Cabinet Mission Plan

We all know that India was under the capture of the British till the Independence year 1947. For 150 years India fought to free itself from the British raj. Those were the years when each person longed only for one thing, and that was freedom. However, we are not into that, but what we will discuss is the Cabinet Mission Plan. It was a statement made by cabinet mission and the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, on May 16, 1946. 

What did the Cabinet Mission Statement Include?

The statement carried the subject of the future of the Constitution in India if the Indian political parties and representatives disagree mutually. The plans were started back in 1945 when the newly elected Labour government thought of forming a Constituent Assembly for India. The appointed members of the Cabinet Mission were Secretary of State for India, Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, A.V. Alexander, First Lord of Admiralty, and President of the Board of Trade. 

The Constituent Assembly was supposed to form the Constitution of India. To execute the Cabinet Mission Plan, there was a major obstacle before the members, and that was the difference of opinion between the two major political parties in India. Cabinet Mission Plan would not have materialized till there was a solution to the issue.

The issues of indifference between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League were laced with some fundamental opinions over India's future. Congress wanted a united India, but Muslim League was asking for a separate sovereign state of Pakistan. The Cabinet Mission in India tried to resolve the matter through Shimla Agreement, but the Muslim League never followed and failed. What is suggested next is known as Cabinet Mission 1946. It was a proposal suggested by the Mission when the Shimla Agreement failed. Cabinet Mission came to India in the year 1946, and it presented a 24 point plan to decide the future of India.

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What is Cabinet Mission 1946?

Cabinet Mission 1946 is a nine-page plan of which some part is written in explanatory prose and the other in quasi-legal style. The two parts contain political context, approach and rationale, and form of elections to the Constituent Assembly and its parliamentary functions. The basic form of the future constitution of India is described in detail in point number 15. 

Point 15 was particular about how the formation of groups and provinces would be allowed under Union. It suggested that the construction of Pakistan stays rejected but proposed a federal set-up with the concept of sections, provinces, and princely states to be allowed to form under United India. Since the Cabinet Mission came to India in the year 1946, it faced many agreements and disagreements between the two major parties in India. The plan was accepted initially by both Congress and Muslim League, but soon Congress protested the formation of groups under the Union. 

They rejected the proposal of forming provinces based on religion, thus breaking down another agreement. But Muslim League was not willing to be part of both, and the violence across the border was triggered. 

The Cabinet Mission Plan was initially a three-tier plan under which there would be three groups based on religion. Group A's first was to have Hindu-majority provinces of the Bombay Presidency, Madras, the United Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, and the Central Provinces. Group B would be Muslim-majority provinces of Punjab, Sind, the North-West Frontier, and Baluchistan, and Group C consisted of Muslim-majority Bengal Hindu-majority Assam. The group governments would be autonomous, but matters would be reserved to the union center.

Progress of Cabinet Mission Plan in India

There was disagreement from the Sikh community, which would have gone in Muslim-majority Group B automatically. Sikhs were against the Muslim community since the Mughal era due to persecution of their Gurus in the 17th century. They were expecting a separate province where Ranjit Singh was ruling. The British Cabinet Mission ignored the demands of the Sikh as well as the Muslim community. Soon both Congress and Muslim League accepted the plan and went ahead with the proceedings. 

However, Jawaharlal Nehru declared that no constituent assembly could be 'bound' by any prearranged constitutional formula that led to the deadliest civil war. The infamous blood-shedding and lakhs of people were thrashed to death. This was inflicted due to Jinnah's call of 'Direct Action Day.' Thus the purpose of Cabinet Mission Plan was never met. Jinnah felt Nehru's announcement as a 'complete repudiation' of the plan. It would have led them to accept the terms directed by the newly-formed government, and Muslim League would never have agreed to it. 

It sparked Hindu-Muslim riots which started in Calcutta and spread all over the country. This civil war will always be remembered as the most shocking war one would like to forget. Many lost their lives, homes, relatives, wealth, and whatnot. Blood-shed bodies were received in the trains when they arrived in Delhi. 

Lord Mountbatten, who replaced Lord Wavell, was tasked to resolve the issue by June 1948, but on seeing the dangerous situation, proposed the partition into two countries. Gandhi opposed the partition by suggesting to offer the premiership of united India to Jinnah, but Nehru and Sardar Patel disagreed. Thus occurred the partition of India and Pakistan.  

The year of Independence again saw the slaughtering on both sides of the border. As most of the population of Sikhs was from the Punjab province of Pakistan, it took the heaviest beating in casualty. It was the black period of Indian history. The Cabinet Mission Plan was drawn for the constitution of India but turned out to be a plan of partition. The signs were flashing from the year 1945, but it was not expected to get this worse. Lord Mountbatten remained in India and served as first Governor-General of Independent India. 

As India breathed freedom, things were not normal as there were frequent conflicts between the religions and communities. Undeclared war with Pakistan over Kashmir also dented the progress of the country badly. However, India followed the footsteps of the British government as far as the formation of political structure and parts of India are concerned. It shows in the upper and lower houses and the division into different states. But unlike the British, India gives more power to Prime Minister than the President of the country. President is more of a ceremonial post, albeit having the highest position but needs to handle 'emergency' rules or when the nation's security is at stake.

Like the President of the nation, each state has a nominal governor. India's internal split-up into different states also originates from language majority. The states were separated based on the significant language spoken to facilitate a better organizational structure and maintain unity in diversity. The internal map was redesigned by appointing the States Reorganization Commission. This was inflicted in 1953 when the British province of Madras was divided into Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, in 1960, Bombay province was split into Marathi-speaking Maharashtra and Gujarati-speaking Gujarat. 

Cabinet Mission in the Context of Sikhs and Kashmir

Apart from this, the demand for language to be made official in the state rose, and the reorganization of official languages was initiated, Sikhs being more agitated for the separate Sikh province. But the demand was not met, fearing more fragments of India. From the Cabinet Mission date till some years past Independence, much time and energy were wasted in restructuring. The government continued to do as best as several years to see India on an absolute path of progress. 

As another hurdle, it was princely provinces that were to bring under the Indian Union, but thankfully of 570, only three declined to merge with the Indian Union. Junagadh and Hyderabad had Muslim rulers and wanted to connect with Pakistan. Hyderabad had no geographical advantage of joining Pakistan, while the Indian Army quickly acquired Junagadh. Kashmir was awarded a particular dominion and remained in two parts based on India and Pakistan administered.