Abstract
The independence of India in August 1947 was the result of a long process which started after the First World War. Indeed in 1919 Parliament had passed the Government of India Act which was designed to organize provincial governments in India. Then, before 1939 and the outbreak of the Second World War, there were moves by Great Britain to give more self-government to India. Both major parties of the British National Government were committed to giving more autonomy to the eleven Indian Provinces through the 1935 Government of India Act. Even if the provincial governments had more and more power, the essential functions were still in hands of the British Viceroy and the British government was still responsible for foreign and defense affairs. As Britain proposed a federal solution to India's problems, independence movements – such as the Congress with Gandhi at its head – asked for more autonomy. But the Declaration of War in 1939 was a crucial step towards independence of India. Indeed the Congress Party together with nationalists saw in the war the opportunity to achieve their goals.
