The period between 1920 and 1947 was marked with major events and reforms that finally led us to our independence. In this context, answer the following questions:
How did the Congress and the Muslim League respond to the Cabinet Mission Plan?
Topic: Response to the Cabinet Mission Plan
Answer
THE CONGRESS accepted the plan in part. It welcomed the rejection of Pakistan and the proposal for a Constituent Assembly, and agreed to join the Interim Government. But it rejected the GROUPING of provinces, arguing that grouping should be voluntary and that each province was free to decide for itself — an interpretation the League regarded as a repudiation of the plan.
THE MUSLIM LEAGUE at first accepted the plan, seeing in the grouping scheme the seed of Pakistan. But when Nehru declared that the Constituent Assembly would be free to modify the plan, the League withdrew its acceptance in July 1946, called for DIRECT ACTION DAY on 16 August 1946 to press its demand for Pakistan, and communal riots followed in Calcutta and elsewhere.
Three marks, so give both responses and the consequence. The point that earns the third mark is that BOTH accepted at first and then differed over INTERPRETATION — the grouping clause was ambiguous, and each read it in its own favour. The plan failed on that ambiguity rather than on outright rejection. Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) is the consequence that must be named, since the violence it unleashed is what finally made partition seem unavoidable.