Struggle of Gandhi, his comrades ends 200 years of British occupation

CAIRO – 16 August 2022: The Indian Independence Bill, which guaranteed the independence of both India and Pakistan, entered into force at midnight on August 15, 1947. 

The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and was hailed by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi as "the most honorable act of the British nation".

However, religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims soon spoiled Gandhi's delight. In the northern province of Punjab, which was sharply divided between Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, hundreds of people died in the first few days after independence.

The Indian Independence Movement first gained momentum at the beginning of the 20th century. After World War I, Gandhi organized his first active passive resistance campaigns to protest the oppressive British rule in India.

In the 1930s, the British government made some concessions to Indian nationalists, but during World War II, resentment of British rule grew to the point that Britain feared losing India to the Axis, according to History.

Gandhi and other nationalist leaders rejected British promises of post-war Indian self-rule as empty. They organized "Leave India" campaign to hasten the departure of the British, and the British colonial authorities responded by imprisoning Gandhi and hundreds of others.

Anti-British protests accelerated after the war. In 1947, the Indian National Congress approved the creation of Pakistan and concluded the independence negotiations. On August 15, 1947, the Indian Independence Bill came into effect, which led to a period of religious unrest in India and Pakistan that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, including Gandhi.

Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic in January 1948 during a meeting to end violence between Muslims and Hindus.