SSC CGL History · Modern India
Quit India and Independence
The last decade before freedom: the new parties of 1936 to 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA, Quit India and its young martyrs, and the British missions that ended in the partition plan of 1947.
Why this matters
Fourteen questions in the bank: eight from the 2023 shifts, three from the 2024 shifts and three from the 2025 shifts, and all but one EASY. The 2025 papers asked about the martyrs of Quit India, people a textbook mentions in a line, so learn the names in the table along with the big events.
Concept 1 of 3: Subhas Chandra Bose, the Forward Bloc and the INA
Definition
In time order:
- The Indian Struggle (1935): Bose's history of the freedom movement, written in exile.
- Forward Bloc (1939): founded after Bose resigned as Congress President over his differences with Gandhi.
- Free India Legion, or Tiger Legion (1941): raised by Bose in Germany from Indian prisoners of war.
- Indian National Army: formed in Singapore in 1942 by Captain Mohan Singh from prisoners taken by the Japanese, and revived by Bose there in 1943.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Modern India · Quit India and Independence
Germany for the Legion, Singapore for the INA
Concept 2 of 3: Quit India and its martyrs
Definition
The facts:
- 8 August 1942, Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay: the Quit India resolution; Gandhi gave the call Do or Die.
- Usha Mehta, with her associates, ran the secret Congress Radio from Bombay.
- Matangini Hazra, known as Gandhi Buri, was shot dead leading a march on the Tamluk police station in Bengal, holding the flag.
- Kanaklata Barua, aged 17, was shot dead at the Gohpur police station in Assam while trying to hoist the flag.
Earlier, in 1938, Baji Raut, a 12-year-old boatman of Dhenkanal in Odisha, was shot for refusing to ferry the police across the Brahmani river. He is remembered as one of India's youngest martyrs.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Modern India · Quit India and Independence
Bhikaji Cama is 1907, not 1942
Concept 3 of 3: New parties of 1936 and the missions to 1947
Definition
In time order:
- All India Kisan Sabha (April 1936): founded at Lucknow, with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati as president.
- Independent Labour Party (1936): B. R. Ambedkar.
- Cripps Mission (March 1942): Sir Stafford Cripps offered dominion status after the war.
- Cabinet Mission (March 1946): Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps and A. V. Alexander, to plan the transfer of power.
- Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947): Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, announced the division of British India into India and Pakistan.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Modern India · Quit India and Independence
Cripps 1942, Cabinet 1946
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Watch out for (3)
- Germany for the Legion, Singapore for the INA→ Subhas Chandra Bose, the Forward Bloc and the INA
- Bhikaji Cama is 1907, not 1942→ Quit India and its martyrs
- Cripps 1942, Cabinet 1946→ New parties of 1936 and the missions to 1947
Test yourself on Modern India
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.