During the Second World War, the rulers of the British Raj declared India to be a party to the war. They did not discuss the matter with Indians and their leaders. The Indians and their leaders became divided over this matter. Some supported the British, while many did not. British rulers of India wanted the Indians to fight and die in the name of freedom, yet they had denied this freedom to India and the Indians for more than a hundred years. This created a lot of dissatisfaction among Indians, and two big movements for India's independence took shape. The first was the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose. The second was Quit India Movement of Mohandas Gandhi.
Subhas Chandra Bose and many leaders did not like the British decision to drag India into the Second World War. He had twice (in 1937 and 1939) become president of the Indian National Congress Party, the leading Indian political party of that time. However, he and many other leaders of the Indian National Congress Party differed on many matters. He resigned and formed a new party named All India Forward Bloc. The British government of India put him under house arrest, but he escaped in 1941. He reached Germany and secured the support of Germany and Japan to fight the British in India. In 1943, he traveled in submarines of Germany and Japan, and reached Japan. He organised the Indian National Army. The INA fought the troops of the British Raj in northeastern India. Despite many difficulties, INA recorded many victories. However, with the surrender of Japan in 1945, INA's operations stopped. Bose died in a plane crash, but circumstances of his death are not clear.
The British government of India put on trial three Indian National Army officers at the Red Fort in Delhi. The British had chosen for this trial one Hindu, one Sikh, and one Muslim of the INA. This made many Indians of all religions very angry. A naval mutiny also broke out in Bombay. Ultimately, the British ruled that these officers were guilty, but they set them free seeing the public anger. When India became independent, the government of India did not allow the former officers and soldiers of the INA to join the armed forces of the independent India. However, the government granted them very good pensions and other facilities. The Indian public also gave them much respect.
Many consider Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose a controversial figure due to his association with the Axis Powers. But, in India, people consider him a patriotic hero of the Indian independence movement.
On 8th August 1942, the leaders of the Indian National Congress Party met in Bombay (Mumbai). The leaders adopted a policy to force the British out of India. Gandhi's slogan "Do or Die" became a national slogan, and the movement became the Quit India Movement. At the beginning of the Second World War, the Indian National Congress Party had supported the British, but they had demanded freedom for India after the war. The British did not agree to this proposal. On 14th July 1942, the Indian National Congress Party passed a resolution demanding complete independence from the British rule. However, this did not have support of some other political parties.
Gandhi had asked the people to keep the Quit India Movement as a peaceful movement. Many people started the movement in many places of India. But at some places, the movements turned violent. Gandhi refused to eat until the violence stopped. He was successful in ending the violence.
The British action was very quick. They arrested over 100,000 people. They levied fines on many people. They dropped bombs on the people who demonstrated against the British Raj. The troops of the British Raj even beat people with sticks and caned them. The British arrested all the leaders of the Congress Party. Gandhi's wife, Kasturba Gandhi, died during detention, as well as his secretary Mahadev Desai. Gandhi's health had also become very bad. In 1944, the British set him free fearing that Gandhi's death might result in a very large protest by Indians. Gandhi continued to oppose the British, and demanded that all other leaders be set free.
The Second World War had reduced the economic, political, and military strength of the British Empire. They were also aware that after the war Indians would begin a larger movement for independence. The mood of the British people and the British Army had also changed. After the Second World War, most of them were no longer willing to support the British ruling class in India. That position was now clear to the leaders of the United Kingdom. By early 1946, those leaders set free all the political prisoners held in India and opened independence discussions with the Indian National Congress Party. On the 14th of August 1947 Pakistan gained independence and a day later on the 15th of August India gained its independence as well.
On midnight of 15th August 1947, Britain handed India its formal political Independence. A short time after that, Gandhi, who was aging and ill, died from a bullet fired by a Hindu extremist named Nathuram Godse. The national leadership was then passed to his chief lieutenant, Jawaharlal Nehru. On 3rd June 1947, the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten announced partition of India into two countries: union of India, and an Islamic Pakistan. In this partition, many people died while others were separated from their families. On 26th January 1950, India adopted their constitution, the longest constitution in the world.
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel is a document that announced the establishment of the independent and sovereign state (country) of Israel.
This term describes the announcement of establishment of a Jewish state, named State of Israel. This State of Israel was established on 14th May 1948. In Hebrew language, "" means the State of Israel. The British Mandate of Palestine was a part of the British Empire. This was the land where the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah had once been. The State of Israel covered more or less the same land.
Some persons call this as the beginning of "Third Jewish Commonwealth". The "First Jewish Commonwealth" ended with the destruction of Solomon's Temple, and the second with the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.
On November 29th 1947, the United Nations had adopted a resolution. The resolution recommended the establishment of an Arab State and a Jewish State in Palestine. The resolution recommended taking steps to establish such a state.
On May 12th 1948, the Jewish national administration met at Tel Aviv Museum of Art. They had gathered to decide acceptance of an American proposal for a truce or to declare a new state of Israel. Six of the ten voting members supported declaration of a state of Israel. Two days later, on May 14th 1948, the Jewish National Council (Vaad Leumi) met at Tel Aviv. At mid night of May 14th, 1948, a member of the Council read the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel.
The declaration followed a style generally seen in the United Nations documents. First few sentences stated the reasons for the declaration and the right of the Jews for an independent country. Then, the sentences gave the features and characteristics of the new Jewish state.
A few quotes from the declaration:
The United States, the Soviet Union, and many other major countries of the world accepted the state of Israel. Using terms of international law, these countries recognized the state of Israel. However, many Arab countries and countries of the Middle East opposed the establishment of Israel. They did not recognize the state of Israel as a sovereign state, that is, an independent country. Many countries of the world did not recognize Israel, but establish trading and other relations with it.
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