The Indian independence movement was a long struggle against British colonial rule (the British Raj).

Early nationalist movements were led by the Indian National Congress.

The central figure of the movement from the 1920s onward was Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi championed the strategy of 'satyagraha,' a form of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Key campaigns included the Salt March (1930) and the Quit India Movement (1942).

Growing tensions between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority complicated the independence struggle.

The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, began to demand a separate independent state for Muslims, to be called Pakistan.

After World War II, a weakened Britain decided to grant independence to India.

The British accepted the plan for the partition of the subcontinent into two independent nations: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

The partition in 1947 was accompanied by immense violence and one of the largest mass migrations in human history, as millions of people were displaced.