Quit India Movement

Campaign against British rule in India, begun in August 1942 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. In March 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps had tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Congress Party of the need for it to participate in the war effort against Japan. Instead, Gandhi called on the British to leave India and let Indians deal with the Japanese by non-violent means. Calls to ‘Quit India’ were met with the arrest of Gandhi and other Congress leaders, which led to bloodshed, violence, and suppression.