Why did the Quit India Movement become violent despite Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence?

The Quit India Movement became violent primarily because the British government’s attempt to suppress the protest backfired. Immediately following the movement's launch on August 8, 1942, authorities invoked the Defence of India Act to arrest Mahatma Gandhi and the entire senior leadership of the Indian National Congress.123

This mass incarceration removed the primary figures who were committed to maintaining the movement's nonviolent discipline. In their absence, younger, more militant leaders stepped forward to lead the protests. The lack of senior guidance, combined with the British government's aggressive rhetoric and brutal military response—which included deploying troops and even firing on crowds from the air—escalated the situation.21

Consequently, the movement shifted toward incendiary tactics, resulting in widespread attacks on the British raj's infrastructure, such as the destruction of telegraph lines, railroads, and government buildings. While Gandhi remained steadfast in his commitment to nonviolence, the vacuum of leadership and the harsh colonial crackdown transformed the nature of the protests.21