A Plan for Partition

On this day in 1946, Cripps, despite his famous failed attempt in 1942, came back to the table with another plan. The mood of the country by this time, however, was significantly different.

Cabinet Mission Plan 1946; Source: Public Domain

All previous negotiations, missions and plans - Cripps Mission, Wavell Plan, and Rajagopalachari Formula on the Indian System, Government, and Constitution with which India should move forward had failed. On the other hand, with the formation of a new government in Britain, the doors of India's independence had opened.

There were only two options for transferring power to India- first to divide India into a sovereign state and Pakistan. However, partition was greatly disliked by some British, who wanted to keep India united and preferably retain their influence even after formally exiting the Commonwealth.

This was obviously opposed by Congress. You may be surprised to hear that, Jinnah also rejected the plan of Partition, he called it "definitely Unacceptable". As a result, the Partition was removed as an alternative by the Cabinet Mission.

The new Government of Britain, under the leadership of Clement Attlee, wanted to resolve the affairs of the crown jewel of its empire and decided to free it from the cuffs of colonialism. In February 1946, Attlee announced the Cabinet Mission Plan for India, for which he appointed three British cabinet ministers. These three ministers also came to India with the proposal called the Cripps Mission. However, this mission was failed due to the rejection of the Congress and Muslim League.

On 24 March, Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and Mr A.V. Alexander reached India with objectives - to discuss the transfer of power and formation of the Indian Constitution. In those days, there were two major political parties in India - the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. The ministers of the British Cabinet interacted with Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Maulana Azad (leading Congress), and Muslim League leaders, represented by Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. 

The team had an inconclusive dialogue with the leaders of the parties. Muslim League put forward the demand for a separate Muslim majority state called Pakistan. The Congress didn't support the demand for a separate state which was the main reason for a prolonged confrontation between the two parties.

The Cabinet Mission's proposal suggested- there shall be a Union of India, with princely states and British provinces, this provision included the demand for unity.

The Provincial Legislature shall divide into three groups - Group A (most of present-day India), Group B (most of present-day Pakistan), Group C (Bengal and Assam).

The formation of the Constituent Assembly through indirect elections was also included as this provision helped in the creation of the Indian Constitution. The Princely States could make the bond with states - it provided the freedom to the princely states to ties up with the state or remain independent. It didn't accept the demand for a separate state but the formation of an interim government with the 40% Hindu, 40% Muslim, and 20% Sikhs and others representation. 

The proposal was accepted by the majority of Indian leaders as it met the Congress demand for Indian unity and satisfied the Muslim League with their 40% representation. But this led to a tug of war between the two parties.

Now, it was time for the election to the Constituent Assembly, the League won less than 25% of the seats, with the loss, the League denied the Cabinet Mission Plan. The Congress won the election with the majority of votes.

INC announced the formation of a government that was opposed by the Muslim League's Council. On 16 August, it celebrated Direct Action Day to forward the demand of Pakistan. 

Everyone was greedy for power, they were Authority-Hungry.

On 24 August, INC formed a fourteen-member cabinet with its first president, Jawaharlal Nehru. It led to communal riots in the country including Kolkata.

Soon, the Muslim League joined the government due to the efforts of Lord Wavell, but this was not the final solution. The two parties did not want to compromise and due to the differences that remained between them, a clash always seemed imminent.

In short, the Cabinet Mission Plan became the mainstay of the Partition of India as the Muslim League either wanted Power or Partition. It didn't seem like an independence plan but rather a tug of war.