Indian Sepoy as Subedar was less than the minimum pay of European Recruit. The Act of 1856, made it compulsory for new recruit to serve overseas. Kunwar Singh the 80 year old land lord of Jagdishpur was the most outstanding military leader of the revolt in the Western Bihar.

7. First War Of Independence Results The rebellion was a most major event in the history of modern India. The Parliament of the United Kingdom withdrew the right of the British East India Company to rule India in November 1858. The United Kingdom started ruling India directly through its representative called the Viceroy of India. It made India a part of the British Empire. It promised the "the Princes, Chiefs, and Peoples of India," equal treatment under the British law. In 1877, Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India. The British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor, out of India, and kept him in Yangon (then called Rangoon), Burma where he died in 1862. The Mughal dynasty, which had ruled India for about four hundred years, ended with his death. The British also took many steps to employ members of Indian higher castes and rulers into the government. They stopped taking the lands of the remaining princes and rulers of India. They stopped interference in religious matters. They started employing Indians in the civil services but at lower levels. They increased the number of British soldiers, and allowed only British soldiers to handle artillery.

8. Indian Independence Movement Nationalist response to war In the aftermath of World War I, high casualty rates, soaring inflation compounded by heavy taxation, a widespread influenza epidemic and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human suffering in India. The pre-war nationalist movement revived as moderate and extremist groups within the Congress submerged their differences in order to stand as a unified front. They argued their enormous services to the British Empire during the war demanded a reward, and demonstrated the Indian capacity for self-rule. In 1916, the Congress succeeded in forging the Lucknow Pact, a temporary alliance with the Muslim League over the issues of devolution of political power and the future of Islam in the region.

9. . British reforms The British themselves adopted a "carrot and stick" approach in recognition of India's support during the war and in response to renewed nationalist demands. In August 1917, Edwin Montagu, the secretary of state for India, made the historic announcement in Parliament that the British policy for India was "increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire." The means of achieving the proposed measure were later enshrined in the Government of India Act 1919, which introduced the principle of a dual mode of administration, or diarchy, in which both elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials shared power. The act also expanded the central and provincial legislatures and widened the franchise considerably. Diarchy set in motion certain real changes at the provincial level: a number of non-controversial or "transferred" portfolios, such as agriculture, local government, health, education, and public works, were handed over to Indians, while more sensitive matters such as finance, taxation, and maintaining law and order were retained by the provincial British administrators.

10. Gandhi arrives to India Gandhi returned to India, on 9 January 1915 and initially entered the political fray not with calls for a nation-state, but in support of the unified commerce-oriented territory that the Congress Party had been asking for. Gandhi believed that the industrial development and educational development that the Europeans had brought with them were required to alleviate many of India's problems. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a veteran Congressman and Indian leader, became Gandhi's mentor. Gandhi's ideas and strategies of non-violent civil disobedience initially appeared impractical to some Indians and Congressmen. In Gandhi's own words, "civil disobedience is civil breach of unmoral statutory enactments." It had to be carried out non-violently by withdrawing cooperation with the corrupt state. Gandhi's ability to inspire millions of common people became clear when he used satyagraha during the Anti-Rowlatt Act protests in Punjab. Gandhi had great respect for Lokmanya Tilak. His programmes were all inspired by Tilak's "Chatusutri" programme. Gandhi's vision would soon bring millions of regular Indians into the movement, transforming it from an elitist struggle to a national one. The nationalist cause was expanded to include the interests and industries that formed the economy of common Indians. For example, in Champaran, Bihar, Gandhi championed the plight of desperately poor sharecroppers and landless farmers who were being forced to pay oppressive taxes and grow cash crops at the expense of the subsistence crops which formed their food supply. The profits from the crops they grew were insufficient to provide for their sustenance. The positive impact of reform was seriously undermined in 1919 by the Rowlatt Act, named after the recommendations made the previous year to the ImperialLegislative Council by the RowlattCommission. The Rowlatt Act vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, detaining the political activists without trial, and arresting any individuals suspected of sedition or treason without a warrant. In protest, a nationwide cessation of work (hartal) was called, marking the beginning of widespread, although not nationwide, popular discontent.

11. The Non Co-operation movement The Non-Cooperation Movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi and was supported by the Indian National Congress.After Jallianwala Bagh incident Gandhi started Non Cooperation movement. It aimed to resist British occupation in India through non-violent means. Protestors would refuse to buy British goods, adopt the use of local handicrafts, picket liquor shops, and try to uphold the Indian values of honor and integrity. The ideals of Ahimsa or non-violence, and Gandhi's ability to rally hundreds of thousands of common citizens towards the cause of Indian independence, were first seen on a large scale in this movement through the summer 1920, they feared that the movement might lead to popular violence. Among the significant causes of this movement were colonial oppression, exemplified by the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre, economic hardships to the common man due to a large chunk of Indian wealth being exported to Britain, ruin of Indian artisans due to British factory-made goods replacing handmade goods, and popular resentment with the British over Indian soldiers dying in World War I while fighting as part of the British Army, in battles that otherwise had nothing to do with India

12. . The calls of early political leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah (who later became communal and hardened his stand), Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress Extremists) for home rule were accompanied only by petitions and major public meetings. They never resulted in disorder or obstruction of government services. Partly due to that, the British did not take them very seriously. The non-cooperation movement aimed to ensure that the colonial economic and power structure would be seriously challenged, and British authorities would be forced to take notice of the people's demands.Here we should know that many revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad were supporters of this very movement but were really dissatisfied by the dismissing of movement by Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had shown a similar movement in South Africa and in 1917-18 in Champaran, Bihar and Kheda, Gujarat that the only way to earn the respect and attention of British officials was to actively resist government activities through civil disobedience. Now in Champaran and Kheda in 1918 he led impoverished farmers, mired in social evils like unhygienic conditions, domestic violence, discrimination, oppression of women and untouchability. On top of their miseries, these people were forced to grow cash crops like indigo, tobacco and cotton instead of food, and for this they were virtually not compensated. In addition, they had to pay taxes despite a famine.

