power shifts

TOWARDS PARTITION

chapter 11

CABINET MISSION PLAN

• March 1946

• last attempt to keep a united India

• 3 member cabinet mission

• Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord A.V. Alexander

• long discussions with Indian leaders but no outcome

• announced their own plan

PROPOSAL

• An All India union

• executive and a legislature

• foreign affairs, defence, raising finances

• both Hindu and Muslims to make major decisions on communal and religious problems

• clusters of provinces in three groups

• Group A,B and C

PROVINCES

• GROUP A: Hindu provinces

• GROUP B: Muslim provinces

• GROUP C:Bengal and Assam

• each group to elect its own govt.

• All India Union will consist of representatives from all groups

Multiple Choice

Cabinet mission consisted of ______ members

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

Multiple Choice

All India Union was to have representation of

• all the provinces

• both Hindus and Muslims

• All provincial groups

• princely states

Multiple Choice

Group B consisted of following provinces

• Punjab, SIndh, Orissa, Bengal

• Punjab, Bengal, Frontier, Baluchistan

• Punjab, Bengal, Frontier, Baluchistan, SIndh

• Punjab, Sindh, Frontier, Baluchistan,

OBJECTIONS

• CONGRESS: grouping of provinces

• MUSLIM LEAGUE: partition of larger provinces

• ML accepted as Muslim majority provinces were grouped

• Nehru said that Congress is not bound to follow any agreement once in power

INTERIM GOVERNMENT

• next task: making of interim govt. in India

• British promised to go ahead with this proposal even if any party refuses

• still delayed matters till congress decided

• Nehru was asked to head it

• league refused but later accepted

• Liaqat Ali Khan became finance minister

Open Ended

Why did congress object to the grouping of the provinces?

Multiple Choice

_________ was to head the interim government.

• Gandhi

• Liaqat Ali Khan

• Nehru

• Jinnah

DIRECT ACTION DAY, 1946

• ML frustrated by negotiations between congress and British

• appeared to favour congress's plan

• ML completely rejected Cabinet Mission Plan

• announced Direct Action Day 16th August 1946

EFFECTS

• communal violence flared up

• thousands died

• Cabinet Mission admitted its failure

• main parties refused to compromise

• PM Clement Attlee decided on a definite date to transfer power i.e June 1948

• recalled Lord Wavell and Sent Lord Mountbatten

Multiple Choice

Direct Action Day

• 12th Sep, 1946

• 16th August 1946

• 26th August 1946

• 16th June 1946

Multiple Choice

Who replaced Lord Wavell

• Lord Clement Attlee

• Lord A.V. Alexander

• Lord Mountbatten

• Lord Lawrence

Open Ended

Why did the Quaid announce the Direct Action Day?