The Cabinet Mission

The Background 

After the end of the World War 2, the British government in London sent a Cabinet Mission to India to negotiate the peaceful transfer of power on 24 March 1946. Several events during this period had forced the British to do so. The main events were the change of the ruling party in the British Parliament and the clear win of the Congress party in the general elections in 1945.

This election clearly established the Muslim League as the true representative of the Muslims, who wanted a state for the Muslims based on their Two-Nation Theory.  Also, the new ruling party in the British Parliament were eager to get rid of the Indian colony as soon as possible.

The Cabinet Mission consisted of Pethick Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India; Stafford Cripps, the President of the Board of Trade and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of Admiralty.

Features of the Mission 

The Cabinet Mission offered to create a federal union comprised of British Indian provinces and the princely states. The centre would control the defense, communication and the external affairs. It would have the power to raise money to carry out its activities.

The Mission rejected the demand of Partition made by the Muslim League on the ground that the area to be partitioned contained a large number of non-Muslim population, also dividing the army was not feasible. The Mission also felt the partition based on communal lines would open demands for more religious partition demands and would break the new country into fragments. Also, the British decided that dealing with one India is a better idea compared to dealing with numerous states based on religious lines.

The Mission also proposed the formation of the Constituent Assembly consisting of 389 members – 292 from provincial assemblies and 93 from princely states. The Mission proposed the formation of a federal India with three tiers – provinces, regional group of provinces and the Union Centre.

The British states were classified into three section – Section ‘A’ comprising Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Bihar and Orissa; Section ‘B’ comprising Punjab, North West Frontier Province and Sindh; and Section ‘C’ comprising Bengal and Assam. The Princely states were free to either join the new government, the Indian Union or be free after transfer of power. The Indian Union was free to either be a part of the British Commonwealth or leave.

Reactions of various parties  

The Congress believed that the Mission has ruled out any possibilities of the creation of Pakistan and the plan was to keep the unity of India. It accepted the proposal, though it opposed the grouping of the states fearing any veto power that the Muslim League may have due to the grouping especially the Section B and C.

The Muslim League on the other hand believed that the idea of Pakistan can be kept awake, as the grouping of the provinces of Section B and C would gradually form a separate identity and would decide to secede into Pakistan.