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Old Friday, September 12, 2008
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THE CRIPPS MISSION


The Second World War started in 1939. Japan’s entry in December 1941 totally changed the war. The British Army began facing defeat all over the world. Singapore fell in February 1942, then Rangoon in March of the same year. Fearing that the Indian subcontinent would be next, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in an effort to secure Indian support for the war effort, in 1942 announced a plan for the welfare of the people of India. Under the plan, a delegation was to be sent to India for talks with Indian leaders about future constitutional reforms.

On 11 March 1942 the Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons a decision to send the Cripps Mission of conciliation to India. Sir Stafford Cripps, leader of the mission, arrived in Delhi on 22 March 1942 and began a series of talks with the leaders of India’s political parties.

On 29 March 1942, Sir Stafford held a press conference to release the draft of a proposal which he had brought from London. The following declaration was made:

1. After the war, steps shall be taken to set up an elected body charged with the task of framing a new constitution for India.

2. Provision shall be made for the participation of Indian states in the constitution making body.

3. The constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly shall have to be accepted on the following grounds:

i). Any province or state would be free either to adhere or not to adhere to the new constitution.

ii). The British Government would retain control of the defence of India.

iii). A fresh agreement would have to be concluded between the Constituent Assembly and the British Government to settle issues pertaining to the transfer of power.

iv). The Government of India Act 1935 shall remain in force until the end of war.

v). The Commander-in-Chief and the Finance Minister shall be British nationals.

4. His Majesty’s Government will be prepared to agree upon a new constitution, giving them the same full status as the Indian Union.

Congress and the Muslim League rejected this declaration outright. Congress demanded the establishment of a Congress government. This was not allowed in the declaration. Congress was also unhappy about the provinces being authorised to stay out of the union. The Muslim League rejected the declaration on the grounds that it gave no guarantee that the new state of Pakistan would be created.

On 2 April 1942, Congress and the Muslim League both passed resolutions rejecting the proposals put forward by the Cripps Mission.





QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT


Just after the departure of Sir Stafford Cripps, who failed in his mission, Congress launched the “Quit India Movement” in order to put pressure on the British government. On 10 May 1942, Gandhi in Bombay called on Britain to “leave India.” On 11 May he wrote an appeal to everyone in Britain to retire from India. From 11-14 July 1942, the Congress Working Committee met in Wardha and passed a resolution demanding the end of British rule in India and threatening to launch a mass civil disobedience campaign under Gandhi’s leadership if this demand was not fulfilled.

The Muslims boycotted this movement. The Quaid-i-Azam alleged that the movement was a Congress ploy to force the Muslims to surrender to Congress terms and conditions. In reponse to “Quit India,” the Muslims launched a counter-demand: “Divide India and Go.”

Before the Quit India movement could make any headway, the British ordered the arrest of the main Congress leaders. When its leaders were jailed, the movement lost momentum and failed.





THE CABINET MISSION PLAN, 1946


On 19 February, 1946, Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, in the House of Lords, and C.R. Attlee, the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, announced that a special mission consisting of three cabinet ministers would be sent to India. The mission included the secretary of state for India, Lord Pethick - Lawrence, the president of the board of trade, Sir Stafford Cripps, and the first lord of the admiralty, A.V. Alexander.

The mission prepared the following plan: first preparatory discussions with elected representatives of British India and with the Indian states in order to secure the widest measure of agreement on the method of framing a constitution; second, the setting up of a constitution making body; and third the creation of an executive council having the support of the main Indian parties. The mission reached New Delhi on 24 March 1946.

The talks started with Indian leaders on 26 March 1946, which continued until 11 September 1946. The commission gave the Quaid-e-Azam the choice to accept a truncated but sovereign Pakistan or to have Pakistan with undivided but not completely sovereign provinces.

The league, in a resolution, asked for the establishment of a constituent assembly for the six Muslim majority provinces, which would constitute one group. This group was to enjoy complete autonomy in internal affairs. Other subjects, like foreign affairs, defense and communications were to be entrusted to the union government.

On the other hand, the scheme presented by the Congress placed more subjects under the union government. It also proposed that the constituent assembly should be elected and its meeting should be held before the formation of this group of provinces. The scheme was not acceptable to the League, so the negotiations failed.

