India is currently in the middle of a major movement, quit India. This movement started soon after the end of World War II. When the British declared war on Germany, we agreed to help them fight but only if we immediately got sharing of power in India’s government. But a British gentleman made a new proposal. Sir Strafford Cripps offered only a self-governing nation within the British Commonwealth once the war was over. In reaction to this, Gandhi and the congress created a new civil disobedience campaign called quit India. We Indians have had enough! The British have controlled us and exploited us for too long. We were kind enough to agree to fight for them and this is what they do! The war really hurt India. The pressure it put on our economy created many hardships for our population like food shortages. All Indian leaders, like Gandhi, are encouraging Indian civilians to protest the British in nonviolent ways. But the British have not been taking this very well. Contrary to Gandhi’s philisophies, many protests have turned violent. There were police shootings and many villages were destroyed. There have been brutal punishments and gruesome attacks on suspected rebels. I have contributed in this movement by organizing many civil disobedience protests as well as being involved in the work of the INC. The Quit India resolution was passed by congress in Mumbai yesterday, August 8th. Early this morning some INC congress leaders like Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad and I, were arrested and imprisoned. Every hour the number of people arrested or killed just continues to increase because of Britians desire to silence us. The members of congress and the Indian public do not want to watch this continue and we hope that this movement is our last attempt to reach our goal of freedom.
