Interim Government 1946

Also called: Interim Government of 1946, Interim Government · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

The Interim Government of 1946 was the government that ran India from 2 September 1946 until Independence on 15 August 1947. It was made from the Viceroy's Executive Council (the group of members who advised the Viceroy and ran government departments), with Jawaharlal Nehru as its Vice-President. For the first time, almost all of these members were Indian leaders.

It matters because it was the last stage of British rule. Indians ran the day-to-day government while the Constituent Assembly wrote the Constitution. It also showed that the Congress and the Muslim League could not work together, and this made Partition more likely.

Explanation

Background: why it was set up

• The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) was drafted by Stafford Cripps [3].
• It planned a three-tier federation (a system with three levels of government). The centre in Delhi would handle only defence, foreign affairs and communications, and the money needed for them [3].
• Provinces would be sorted into Group A, B and C [3].

• Along with this long-term plan, it proposed an interim (temporary) government of Indian leaders to run the country while the Constitution was being made.

• Pressure on the British was very high in 1946:

• The memory of Quit India (1942) was still fresh.
• Subhas Chandra Bose had made an armed bid with foreign help.

• In spring 1946, ratings (sailors who were not officers) of the Royal Indian Navy rose in revolt in Bombay and other cities.

• The Congress and the League quarrelled over the plan.

• Both first accepted it. Then they fell out over what the groupings and the powers of the centre really meant [3].

Formation: the sequence of events

• 16 August 1946: the League held Direct Action Day, a general strike and mass protest demanding Pakistan. The riots that followed hit Calcutta hardest, and thousands were killed or injured [4]. These were the Great Calcutta Killings.
• 2 September 1946: the Interim Government took office with only Congress-led members. Nehru became Vice-President of the Executive Council. The Viceroy, Lord Wavell, stayed its formal head.
• October 1946: the Muslim League joined the government. Liaquat Ali Khan got the Finance portfolio (department).
• 9 December 1946: the Constituent Assembly met for the first time [2]. The League joined the government but boycotted the Assembly.

How it worked

• Its legal form was old. It worked under the existing British law, as the Viceroy's Executive Council. It was not a cabinet answerable to an elected parliament.
• In practice, Indians ran the departments. For example, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel held Home and Liaquat Ali Khan held Finance.
• It was a divided house.
• The League had come in mainly to stop the Congress from controlling the government on its own, not to work with it.
• Its ministers often blocked Congress ministers. Liaquat Ali Khan used his control of Finance to hold back the work of other departments.
• Meanwhile, almost non-stop rioting spread across northern and eastern India.

Results

• The deadlock convinced many leaders that a united government at the centre would not work.
• This led to the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947 and Partition. A separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan [2].
• On 15 August 1947, the Interim Government gave way to the governments of the two new dominions, India and Pakistan. In India, Nehru became Prime Minister.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 2 September 1946 to 15 August 1947. These were the last months of British rule, during the period of constitution-making (1946–1950).
• Place: New Delhi, the seat of the central government.
• Key people:
• Lord Wavell, Viceroy, who was the formal head
• Jawaharlal Nehru, Vice-President of the Council
• Sardar Patel, Home
• Liaquat Ali Khan, Finance, for the Muslim League

• Stafford Cripps, who drafted the Cabinet Mission Plan [3]

• Events around it: Direct Action Day and the Great Calcutta Killings, August 1946 [4]; the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly, 9 December 1946 [2]; the Mountbatten Plan, 3 June 1947 [2].

• How we know: the Cabinet Mission Plan documents [3], the official records of the Constituent Assembly [2], and NCERT Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution", which sets out the violent context of 1946.

Don't confuse with

• Constituent Assembly (first met 9 December 1946): this body wrote the Constitution [2]. The Interim Government was the executive that ran the country. The League joined the government but boycotted the Assembly.
• Cabinet Mission Plan (1946): this was the proposal for a three-tier federation and an interim government [3]. The Interim Government was the actual government that came out of it.
• Wavell Plan / Simla Conference (1945): this was an earlier, failed attempt to rebuild the Executive Council with Indian members. The Interim Government of 1946 was the attempt that actually took office.
• First Cabinet of independent India (15 August 1947): here Nehru was Prime Minister of a dominion. In the Interim Government he was only Vice-President of the Viceroy's Council.

Prelims Hooks

• The Interim Government took office on 2 September 1946, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice-President of the Viceroy's Executive Council.
• The Muslim League joined in October 1946, and Liaquat Ali Khan got Finance. The League still boycotted the Constituent Assembly.
• It came from the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946), drafted by Stafford Cripps [3].
• Order of events: Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) [4], then the Interim Government (2 September 1946), then the League joins (October 1946), then the Constituent Assembly meets (9 December 1946) [2], then the Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947) [2].
• Trap: Nehru was not "Prime Minister" in the Interim Government. The Viceroy stayed its formal head.

Mains Points

• A rehearsal for self-rule. Indian leaders ran the central departments for almost a year before Independence. This gave them real experience of government while the Constituent Assembly was framing the Constitution.
• Coalition failure and the road to Partition. The League joined the government only to stop Congress control, and the two sides then blocked each other.
• This deadlock at the top stood in contrast to the Hindu-Muslim unity seen in the popular upsurges of 1942–46.
• Together with the Calcutta killings [4], it pushed leaders towards the Mountbatten Plan and Partition [2].

• This makes it useful evidence against the view that Partition was always bound to happen.

• A lesson for the framers. A weak, divided centre could not stop the riots or settle the question of the princely states. This experience helped push the Constituent Assembly towards a strong centre in the final Constitution.

Related concepts

• Princely states
• Clement Attlee
• Pethick-Lawrence
• Liaquat Ali Khan
• Indian Independence Act 1947
• Tryst with Destiny

Read more

• A tumultuous time: the context of constitution-making