Methods and the achievement of independence

Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent resistance, meaning 'truth-force' — holding firmly to the truth without harming your opponent.

Deliberately refusing to obey a law you believe is unjust, and accepting arrest as a form of protest.

Drawing ordinary people — peasants, workers, women and students — into a movement through strikes, boycotts and non-cooperation.

The first mass campaign, in which Indians boycotted British cloth, schools, courts and titles. Gandhi called it off after violence at Chauri Chaura.

Gandhi's 240-mile march to the sea to make salt and break the British salt monopoly; it launched the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The salt tax hit every Indian, so anyone could join, and images of unarmed marchers being beaten made British rule look unjust worldwide.

A wartime demand for immediate British withdrawal with the slogan 'Do or Die'; Britain responded by arresting the Congress leadership.

Three London conferences where Britain and Indians discussed India's future government — the negotiation track of peaceful pressure.

A mass strike in which shops and businesses shut down in protest, used to paralyse cities during the independence movement.

Boycotting British cloth and goods hurt Britain's economy and made India expensive and difficult to govern.

No — they were necessary but not sufficient. Britain's exhaustion and financial weakness after WWII were also decisive.

A balanced argument that weighs strengths against limits and reaches a clear, supported judgement — not a list.

Organised fighting against a ruling power with weapons in order to force it out and win independence.

Hit-and-run fighting by small, mobile bands that ambush a larger army and then vanish — useful when you are weaker.

When peaceful routes were blocked (reforms refused, leaders jailed, protests crushed) and the ruler was weak or distracted.

Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 removed the king and weakened Spain's grip on its colonies.

Bolívar crossed the Andes and defeated the Spanish in New Granada (Colombia), freeing the region.

A decisive victory that effectively secured Venezuelan independence and confirmed Bolívar's power in the north.

It destroyed the main Spanish army in South America and ended Spanish colonial rule on the continent.

Crossing the high Andes in 1817 to surprise and liberate Chile, then attacking Spanish-held Peru (Lima, 1821).

Bolívar and San Martín met in secret; San Martín stepped aside and left the liberation of Peru to Bolívar.

An army Subhas Chandra Bose raised with Japanese help in WWII to invade British India and win independence by force.

It failed militarily in 1944, but its 1945 trials sparked unrest that showed Britain its control was crumbling.

Death and ruined economies, instability (caudillo strongmen), and division within movements — as with Bolívar and San Martín.

Inside force (leaders and mass movements) and outside force (foreign powers and world events). Strong essays link the two.

Turning mass pressure into a legal handover of power at the conference table — e.g. Nehru and Jinnah in 1947.

The process by which colonies gained independence from European empires, especially the post-1945 wave.

The right of a people to choose their own government — a principle the UN helped make a global norm.

WWII bankrupted and exhausted Britain and France, colonial soldiers demanded freedom, and both new superpowers opposed old-style empire.

Its Charter endorsed self-determination, and in 1960 it passed a declaration urging a rapid end to colonialism.

Both superpowers opposed European empire; the USA pressed allies to decolonise and the USSR backed anti-colonial movements to win allies.

A movement seen as 'communist' might be crushed, and independence sometimes came with pressure to pick a side or led to proxy wars.

The last Viceroy's proposal to split British India into two states, India and Pakistan, to break the Congress–Muslim League deadlock.

The British Parliament legalised the handover, set the date (15 August 1947), and led to Partition — freedom plus mass violence and displacement.

It toppled Spain's king and shattered royal authority, leaving colonies to govern themselves and giving leaders like Bolívar their opening.

A US warning to European powers not to re-colonise the Americas, which helped shield the newly independent Spanish American states.