On 16 May, 1946 the cabinet mission announced its own scheme which suggested several measures. First, it recommended the establishment of an interim central government. It also asked for the formation of three groups of provinces and the establishment of constituent assemblies. It also stipulated that the union government should deal only with foreign affairs, defence, communications and raising of finance and that all residual powers should be vested in the provinces.

The Muslim league and Congress both accepted the plan. In pursuance of the cabinet mission proposals, the viceroy named six Congressmen and five Leaguers for the new executive council, which the League accepted, but the Congress rejected.

An interim government was formed by the Congress and the League, but it also failed. In March 1947, Mountbatten was appointed as the new viceroy of India. The plan for the division of India was announced, which led to the creation of two dominions, India and Pakistan in August 1947.





JUNE 3 PLAN (1947)


Mountbatten worked out a partition plan by the middle of April 1947. The working committee of Congress met on May 1, 1947 and also gave its approval of the final draft of the partition plan. Mountbatten then went to England to seek the approval of the British government. The plan was issued on June 3, 1947. The main characteristics of the plan were as follows:

The legislatures of the Punjab and Bengal should decide whether the provinces should be divided or not. The Indians should make the constitution of India, which would not be applicable to those who reject it. A referendum should be held in NWFP. The province of Baluchistan would decide its future on its own. The princely states would be free to joiun whichever country they wished keeping in view the geographical contiguity and the wishes of their people. A boundary commission would be set up for the demarcation of the boundaries of the two countries. Both countries would have their own governor generals as their executive heads. Military assets would be equally divided between the two countries.




INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT 1947


The Indian Independence Bill was drafted and shown to Indian party leaders and introduced in the House of Commons by Prime Minister Attle on 4 July, 1947. It was passed on 15th July by the House of Commons and on 16 July by the House of Lords. There were no amendments, and the bill received the Royal assent on 18 July 1947.

According to this bill, India would be divided into the two sovereign states of Pakistan and India, and British control over India would end on 15th August, 1947.

The princely states were given the option to join one or the other country subject to territorial contiguity and wishes of their people. They were authorized to have their independent legislators, constitutions and other administrative departments.

The Act of 1935 was to remain in force until both countries drafted their own constitutions. Both countries would have right to remain in the British Commonwealth, if they wished. The agreements between the princely states and the British government would end with the end of British control over India.

Separate provincial governments were set up for India and Pakistan on 20 July, 1947. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan met on 11 August 1947, and elected the Quaid-e-Azam as its president. Pakistan officially became free on 15 August 1947, when the Quaid-e-Azam was sworn in as governor-general and the new Pakistani cabinet took office.





RADCLIFFE AWARD


It was provided in the June 3 plan that as soon as the legislatures of Punjab and Bengal decided in favour of partition, a boundary commission should be set up to demarcate the boundaries. The legislatures of Bengal and Punjab voted in favour of partition. Boundary commissions were set up for Punjab and Bengal under the chairmanship of Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Each commission was to consist of an equal number of representatives of India and Pakistan and one or more impartial members. The members of the Punjab boundary commission were Justice Din Muhammad and Justice Muhammad Munir on behalf of Pakistan and Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan and Justice Tej Singh on behalf of India.

The members of the Bengal boundary commission were Justice Abu Saleh Muhammad and Justice M. Akram on behalf of Pakistan and Justice C.C. Biswas and Justice B.K. Mukerjee on behalf of India. The commissions were set up by the end of June 1947. Radcliffe arrived in India on July 8, 1947.

The final award was announced on 17 August, 1947 and published the next day, though the deliberations were completed on 8 August 1947. The Radcliffe Award was unfair to Pakistan because it awarded many Muslim majority areas in Punjab and Bengal to India. Calcutta was given to India, although the entire development of Calcutta was based on the toil of Muslim peasantry of Bengal.

In Punjab, the two Muslim majority tehsils of Gurdaspur and Batala were given to India along with Pathankot tehsil. The Muslim majority tehsil Ajnalain in Amritsar district was also handed over to India. In Jullundur district the Muslim majority areas of Zira and Ferozpur in Ferozpur district were also given to India. All of these areas were contiguous to western Punjab. This unfair award resulted in India’s occupation of Kashmir and snatching from Pakistan important head works and giving them to India.






to be continued
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Last edited by Sureshlasi; Friday, September 12, 2008 at 02:07 PM.
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