Question

Examine any four features of the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946).

Answer 1

Three people made up the Cabinet Mission Plan, which was sent to India in 1946: Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander. Among the Plan's principal suggestions were the following:

1. A federation of Indians, including Native States and British India, would be established.
2. Only the areas of communication, foreign policy, and defence would fall under the purview of the Centre. State legislatures would continue to have control over the remaining.
3. The provinces would be divided into three groups, Groups A, B, and C, and would have total autonomy. The provinces with a majority of Hindus, such as Madras, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Orissa, and Bihar, would make up Group A. Provinces with a majority of Muslims, such as Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, and the North-West Frontier Province, would be included in Group B. Assam and Bengal were in Group C.
4. Each group was free to create its own constitution and remain outside of the Federal Union.
5. The General, Muslim, and Sikh communities have been confirmed as eligible candidates for the body that drafts constitutions. Each community would choose its representatives.
6. India would be free to choose whether to continue as a member of the British Commonwealth or to leave it.
7. This mission also presented the concept of forming temporary leadership at Centrentre with involvement from the main political parties.