1946 Cabinet Mission To India - Reactions and Acceptance

Reactions and Acceptance

The approval of the plans would determine the composition of the new government. The Congress Working Committee had initially approved the plan. However, on 10 July, Jawaharlal Nehru, who later became the first prime minister of India, held a press conference in Bombay declaring that the Congress had agreed only to participate in the Constituent Assembly and "regards itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best." The Congress ruled out the June 16 plan, seeing it as the division of India into small states. Moreover,the Congress was a Centralist party. Intellectuals like Kanji Dawarkadas criticized the Cabinet Plan. Congress was against decentralization and it had been under pressure from Indian capitalists who wanted a strong Center. The plan's strongest opponent was the principal Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi, due to the reason that the territories had been grouped together on the basis of religion.

The Muslim League gave its approval to the plan for 2 reasons: 1:grave issues were involved and Muslim league sincerely desirous for a peaceful solution... 2:The basic and foundation of Pakistan are inherent in the mission plan, by virtue of the compulsory grouping, of the 5 Muslim provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP, Bengal & Assam) Jinnah, in his speech to the League Council, clearly stated that he recommended acceptance only because nothing better could be obtained. However, on declaration from the Congress President that the Congress could change the scheme through its majority in the Constituent Assembly, this meant that the minorities would be placed at the mercy of the majority. The Muslim League Council met at Bombay on 27 July. "Mr. Jinnah in his opening speech reiterated the demand for Pakistan as the only course left open to the Muslim League. After three days' discussion, the Council passed a resolution rejecting the Cabinet Mission Plan. It also decided to resort to direct action for the achievement of Pakistan."

However, the plan had its advocates. Maulana Azad, a nationalist Muslim leader, said that while the groupings were a major concession to the theme of religious separatism, it would also force the League to accept a framework for a united India. While assuring minority rights and participation, an independent India would be free to do away eventually with the groupings arrangement. Gandhi criticized the Maulana's views for ignoring practical considerations and League ambitions. Cabinet Mission plan had similar recommendations already in news and intellectual circles from 1940. Ambedkar, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi and Maulana Azad already gave such recommendations. Ambedkar wrote his book in 1940, Maulana Sindhi gave his manifesto of new party in 1939 based on decentralize India while Azad ABC plan was also similar to Cabinet Mission. Azad's position was very tricky yet Gandhi ji and Patel at that moment changed AZAD and installed Jawahar Lal Nehru as president. Kanji Dawarka Das in his famous book "Ten Years to freedom 1937-47" and Jaswant singh in his recent book "Jinnah India-Independence-Partition" writes all details of congress working committee debates and untimely press conference by JLN in which congress rejected the last effort to avoid partition.