ANNIVERSARIES
8 AUGUST 1942
Mahatma Gandhi launches the Quit India Movement
His “Do or Die” speech inspires a nation to end British rule
Shortly before midnight on 8 August 1942, the Indian lawyer, activist and international figurehead Mahatma Gandhi stood before as many as 100,000 people to deliver the most famous speech in his nation’s history. As a leader of the Indian National Congress (INC), he called for an end to British rule by launching a protest movement of widespread civil disobedience – to be done peacefully under the principle of “ahimsa” (non-violence).
The catalyst for the Quit India Movement was the outbreak of the Second World War. Without consulting Indian officials, Britain had made the decision that India, as part of the empire,
