1946 Cabinet Mission to India - wikipedia 1946 Cabinet Mission to India hide This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2011 ) This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( January 2017 ) The United Kingdom Cabinet Mission of 1946 came to India aimed to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian leadership, with the aim of preserving India 's unity and granting it independence. Formulated at the initiative of Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the mission had Lord Pethick - Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, and A.V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, did not participate in every step but was present. Contents 1 Purposes and proposals 1.1 Plan of 16 May 1.2 Plan of 16 June 1.2. 1 Reactions 2 Coalition and breakdown 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 Further reading Purposes and proposals The British wanted to keep India and its Army united so as to keep it in their system of ' imperial defence ' even after granting it independence. To preserve India 's unity the British formulated the Cabinet Mission Plan. The Cabinet Mission 's role was to hold preparatory discussions with the elected representatives of British India and the Indian states so as to secure agreement to the method of framing the constitution, to set up a constitution body and to set up an Executive Council with the support of the main Indian parties. The Mission held talks with the representatives of the Indian National Congress and the All - India Muslim League, the two largest political parties in the Constituent Assembly of India. The two parties planned to determine a power - sharing arrangement between Hindus and Muslims to prevent a communal dispute. The Congress, under Gandhi and Nehru, wanted to obtain a strong central government, with more powers than state governments. The All India Muslim League, under Jinnah, initially wanted to keep India united but with political safeguards provided to Muslims like parity in the legislatures because of the wide belief of Muslims that the British Raj was simply going to be turned into a Hindu Raj once the British departed, and since the Muslim League regarded itself as the sole spokesman party of Indian Muslims, it was incumbent upon it to take the matter up with the Crown. However, in the 1940 Lahore session of the Muslim League, Jinnah endorsed partition via the two nation theory of a West and East Pakistan, painting recent developments ( 1937 provincial election, refusal of Congress to recognise the League as the sole mouthpiece of Muslims in India, etc. ) as a sign of assured enmity from Hindus, culminating in the Lahore Resolution, also known as the Pakistan Resolution. After initial dialogue, the Mission proposed its plan over the composition of the new government on 16 May 1946. In its proposals, the creation of a separate Muslim Pakistan was rejected. Plan of 16 May A united Dominion of India would be given independence. The Muslim - majority provinces would be grouped, with Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan and North - West Frontier Province forming one group, and Bengal and Assam would form another. The Hindu - majority provinces in central and southern India would form another group. The central government, stationed in Delhi, would be empowered to handle nationwide affairs, such as defence, currency, and diplomacy, and the rest of powers and responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by groups. An interim Government at the Centre representing all communities would be installed on the basis of parity between the representatives of the Hindus and the Muslims Plan of 16 June The plan of 16 May 1946 had a united India, in line with Congress and Muslim League aspirations, but that was where the consensus between the two parties ended since Congress abhorred the idea of having the groupings of Muslim - majority provinces and that of Hindu - majority provinces with the intention of balancing one another at the central legislature. The Muslim League could not accept any changes to this plan since they wanted to keep the safeguards of British Indian laws to prevent absolute rule of Hindus over Muslims. Reaching an impasse, the British proposed a second plan on 16 June 1946 to arrange for India to be divided into Hindu - majority India and a Muslim - majority India that would later be renamed Pakistan since Congress had vehemently rejected ' parity ' at the centre. A list of princely states of India, which would be permitted to accede to the dominion or attain independence, was also drawn up. The Cabinet Mission arrived in karachi on 23 March 1946 and in Delhi on 24 March 1946 and left on June 29. The announcement of the Plan on 16 May 1946 had been preceded by the Simla Conference in the first week of May. Reactions The approval of the plans determined the composition of the new government. The Congress Working Committee officially did not accept either plan. The resolution of the committee dated 24 May 1946 concluded that The Working Committee consider that the connected problems involved in the establishment of a Provisional Government and a Constituent Assembly should be viewed together... In absence of a full picture, the Committee are unable to give a final opinion at this