Quit India Day wii Coming 9 August 2013.This Day known as Hind Chodo Andolan.
About Quit India Day
A series of movements were held before India got Independence on 14th
August 1947 and among all these Quit India movement was the crucial
one. Quit India day is observed every year on August 9 to mark the
anniversary of Quit India movement.
Quit India Movement was
truly a turning point in India’s struggle for freedom. Father of the
nation, Gandhiji gave a call to the masses and urged them to raise
their voice against British and asked them to “Quit India”.
Function is held in schools where skits, speeches are staged. The significance of the day is highlighted. The entire nation fills with a sense of patriotism and pay tributes to martyrs of the freedom struggle and the political leaders lay wreaths on the memorial.
Gandhi’s Call for Quit India
Sir
Stafford Cripps left the country amidst unprecedented excitement.
Immediately after the return of Sir Stafford Cripps, Gandhi announced
‘Quit India’ as the war cry for the Indians. To quote Gandhi, “The
presence of the British in India is an invitation to Japan to invade
India. Their withdrawal removes that bait…………”. Gandhi realized
that the time was ripe to take some strong and quick actions. He wrote
a series of articles in Harijan where he urged the people to rise in
action. He was in favor of resorting to direct action. In order to give
effect to the Mahatma’s views, The Congress Working Committee adopted
the well known ‘Quit India’ Resolution, on July 14th 1942 at Wardha.
The All India Congress Committee accepted this resolution with some
modifications, on 8th August, 1942 in Bombay.
The very
next day, on 9th August, eminent Congress leaders like Mahatma Gandhi,
Vallabhbhai Patel, Jaeaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad were arrested.
The masses were left without any guidance. Gandhi’s ‘do or die’ call
for the people created an upheaval in the country. But at the same
time, Gandhi mentioned specifically that mass movement should be
conducted following non violent means. The Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow,
adopted a policy of harsh repression all over the country and gory
instances of British atrocities abounded all over. This ruined the
atmosphere of non violence in the country. Unlike the other two
movements, the Non-Co-Operation and the Civil Disobedience Movement
that unleashed under the aegis of Mahatma Gandhi, the Quit India
Movement captures the quintessence of a ‘spontaneous’ rising by the
people.
The Quit India Movement, inaugurated at the
call of the Mahatma, unfolded in four phases. In the first phase there
were strikes, processions, demonstrations and processions. This phase
lasted for a period of three to four days and commenced from the day of
Gandhi’s arrest on August 9th , 1942. The factory and mill workers rose
to the cause and displayed maximum vigor and enthusiasm. The government
took recourse to repressive measures to subdue the movement. In an
incident of open fire in Bombay, the casualties included large number
of women and children.
Raids of municipal and
government buildings characterized the second phase of the movement.
Police stations, post offices and railway stations were attacked and
set ablaze. Attempts were made by the agitated mobs to capture court
buildings. Troops fired to control mob fury. September 1942, marks the
beginning of the third phase of the movement. It is said that during
this phase of the movement, the mob threw bombs on the police in Madhya
Pradesh, Bombay and Uttar Pradesh. With the emergence of the movement
into the fourth phase, it gained back its peaceful character and
extended till Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison in May, 1944.
Quit
India movement was Gandhi’s final bid to secure India’s independence.
Although, many diverse political ideologies crowded the scenario of
Indian National Movement at that time, yet it was the satyagraha
adopted by Gandhi that finally had the most telling effect in
challenging the British authorities. India was at the very threshold of
Independence by the end of the Quit India movement and Gandhi’s long
cherished dream was about to be realized. Quit India movement sealed
the success for satyagraha as a policy of political resistance, and
Gandhi’s role as the chief moving force behind India’s Independence
came to be universally accepted, although dark clouds of a communal
fissure still lurked in the background.
Celebration Quick India Day Delhi
New Delhi, August 8th 2011: Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) announced a nation-wide day of action against corporate takeover of our food and farming systems on August 9th, Quit India Day. The day is being marked in scores of locations in fifteen states around the country as “Monsanto, Quit India!” Day, filled with various events where citizens are going to take part to express their resistance against corporate control on our productive resources. This is to save our Food, Farmers and Freedom, announced ASHA in a press release.
“We have chosen the most potent and obvious symbol of corporate takeover of our food and farming – Monsanto, the largest seed company in the world and one of the top five agri-chemical corporations, with an annual turnover equivalent to five years of India’s outlay for National Agricultural Development Programme! Our governments should be aware of its long history of crimes against humanity, by its production and marketing of many toxic chemicals and other hazardous products. On its way to becoming the world’s largest seed company, Monsanto used several strategies including preventing farmers from re-using their seed, denying farmers and researchers free and open access to seed, and aggressive, monopolistic market maneuvers that suppressed competition. Monsanto did not shy away from resorting to bribery for getting regulatory approvals. Monsanto had at one point reportedly even stated its goal thus: ‘No food shall be grown that we do not own’, reflecting its profite
ering
ambitions. This company has sued and jailed farmers for the ‘crime’ of saving and re-using seed from their crops and even when they were victims of accidental genetic contamination! Monsanto and its associates have also not hesitated to sue governments in this country in pursuit of their profits and markets. How is the government hoping that farmers would benefit from the expansion of this company, its products and markets and on what basis and understanding are they partnering with the company?”, said ASHA in its press statement.
“The citizens of this country would like to know what has happened to all the investments that went into the public sector research all these years, given that today an overwhelming chunk of cotton and maize seed markets are controlled by this one company and given that many PPPs are being signed to promote this corporation’s seeds at the expense of this country’s seed sovereignty. Further, various public sector agri-universities are facilitating bio-piracy in the name of collaborative research projects”, said the organizers. They pointed out that it is short-sighted on the part of various governments to promote proprietary seed rather than strengthen farmer-level solutions for Seed in agriculture, given that this will only foster mono-cropping, dependence and overly-priced seed which will affect sustainable farm livelihoods. Sustainable alternatives are consistently being ignored on the farm front, the organisers said.
In 15 states across the country, led by farmers’ unions and civic groups, various events have been organized to create awareness amongst ordinary Indians about the true nature of corporations like Monsanto and to put pressure on governments to scrap any deals and partnerships with Monsanto and other such entities. The variety of events include bicycle rallies, Beej Rath, Kisan Jagran Sabhas, public protests and candlelight vigils, film screenings and awareness programs, Kheti Khurak Azaadi Jatha in Punjab and so on.
“We are forced to remind everyone on Quit India Day that we are living in times when our freedom is being jeopardized yet again in insidious ways – if we as a nation want to protect our food sovereignty and if we want to retain control on what we grow and what we eat, we need to resist this corporate takeover. We need to put into place lasting and affordable solutions that are farmer-controlled in our agriculture. Urban consumers should realize that it is not just our farmers who are getting trapped and exploited; consumers should understand that access to safe, diverse and nutritious food for all is also at risk”, said ASHA in its press release.
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