Cripps Mission

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There were enough reasons to get a closer look at the relationship between India and London. Projecting the events and dramatic situations of the Second World War, it was the time when the British aimed to shed light on India following the years of war. Keeping this in mind, political London started creating a course of significant connections with the leaders responsible for an Independent India Movement. One of them was Cripps Mission. 

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How did it All Start?

• With the flaring up of the Second World War, the struggle for India’s independence entered the final and decisive stage. In 1941, Japan entered the war, taking the side of the Axis Powers and soon conquered many territories under Britain in Southeast Asia surrounding India. It was the month of February 1942 when the British fortress fell in Singapore. In the following month, the Japanese marched in Rangoon, which was then British Burma. The taking over of Rangoon posed a massive threat to the territories in India. 

• Following the series of events, political leaders sitting in London started realising that India was unfriendly to the Allies. The issue, coupled with the rapid advances of Japanese troops, was certainly explosive to Great Britain. They were protesting the unilateral declaration of war by the British viceroy – who had not even come to the appearance for a consultation with the political parties in India – the members of the nationalist Congress Party chose to resign at the beginning of the war. This was in contrast to the Muslim league (a minority party) that saw an opportunity to prove its responsibility for forming a government. 

• Keeping aside the physical threat of India and Japan, Britain was under constant pressure from the United States and China to secure the unconditional participation of India in the war against the Japanese. Considering the building pressure, on 11th March 1942, the War Cabinets made efforts for resolving the differential issues especially, with the Indian Congress Party. It was quite clear from the starting point that the approval of the Congress Party is only achievable if India is granted greater autonomy rights. This refuted the position of Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Britain and finally, in February 1942, succumbed to the pressure of the Allies and Cabinet and, therefore, agreed to the diplomatic mission of India. 

The Cripps Mission to India:

Following the successful handiwork of Cripps in Moscow when the Soviets agreed to join the Allies against Axis, he was sent to India to envelope the diplomatic mission on a successful note. Upon returning from Russia to his country in 1942, Cripps came into the limelight and gained widespread popularity due to its success in Moscow. Even some believed that he would be the next Prime Minister in Britain. 

The massive popularity forced Winston Churchill to keep Cripps out of sight and out of mind from the people in Britain and therefore chose to send him to India. This was known to be the Cripps Mission to India. Even some historians state that Churchill was pretty much aware of the fact that Cripps was about to fail in India as he wouldn’t be able to secure total independence as most Indians demanded. He was sent on a pre-projected failure mission. 

The Role of Gandhi During the Mission:

Not all Indian leaders came to an agreement with Cripps proposal, but it was Gandhi only who decided to settle down with the promise of immediate and full independence in exchange for Indian war support. On the other hand, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was the leader of the Muslim League, went with full support for the British war effort and believed that Britain would grant total independence to India after the war is over and, of course, if India proved its loyalty with British. Quite naturally, there was no written agreement about this diplomatic war effort, and Cripps eventually failed and returned to Britain. Later, he left his position in the cabinet and served as the Minister of Aircraft Production for the rest of the war.

Key Events of Cripps Mission:

• Full name, Stafford Cripps was the scapegoat of a British attempt through the War Department. They tried to gain the valuable support of India to win against the advancing Japanese and other territories around the world. Cripps was here to discuss the possibilities of forming a Union in India within the Empire and represent the Indian leaders through the current structure. 

• Cripps mission date started on 22nd March when he arrived at New Delhi. The people in India were still not aware of such an agreement for about a week until the Ambassador informed formally on 28th March.

• Viceroy Linlithgow disapproved of the mission and offered his resignation. Churchill, on the other side, responded and informed that it is impossible to match with the general outlook of the Americans as they stood on a purely negative attitude, and Cripps Missions is completely indispensable when it comes to proving honesty. 

• After the British suggested establishing a government in India similar to an Article of Confederation, Cripps mission 1942 was simply shattered. This is because FDR replied to Churchill with a letter that states not to drag them into this as it is strictly not their business. 

• The perspective of Churchill was completely wrong as he thought making independence proposals to India would end up with positive press remarks in America. The Cripps Mission would have been beneficial for the US and other Allied forces, but Roosevelt himself condemned the acts of the proposal as it was not quite far-reaching. 

• Some expert historians claim that the British government sent Cripps on a mission to India only to address the concerns of Indian political instability in America. 

• Cripps Mission in India faltered as Roosevelt viewed the mission as constructive criticism. Also, Churchill threatened Hopkins, the aide of FDR, that he should resign from the post rather than increasing the situation of political unrest in India especially, during the invasion from Japan.