stage. And the resolution of 25 June 1946, in response to the June plan concluded In the formation of a Provisional or other governance, Congressmen can never give up the national character of Congress, or accept an artificial and unjust parity, or agree to a veto of a communal group. The Committee are unable to accept the proposals for formation of an Interim Government as contained in the statement of June 16. The Committee have, however, decided that the Congress should join the proposed Constituent Assembly with a view to framing the Constitution of a free, united and democratic India. Coalition and breakdown The Viceroy began organising the transfer of power to a Congress - League coalition. But in a `` provocative speech '' on 10 July 1946 Nehru was quoted in the press as saying `` We are not bound by a single thing except that we have decided to go into the Constituent Assembly ''. By this Nehru effectively `` torpedoed '' any hope for a united India. Having been `` duped in such a way '', Jinnah withdrew the Muslim League 's acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan on 17 July. Thus Congress leaders entered the Viceroy 's Executive Council or the Interim Government of India. Nehru became the head, vice-president in title, but possessing the executive authority. Patel became the home member, responsible for internal security and government agencies. Congress - led governments were formed in most provinces, including the NWFP, in Punjab ( a coalition with the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Unionist Muslim League ). The League led governments in Bengal and Sind. The Constituent Assembly was instructed to begin work to write a new constitution for India. Jinnah and the League condemned the new government, and vowed to agitate for Pakistan by any means possible. Disorder arose in Punjab and Bengal, including the cities of Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta. On the League - organized Direct Action Day, over 5,000 people were killed across India, and Hindu, Sikh and Muslim mobs began clashing routinely. Wavell stalled the Central government 's efforts to stop the disorder, and the provinces were instructed to leave this to the governors, who did not undertake any major action. To end the disorder and rising bloodshed, Wavell encouraged Nehru to ask the League to enter the government. While Patel and most Congress leaders were opposed to conceding to a party that was organising disorder, Nehru conceded in hope of preserving communal peace. League leaders entered the council under the leadership of Liaquat Ali Khan, the future first Prime Minister of Pakistan who became the finance minister, but the council did not function in harmony, as separate meetings were not held by League ministers, and both parties vetoed the major initiatives proposed by the other, highlighting their ideological differences and political antagonism. At the arrival of the new ( and proclaimed as the last ) viceroy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma in early 1947, Congress leaders expressed the view that the coalition was unworkable. That led to the eventual proposal, and acceptance of the partition of India. The rejection of cabinet mission plan led to a resurgence of confrontational politics beginning with the Muslim League 's Direct action day and the subsequent killings in Noakhali and Bihar. The portioning of responsibility of the League, the Congress and the British Colonial Administration for the breakdown continues to be a topic of fierce disagreement. References Jump up ^ Jeffery J. Roberts ( 2003 ). The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 85 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 275 - 97878 - 5. Virtually every Briton wanted to keep India united. Many expressed moral or sentimental obligations to leave India intact, either for the inhabitants ' sake or simply as a lasting testament to the Empire. The Cabinet Defense Committee and the Chiefs of Staff, however, stressed the maintenance of a united India as vital to the defense ( and economy ) of the region. A unified India, an orderly transfer of power, and a bilateral alliance would, they argued, leave Britain 's strategic position undamaged. India 's military assets, including its seemingly limitless manpower, naval and air bases, and expanding production capabilities, would remain accessible to London. India would thus remain of crucial importance as a base, training ground, and staging area for operations from Egypt to the Far East. Jump up ^ Darwin, John ( 2011 - 03 - 03 ). `` Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire ''. BBC. Retrieved Apr 10, 2017. But the British still hoped that a self - governing India would remain part of their system of ' imperial defence '. For this reason, Britain was desperate to keep India ( and its army ) united. Jump up ^ Michael Mann ( 24 October 2014 ). South Asia 's Modern History : Thematic Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. pp. 118 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 317 - 62445 - 5. The Mission 's aim was to ensure the unity of British India. Jump up ^ Barbara D. Metcalf ; Thomas R. Metcalf ( 2002 ). A Concise History of India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 212 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 63974 - 3. By this scheme, the British hoped they could at once preserve the united India desired by the Congress, and by themselves, and at the same time, through the groups, secure the essence of Jinnah 's demand for a ' Pakistan '. Jump up ^ Seervai, H.M. : Partition of India : Legend and Reality, 2005. Intro : xxvi. ISBN 0 - 19 - 597719 - X Jump up ^ `` Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 ''. GKToday. