Cabinet Mission 1946

Also called: Cabinet Mission, Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 · Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

The Cabinet Mission (1946) was a team of three British Cabinet ministers: Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander. In 1946 it came to India to agree a plan with Indian leaders for handing over power. Its plan turned down a fully separate Pakistan. Instead it offered a loose, three-tier federation with a weak Centre, groups of provinces, and a Constituent Assembly to write India's constitution. [3]

• It was the last serious British attempt to keep India united.
• It failed because Congress and the League read the grouping clause in opposite ways. After that, the road led to Direct Action Day and finally to Partition.

Explanation

Background: why Britain sent the Mission

• 1945: a Labour government came to power in Britain and promised Indian independence. The question was no longer if but how.
• The Cripps Mission (1942) had already failed. It offered dominion status after the war, and talks broke down over the demand for an Indian Defence Member. [2]
• Gandhi–Jinnah talks, 1944: these failed because Jinnah would not accept anything less than Pakistan.
• Early 1946 elections: these showed the country was split.
• Congress swept the General seats.
• The League swept the Muslim seats.

• Each side could now claim to speak for its own community. Polarisation was complete.

• The fight was three-way: Congress, the League and the British. Any plan needed all three to agree.

Main features of the plan (announced 16 May 1946)

• No separate Pakistan. The Mission said a fully sovereign Pakistan would not work. It also said it would leave large non-Muslim minorities inside it.
• Three-tier federation. The plan was drafted by Cripps. [3]
• Tier 1, the Union Centre in Delhi: it would deal only with defence, foreign affairs and communications, plus the money needed for them. [3]
• Tier 2, groups of provinces:
  • Group A: the Hindu-majority provinces (Madras, Bombay, United Provinces, Bihar, Central Provinces, Orissa).
  • Group B: the Muslim-majority north-west (Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind).
  • Group C: the Muslim-majority north-east (Bengal and Assam).

• Tier 3, the provinces: they would hold all remaining powers.

• Constituent Assembly (a body elected to write the constitution).

• Its members were to be elected by the provincial assemblies, not directly by the people.

• Its seats were shared among the communities.

• Opting out. A province could leave its group, but only after the first general election under the new constitution.

• Interim Government. An Indian government backed by the major parties was to run the country until the new constitution came into force.

How the plan broke down

• Different readings of "grouping":
• The League wanted grouping to be compulsory. Groups B and C would then work as a "Pakistan" inside a loose Union.

• Congress wanted grouping to be voluntary. It did not want provinces such as Assam (Hindu-majority, but placed in Group C) or the North-West Frontier Province (a Congress-run province, placed in Group B) to be forced into League-run groups.

• Nehru's statement:

• Nehru said no constituent assembly could be bound by any pre-set formula. [3]

• Jinnah called this a complete repudiation (total rejection) of the plan. [3]

• The League pulled out.

• It withdrew its acceptance and called for Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946.
• The Calcutta riots followed, and the killing spread to Bengal, Bihar, UP and Punjab.

Results

• An Interim Government headed by Nehru was formed in 1946. The League joined it later, but it did not cooperate. The government was split from within.
• The Constituent Assembly that the Mission planned was elected and began work. The League boycotted it.
• Mountbatten arrived as Viceroy in February 1947. In June 1947 he proposed Partition: Hindu-majority areas to Congress, Muslim-majority areas to the League. [4]
• The Indian Independence Act was passed on 18 July 1947. It created two dominions from 15 August 1947. [5]

Time, place and evidence

• When: the Mission arrived in March 1946. Its plan came out on 16 May 1946, and it fell apart by mid-1946. This was during the endgame of British rule (1944–47).
• Where: talks took place mainly in Delhi (with a round of talks at Simla).
• Key people:
• The Mission: Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India), Stafford Cripps (who drafted the plan [3]) and A.V. Alexander.
• Viceroy: Lord Wavell.

• Indian leaders: Nehru and Gandhi for Congress, and Jinnah for the League.

• How we know:

• The Mission's own official statement of 16 May 1946.
• Nehru's and Jinnah's public statements.
• Congress and League resolutions.
• NCERT Class 12, Ch 3 "Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement" and Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution".

Don't confuse with

• Cripps Mission (1942): this was one man, Cripps, during the war. He offered dominion status after the war, and talks broke down over the Defence Member. [2] The Cabinet Mission (1946) had three ministers, came after the war, and broke down over grouping.
• Mountbatten Plan (June 1947): this plan accepted Partition. [4] The Cabinet Mission plan rejected Pakistan and tried to keep India united.
• Lahore Resolution (March 1940): this was the League's own demand for autonomy for Muslim-majority areas. The Cabinet Mission's Groups B and C looked similar on the map, but they were part of a single Union, not separate states.
• Wavell Plan / Simla Conference (1945): this tried to reform only the Viceroy's Executive Council. It said nothing about a Constituent Assembly or provincial groups.

Prelims Hooks

• The Cabinet Mission had three members: Pethick-Lawrence, Stafford Cripps, A.V. Alexander. Wavell was NOT a member. He was the Viceroy.
• The Union Centre would handle only defence, foreign affairs and communications. [3]
• Group A = Hindu-majority provinces; Group B = Punjab, NWFP, Sind; Group C = Bengal and Assam.
• The Constituent Assembly was to be elected indirectly, by the provincial assemblies, not by adult franchise.
• Correct order: Cripps Mission (1942) → Gandhi–Jinnah talks (1944) → Cabinet Mission (1946) → Direct Action Day (16 Aug 1946) → Mountbatten Plan (June 1947) → Indian Independence Act (18 July 1947). [2][4][5]
• Trap: the plan collapsed after Nehru said the Assembly could not be bound by any pre-set formula. Jinnah called this a repudiation. [3]

Mains Points

• The last chance for a united India.
• The plan tried to satisfy both sides. The League got Muslim-majority groups. Congress got a single Union.
• It failed because a weak Centre plus compulsory groups looked like Pakistan by another name to Congress. Voluntary groups looked like no protection at all to the League.

• This shows the three-way struggle: no British offer could please Congress and the League at the same time. Partition then became Britain's exit route. [2][3]

• A historians' debate: who killed the plan?

• Some blame Nehru's statement that the Assembly could not be bound. [3]
• Others say the League's support was only tactical, and that a weak Centre could never have held the country together.

• A good answer weighs both views. It also links them to the 1946 election split and to the Direct Action Day violence.

• Lasting legacy.

• The Constituent Assembly that framed India's Constitution grew out of this plan.
• The failure of a weak Centre helps explain why the framers later chose a strong Union in the Indian Constitution.

Related concepts

• Provincial elections of 1937
• Congress ministries 1937-39
• Wardha scheme of basic education
• Congress Socialist Party
• Haripura session 1938
• Tripuri crisis 1939
• Forward Bloc
• Second World War
• Lord Linlithgow
• Resignation of Congress ministries

Read more

• War, Quit India, Partition and the last heroic days, 1935–48