The Indian Independence Movement

India was granted independence from the British on 15 August 1947. Her to path independence was not because of one person or just one movement. It was rather a collection of multiple events which were both violent and nonviolent in nature. In essence the Indian Independence Movement lasted nearly a century starting with the Sepoy rebellion(1857) to the formation of the Indian National Congress to the Salt Satyagraha(1929) to the Quit India Movement (1942) and finally Independence in the 1947. In this paper, we will discuss the roles of each of these movement and their effects. Also discussed in this paper is the effect of music on the movement.

Before we look in depth at the Indian Independence Movement, it is important to understand how and why India was colonized by the British. The foundations for colonization of India began when Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter on 31 December 1600. The charter established the English East India Company or then knowns as Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies (Landow). As the name suggests, it was a primarily set up as a company to conduct trade and acquire the valuable spices from from India.

By the dawn of the 18th century, the Company had step up and engaged in extensive trades. This, however, was being threatened by the collapse of the Mughal empire and local princely states rising up to assert their control. Therefore by the middle of the 18th century, began waging wars and the implemented the system of divide and conquer. And by the end of the century, the Company had consolidated much of the territory and established a military dominance that would see them through for another century (Marshall).

Because many of the “honorable ma...

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... march from Ahmedabad to the coastal town of Dandi. This salt march was organized in protest of the Salt Act that gave the British the monopoly of salt production and distribution. Another reason for the salt march was “by encouraging all Indians to defy the Salt Laws by manufacturing and selling salt themselves, Gandhi argued, Indians could collectively challenge the authority of the Raj“(Lakey and Tedla). Initially, Gandhi assumed that he would be arrested as soon as he set out on the 24 day 240 mile march as he had informed the British government that he would be breaking the law. But when he was not arrested, he continued his march and more than 10,000 people joined him. on 5 April 1930, Gandhi picked up the salt and broke the law.

The next major and final step in the Indian Independence Movement was the Quit India civil disobedience organized by Gandhi.