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Cabinet Mission Plan : May and June Congress Resolutions ''. Retrieved 2013 - 05 - 28. Jump up ^ Barbara D. Metcalf ; Thomas R. Metcalf ( 2002 ). A Concise History of India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 213 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 63974 - 3. Jump up ^ Michael Mann ( 24 October 2014 ). South Asia 's Modern History : Thematic Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. pp. 80 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 317 - 62445 - 5. Jump up ^ Ayesha Jalal ( 1994 ). The Sole Spokesman : Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 45850 - 4. Jump up ^ Ayesha Jalal ( 1994 ). The Sole Spokesman : Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 225. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 45850 - 4. Bibliography Kanji Dwarkadas, Ten years to freedom Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel : A Life Nicholas Mansergh, The Transfer of Power 1942 - 7 ( 12 volumes ) V.P. Menon, Transfer of no Power Robin James Moore, Escape from Empire H.M. Seervai, Partition of India : Legend and Reality ( ed. 2005 ) Jaswant Singh, Jinnah : India - Partition - Independence Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah Philip Zeigler, Mountbatten Further reading India 's Constitutional Question -- The Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 Indian Independence Movement History Colonisation Porto Grande de Bengala Dutch Bengal East India Company British Raj French India Portuguese India Battle of Plassey Battle of Buxar Anglo - Mysore Wars First Second Third Fourth Anglo - Maratha Wars First Second Third Polygar Wars Vellore Mutiny First Anglo - Sikh War Second Anglo - Sikh War Sannyasi Rebellion Rebellion of 1857 Radcliffe Line more Philosophies and ideologies Ambedkarism Gandhism Hindu nationalism Indian nationalism Khilafat Movement Muslim nationalism in South Asia Satyagraha Socialism Swadeshi movement Swaraj Events and movements Partition of Bengal ( 1905 ) Partition of Bengal ( 1947 ) Revolutionaries Direct Action Day Delhi - Lahore Conspiracy The Indian Sociologist Singapore Mutiny Hindu -- German Conspiracy Champaran Satyagraha Kheda Satyagraha Rowlatt Committee Rowlatt Bills Jallianwala Bagh massacre Noakhali riots Non-Cooperation Movement Christmas Day Plot Coolie - Begar Movement Chauri Chaura incident, 1922 Kakori conspiracy Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre Flag Satyagraha Bardoli 1928 Protests Nehru Report Fourteen Points of Jinnah Purna Swaraj Salt March Dharasana Satyagraha Vedaranyam March Chittagong armoury raid Gandhi -- Irwin Pact Round table conferences Act of 1935 Aundh Experiment Indian Legion Cripps Mission Quit India Bombay Mutiny Coup d'état of Yanaon Provisional Government of India Independence Day Praja Mandala movement Organisations All India Kisan Sabha All - India Muslim League Anushilan Samiti Arya Samaj Azad Hind Berlin Committee Ghadar Party Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Indian National Congress India House Indian Home Rule movement Indian Independence League Indian National Army Jugantar Khaksar Tehrik Khudai Khidmatgar Swaraj Party more Social reformers A. Vaidyanatha Iyer Ayya Vaikundar Ayyankali B.R. Ambedkar Baba Amte Bal Gangadhar Tilak Dayananda Saraswati Dhondo Keshav Karve G. Subramania Iyer Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty Gopal Ganesh Agarkar Gopal Hari Deshmukh Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar J.B. Kripalani Jyotirao Phule Kandukuri Veeresalingam Mahadev Govind Ranade Mahatma Gandhi Muthulakshmi Reddi Narayana Guru Niralamba Swami Pandita Ramabai Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Ram Mohan Roy Rettamalai Srinivasan Sahajanand Saraswati Savitribai Phule Shahu Sister Nivedita Sri Aurobindo Syed Ahmad Khan Vakkom Moulavi Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinoba Bhave Vitthal Ramji Shinde Vivekananda Independence activists Abul Kalam Azad Accamma Cherian Achyut Patwardhan A.K. Fazlul Huq Alluri Sitarama Raju Annapurna Maharana Annie Besant Ashfaqulla Khan Babu Kunwar Singh Bagha Jatin Bahadur Shah II Bakht Khan Bal Gangadhar Tilak Basawon Singh Begum Hazrat Mahal Bhagat Singh Bharathidasan Bhavabhushan Mitra Bhikaiji Cama Bhupendra Kumar Datta Bidhan Chandra Roy Bipin Chandra Pal C. Rajagopalachari Chandra Shekhar Azad Chetram Jatav Chittaranjan Das Dadabhai Naoroji Dayananda Saraswati Dhan Singh Dukkipati Nageswara Rao Gopal Krishna Gokhale Govind Ballabh Pant Har Dayal Hemu Kalani Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi Jatindra Mohan Sengupta Jatindra Nath Das Jawaharlal Nehru K. Kamaraj Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Khudiram Bose Shri Krishna Singh Lala Lajpat Rai M. Bhaktavatsalam M.N. Roy Mahadaji Shinde Mahatma Gandhi Mangal Pandey Mir