13. The Governments of the affected regions signed agreements suspending taxation in face of the famine, allowing the farmers to grow their own crops, releasing all political prisoners and returning all property and lands seized. It was the biggest victory against the British Empire since the American Revolution. India were assisted by a new generation of Indian revolutionaries like Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru. In Kheda, the entire revolt had been led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was to become Gandhi's right hand man. A meeting of unarmed civilians was being held at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden temple in Amritsar. The people were fired upon by soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. He also ordered the only exit to be blocked. The massacre resulted in the deaths of some 370 protestors while over 1000 were injured in the shooting. The outcry in Punjab led to thousands of unrests, protests and more deaths at the hands of the police. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre became the most infamous event of British rule in India.

14. Salt Satyagraha On 12 March 1930, Gandhi and 78 satyagrahis many of them were scheduled castes, set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, over 390 kilometres (240 mi) from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. Salt March was also called the White Flowing river because all the people were joining the procession wearing white khadi. According to The Statesman, the official government newspaper which usually played down the size of crowds at Gandhi's functions, 100,000 people crowded the road that separated Sabarmati from Ahmadabad. The first day's march of 21 kilometres (13 mi) ended in the village of Aslali, where Gandhi spoke to a crowd of about 4,000. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end co-operation with British rule. As they entered each village, crowds greeted the marchers, beating drums and cymbals. Gandhi gave speeches attacking the salt tax as inhuman, and the salt satyagraha as a "poor man's battle." Each night they slept in the open. The only thing that was asked of the villagers was food and water to wash with. Gandhi felt that this would bring the poor into the battle for independence, necessary for eventual victory.

15. Thousands of satyagrahis and leaders like Sarojini Naidu joined him. Every day, more and more people joined the march, until the procession of marchers became at least two miles long.To keep up their spirits, the marchers used to sing the Hindu bhajan Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram while walking. At Surat, they were greeted by 30,000 people. When they reached the railhead at Dandi, more than 50,000 were gathered. Gandhi gave interviews and wrote articles along the way. Foreign journalists made him a household name in Europe and America. The New York Times wrote almost daily about the Salt March, including two front page articles on 6 and 7 April.Near the end of the march, Gandhi declared, "I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might.

16. Quit India The Quit India Act (Hindi: भारत छोड़ो आन्दोलन Bhārat Chhodo Āndolan), or the August Movement (August Kranti) was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for 'Satyagraha' . The All-India Congress Committee proclaimed a mass protest demanding what Gandhi called "an orderly British withdrawal" from India. The call for determined, but passive resistance appears in his call to Do or Die, issued on 8 August at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai on year 1942. The British were prepared to act. Almost the entire INC leadership, and not just at the national level, was imprisoned without trial within hours after Gandhi's speech—at least 60,000 people. Most spent the rest of the war in prison and out of contact with the masses. The British had the support of the Viceroy's Council (which had a majority of Indians), of the Muslims, the Communist Party, the princely states, the Imperial and state police, the Indian Army, and the Indian Civil Service. Many Indian businessmen were profiting from heavy wartime spending and did not support Quit India. Many students paid more attention to Subhas Chandra Bose, who was in exile and supporting the Axis. The only outside support came from the Americans, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressured Prime Minister Winston Churchill to give in to Indian demands. The Quit India campaign was effectively crushed.

17. The British refused to grant immediate independence, saying it could happen only after the war ended. Procession view at Bangalore Sporadic small-scale violence took place around the country but the British arrested tens of thousands of leaders, keeping them imprisoned until 1945, and suppressed civil rights, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In terms of immediate objectives Quit India failed because of heavy-handed suppression, weak coordination and the lack of a clear-cut programme of action. However, the British government realized that India was ungovernable in the long run, and the question for postwar became how to exit gracefully and peacefully .

18. Our Opinion  Incredible India! Celebrating 66 years of Independence. We see a future that is not so bright like what our leaders dreamed in 1947. The curse continues. Incredible India!Incredible India! What should be done to live up to its name? Its time for the Gen-Next to take up the fight for a new nation. Incredible India!Incredible India! When we see small Asian countries with no major history under their names setting high standards in living but ourcountry with more than 5000 years of history doesn't show a basic standard. Incredible India!Now its time for the next generation to lead the nation. Its time for the next generation to wage war against the most dangerous trend that exist in our daily life, CORRUPTION.

19. India's 1st Independence that lasted for 200 years came to the climax after the formation of Quit India Movement. Now the 2nd freedom struggle is surely heading towards the climax as we are going to see the formation of Young India Movement.Its time for Young India Movement.May God bless India and the rest of the world.

20. Made By:-Shweta Singh, Anisha Rani Singh Thank You