Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.608
Object Name
Banner
Title
'Help India to freedom! Join the India League. 163 Strand WC.1 Tem Bar 3689.'
Place
India, London
People
India League, Krishna Menon
Date
circa 1945
Description
A white banner with the text 'Help India to freedom! Join the India League. 163 Strand WC.1 Tem Bar 3689.' The word help is highlighted in green, and the address is highlighted in yellow.
The India League was a British based campainging organisation. The driving force behind the group was Krishna Menon, an Indian activist who moved to London in 1924. When in London, Menon joined the Commonwealth for India League. He radicalised the organisation and transformed it into the India League.
The aim of the India League was to campaign for the full independence, self-governance and national unity of India. The British government was very hesitant to lose control of the country, which was seen as the 'jewel in the crown' of the British Empire. However, wartime debts and increased pressure from 'Quit India' campaigns helped to turn public opinion following the Second World War. India and Pakistan achieved following the Indian Independence Act, 1947, which also divided the country into two nations, India and Pakistan, along largely religious grounds. This controversial policy is known as the Partition of India.
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