Qasim Mithuben Petit ‎ Muhammad Ali Jauhar Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Mian Mansoor Ansari Nagnath Naikwadi Nana Fadnavis Nana Sahib P. Kakkan Prafulla Chaki Pritilata Waddedar Pritilata Waddedar Purushottam Das Tandon R. Venkataraman Rahul Sankrityayan Rajendra Prasad Ram Prasad Bismil Rani Lakshmibai Rash Behari Bose Sahajanand Saraswati Sangolli Rayanna Sarojini Naidu Satyapal Dang Shuja - ud - Daula Shyamji Krishna Varma Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi Siraj ud - Daulah Subhas Chandra Bose Subramania Bharati Subramaniya Siva Surya Sen Syama Prasad Mukherjee Tara Rani Srivastava Tarak Nath Das Tatya Tope Tiruppur Kumaran Ubaidullah Sindhi VO Chidamabaram V.K. Krishna Menon Vallabhbhai Patel Vanchinathan Veeran Sundaralingam Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Virendranath Chattopadhyaya Yashwantrao Holkar Yogendra Shukla more British leaders Wavell Canning Cornwallis Irwin Chelmsford Curzon Ripon Minto Dalhousie Bentinck Mountbatten Wellesley Lytton Clive Outram Cripps Linlithgow Hastings Independence Cabinet Mission Annexation of French colonies in India Constitution Republic of India Indian annexation of Goa Indian Independence Act Partition of India Political integration Simla Conference Pakistan Movement History of Pakistan ( timeline : 1947 -- present ) History East India Company Indian Rebellion of 1857 Aligarh Movement Urdu movement Partition of Bengal Lucknow Pact Khilafat Movement Shuddhi Movement Nehru Report Fourteen Points of Jinnah Allahabad Address Now or Never pamphlet World War II Two nation theory Round Table Conferences Lahore Resolution Direct Action Day Muslim nationalism in South Asia Cabinet Mission Indian Independence Act Partition of India Radcliffe Line Durand Line Pakistan Osmanistan Enlightened Moderation Objectives Resolution Independence Republic Day Kashmir conflict National symbols Constitution of Pakistan British heritage Organisations Muslim League Punjab Branch Bengal Branch Unionist Student Federations Khaksars Renaissance Society Philosophical Congress Dawn Daily War Leaders Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Aga Khan III Nawab Salimullah Syed Ameer Ali Muhammad Ali Jouhar Maulana Shaukat Ali Allama Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Ali Jinnah Fatima Jinnah Liaquat Ali Khan Mian Muhammad Shafi Nawab Waqar - ul - Mulk Kamboh Mohsin - ul - Mulk Bahadur Yar Jung Baba - e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Abdur Rab Nishtar Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Choudhary Rahmat Ali A.K. Fazlul Huq G.M. Syed Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Ghulam Bhik Nairang Hasrat Mohani Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Jogendra Nath Mandal K.H. Khurshid Khawaja Nazimuddin Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Qazi Muhammad Essa Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Sikandar Hayat Khan Maulana Zafar Ali Khan more Activists Hameed Nizami Abdullah Haroon Yusuf Haroon Altaf Husain ( journalist ) Adamjee Haji Dawood Mufti Muhammad Shafi Maulana Ahmed Ali Lahori Malik Barkat Ali Yusuf Khattak Mian Iftikharuddin Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Shaukat Hayat Khan Muhammad Asad Ziauddin Ahmad A.B.A. Haleem Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr Hakeem Mohammad Saeed Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan Fida Mohammad Khan Sheikh Sir Abdul Qadir Professor M.M. Sharif J.A. Rahim of PPP Z.A. Suleri G. Allana Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi Jalal Baba of NWFP more Literature Idea of Pakistan Jinnah : India, Partition, Independence Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan A Short History of Pakistan Pakistan : A Personal History The Myth of Independence Pakistan : A Hard Country Now or Never ; Are We to Live or Perish Forever ? Causes of Indian Mutiny of 1857 Architecture Minar - e-Pakistan Bab - e-Pakistan The Monument Mazar - e-Quaid Ziarat Residency Iqbal 's Tomb Wazir Mansion National Library Deena Public Hall Bab - e-Khyber Jinnah Terminal In Memory Youm - e-Pakistan ( 23 March ) Youm - e-Dastur ( 10 April ) Youm - e-Takbir ( 28 May ) Youm - e-Azadi ( 14 August ) Youm - e-Difah ( 6 September ) Youm - e-Tasees ( 24 October ) Youm - e-Iqbal ( 9 November ) Youm - e-Viladat ( 25 December ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1946_Cabinet_Mission_to_India&oldid=856009708 '' Categories : Indian independence movement Pakistan Movement Partition of India 1946 in India 1946 in Pakistan 1946 in British India Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from March 2011 All articles needing additional references Articles lacking in - text citations from January 2017 All articles lacking in - text citations Articles with multiple maintenance issues EngvarB from March 2017 Use dmy dates from March 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা हिन्दी മലയാളം Русский தமிழ் اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 22 August 2018, at 08 : 20 ( UTC ). 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Question: why did the british government send the cabinet mission to india
Answer: to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian leadership, with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting it independence