Cripp's Mission

The Background 

During the WW2, the British Government came under tremendous pressure to seek the support of the Indian people to help it out of the war. They were even willing to consider granting India a dominion status with self governance after the war. Also, there was considerable pressure from the allies, especially from the USA on Britain to grant constitutional reforms to India.

In March 1942, the British Government sent Stafford Cripps, the leader of the House of Commons in England, to India with a set of proposals in order to seek its support for the war.

Proposals of the Cripps Mission 

Immediately after the War, the British Government would set up an Union with a dominion status. The government would constitute a Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution for India. Members of this assembly would be elected by the provincial assemblies through proportional representation and nominated by the princes of the Indian state. Any province not willing to join the Indian union would be free to frame a separate constitution and from a separate union.

The British government would negotiate with the new constitutional assembly regarding the transfer of power and to safeguard the racial and religious minorities.

Till the Constituent Assembly was formed, the British government desired for effective participation of Indians in the governor-general’s council. Only the defense would be in the hands of the British.

Failure of the Cripps’s Mission 

The Congress rejected the Mission on several grounds. It rejected the offer of the dominion status; instead it wanted complete political freedom. It also objected to the proposal that the Princely states would nominate their representative instead of elected by the people. The Congress was against the right given to the states to secede, as it felt that this could divide the country into a number of independent states.

The Muslim League also objected to the proposal on the ground that it didn’t grant the Muslims the right to self determination and creation of Pakistan.