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History is a beautiful subject but only if it is accurate and authentic. Often, people in power distort history to show themselves as great saviours of their people. The story of India’s independence too has been twisted; many facts were never stated in history textbooks in schools. The people of India have been made to feel that India got independence only because of Gandhi, Nehru and the Indian National Congress. This is far from truth because many other factors played a role in Indian independence, and credit has not been given where it is due.

Major factors that led to India’s independence:

1) World War 2 – The allied powers comprising countries like the USA, UK, etc. did defeat Hitler and won the war, but the victory came at a huge cost. The economy of Britain suffered a very heavy blow, and Britain realised that it was no longer in a position to keep political control over its colonies like India. It simply did not have the financial resources to maintain armies and political control over its colonies. This is the reason it freed not only India (in 1947) but also other colonies such as Sri Lanka and Burma (both in 1948), Ghana (1957), Malaysia (1957), Israel (1948), Oman (1951), Ireland (1949). When I was a student, my history textbooks never talked about these colonies. There was no mention of the fact that besides India, Britain let go of other colonies as well—no correlations were ever made. We were made to feel that India’s independence was a gift that Gandhi and Nehru received from the British. The fact is that the Second World War changed the geo-political situation of the world. The old world order collapsed and a new one emerged in which Britain realised its limitations and took the sensible decision to adjust to the new world. The United Nations also was formed as a consequence of the Second World War.

It was not only Britain but also France that freed its colonies for similar reasons. In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia gained independence from France. In 1954, France had to leave Vietnam once and for all. France also freed Cambodia and Laos in 1953.

2) The Royal Indian Navy mutiny – On 18th February 1946, there was a big violent mutiny by sailors of the Royal Indian Navy and this movement spread throughout British India. The real cause of the mutiny was pathetic living conditions and poor quality food given to the Indian sailors — not surprising because by this time Britain was in deep financial stress and did not have the money to maintain defence personnel in its colonies. This revolt found support from all quarters except political parties like the Indian National Congress, Muslim League, etc. The Communist Party of India was the only prominent party that supported the mutiny. Mahatma Gandhi, however, condemned the revolt. Some British airmen stationed in India also supported the mutiny. Even some local police forces joined the mutiny and officers of the Indian Air Force supported the movement. One of the reasons that Congress and the Muslim League did not support the mutiny was that most of the sailors were young and perhaps the geriatric leaders of these two parties felt insecure about new and young leadership emerging from the movement and shake their well-established positions in the eye of the Indian people. The mutiny was resolved after political intervention by Vallabh Bhai Patel. The British succeeded in suppressing the revolt; however, they could clearly read the writing on the walls that said that the time to vacate India had arrived. When the army/navy/air force (comprising mainly of natives and locals) of a suppressed colony starts to revolt violently, it is no longer feasible to maintain control.  

This mutiny is a significant chapter in the history of Indian independence, yet as far I can remember it has not been given enough the importance it truly deserved.

The above two are, however, not the only causes for Indian independence. The Quit-India movement by Gandhi did add impetus to the independence movement. Nevertheless, it alone could never have gained India freedom from British rule. Many other movements such as the Non-Cooperation movement (1920), Civil Disobedience movement (1930), etc. had happened earlier but they failed to bring concrete results (despite being glorified by historians). Also, the imagination of the Indian people had fired up because of the legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.  He was hanged at a young age and became a legend and is revered even now by the people of India.

It is unfortunate that credit is not given to World War 2 in the textbooks of Indian history. It is ironic that Indians should thank a deranged dictator like Hitler, rather than Gandhi, for their independence. The truth is that, had the Second World War not happened, India would not have gained independence.

Article Author : Manish Jaitly