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:
Mention any four clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan.
Topic: Cabinet Mission Plan
Answer
The Cabinet Mission — Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander — came to India in March 1946 and proposed: (1) The REJECTION of the demand for a separate state of Pakistan; India was to remain a single UNION comprising British India and the Princely States. (2) A FEDERAL UNION with a weak Centre, controlling only defence, foreign affairs and communications, all residuary powers resting with the provinces. (3) The provinces were free to form GROUPS with their own executives and legislatures, and any province could opt out of its group after ten years. (4) A CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY was to be elected to frame the constitution of India, and an INTERIM GOVERNMENT of Indian leaders was to be formed at the Centre in the meantime.
Four marks, four clauses, one mark each. The first clause is the most important, and it links directly to part (b): the Mission REJECTED Pakistan, which is why the League ultimately turned against it. The GROUPING scheme is the one that made the plan unworkable, because the Congress and the League read it differently — so it deserves its own point. Naming the three members of the Mission adds precision at little cost.