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August Offer
- In August 1940 Viceroy Linlithgow made some offers to satisfy Congress.
- Dominion Status after War is promised without specific time period.
- A committee would be setup for making of new constitution.
- Indian would be appointed in War council of Viceroy.
- Congress totally rejected it because of unspecified time for dominion status but it did not hamper the British during its struggle against the fascist forces of Germany and Italy.
Individual Satyagraha
- The British government refuse to bring any new political reforms.
- The Government issued ordinance after ordinance taking away the freedom of speech and that of the press and the right to organise associations.
- Towards the end of 1940, the Congress once again asked Gandhi to take command.
- Gandhi declared limited Satyagraha which would be offered by a few individuals because he did not hamper the British during its struggle against the fascist forces of Germany and Italy.
- The objective was to convey to the world that though India was opposed to Nazism it did not enter the War voluntarily.
- Vinobha Bhave (Satyagraha near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra) was the first to offer Satyagraha on 17 October 1940.
- Nehru was the second Person in Individual Satygraha.
- The demand of the Satyagrahi would be the freedom of speech against the war through an anti- war declaration.
- If the Government did not arrest the Satyagrahi, he or she would not only repeat it but move into villages and start a march towards Delhi, thus precipitating a movement which came to be known as the “Delhi Chalo Movement”.
- The Satyagraha continued till the end of the year.
- More than 25,000 people were arrested during this period.