INDIAN HISTORY Wavell Plan 1945 : Given by Lord Wayell. The plan was that the Viceroy’s Executive Council should be so reconstituted that its members, except the Governor General and the Commander-in-Chief, were to be Indians (from various parties). Simla conference was convened in this regard, but was rejected by Jinnah. The Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 : The struggle for freedom entered a decisive phase in the year 1945-46. The new Labour Party PM, Lord Attlee, made a declaration on Mar 15, 1946, that British Cabinet Mission (comprising of Lord Pethick Lawrence as Chairman, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander) will visit India. The mission held talks with the INC and ML to bring about acceptance of their proposals. On May 16, 1946, the mission put forward its proposals: Rejected the demand for separate Pakistan and instead a federal union consisting Princely States was suggested. The union would deal into the following subjects: Foreign affairs, Defence and Communication and would have the powers to raise the finances required for the above subjects. Full autonomy would be enjoyed by the provinces in respect of all subjects other than the union subjects. There were to be three groups of Provinces: Group A with six Hindu majority provinces (Bombay, United Province, Bihar, Central Province, Orissa, Madras); Group B with three Muslim majority provinces (Sind, NWFP, Punjab ) and Group C (Assam and Bengal). After the first general elections, a province could come out of the group and after 10 years a province could call for reconsideration of the group or union constitution. The Union would consist of an executive and a legislature. The legislature would not be directly elected by the people but by the provincial legislatures on the basis of communal electorates. Members of the Princely States would be appointed by the rulers of the Princely States. Both Congress and Muslim League accepted it. The elections of the Constituent Assembly were held in Jul 1946. The Congress got 209 of the total 273 seats. Interim Government 1946 : Based on Cabinet Mission Plan, an interim government consisting of Congress nominees was formed on Sep 2, 1946. J.L. Nehru was its Vice-President and the Governor-General remained as its President. Muslim League did not join it initially but finally Wavell succeeded in having five members of the League join the government on Oct 26, 1946. History of Jinnah Direct Action Resolution : Jinnah was alarmed at the results of the elections because the Muslim League was in danger of being totally eclipsed in the constituent assembly. Therefore, Muslim League withdraw its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan on Jul 29, 1946. It passed a ‘Direct action’ resolution, which condemned both the British Government and the Congress (Aug 16, 1946). It resulted in heavy communal riots. Jinnah celebrated Pakistan Day on Mar 27, 1947. Formation of constituent Assembly of India : The constituent assembly met on Dec 9, 1946 and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its president. Mountbatten Plan of June 1947 : On Jun 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten put forward his plan which outlined the steps for the solution of India’s political problem. The outlines of the Plan were: India to be divided into India and Pakistan. Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned and a referendum in NEFP and Sylhet district of Assam would be held. There would be a separate constitutional assembly for Pakistan to frame its constitution. The Princely states would enjoy the liberty to join either India or Pakistan or even remain independent. Aug 15, 1947 was the date fixed for handing over power to India and Pakistan. The British govt, passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947 in Jul 1947, which contained the major provisions put forward by the Mountbatten plan. National Movement Partition and Independence: All political parties accepted the Mountbatten plan. Two Commissions were appointed by the British Government with Sir Cyril Redcliffe as chairman of both to see through the partition and fix the international boundaries of the two nations-to-be. At the time of independence, there were 562 small and big Princely states in India. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister, used iron hand in this regard. By Aug 15, 1947, all the States, with a few exceptions like Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh had signed the Instrument of Accession. Goa was with the Portuguese and Pondicherry with the French.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 08:30:29 +0000