Why did the Muslim League observe the Direct Action Day?

Conflict between Congress and Muslim League

Attlee's Announcement

The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 tried to please both the Congress and the League. In this context, answer the following:

Why did the League earlier accept and later reject the proposals of the Cabinet Mission?

The partial acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan by the Congress.

Cabinet Mission Plan was accepted by the Muslim League in entirety.
What were the reactions of the Congress and the Muslim League to Cabinet Mission Plan?

The Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947 was accepted by all parties. In this context, explain the clauses of the Plan as: (a) Clauses related to partition. (b) Clauses related to constitution. (c) Clauses related to territories (d) The reasons that made the Congress accept the partition proposals.Answer
(a)

• Division of the Country: The country would be divided into two Dominions i.e., India and Pakistan.
• Relations between the two new Dominions: It was for the two Dominions to decide what relations they would have with the British Commonwealth and with each other.
• A Boundary Commission: A Boundary Commission would be set up to decide about the boundary disputes.
• The Princely States: The Princely States would be free to choose their own option, (either join India or Pakistan) and treaties signed with them would soon come to an end.

(b) The Constituent Assembly: The existing Constituent Assembly would continue to work, but the Constitution framed by it would not be applied to Pakistan. A separate Constituent Assembly would be constituted for those parts which decided in favour of partition.
(c)

• Bengal and Punjab: The provinces of Bengal and Punjab were also to be divided as per the opinion of their respective Legislative Assemblies.
• Sindh: The Legislative Assembly of Sindh was to take its own decision at a special meeting.
• North-West Frontier Province: A plebiscite was to be held in the North- West Frontier Province to ascertain whether the people wanted to join India or Pakistan.
• The District of Sylhet: The Muslim majority district of Sylhet was to decide by referendum whether it would join East Bengal or remain in Assam.

(d)

• Non-Cooperative attitude of the League: The League had joined the Interim Government to obstruct the working of the Congress and not to cooperate with it.
• Communal Riots: The large scale communal riots that engulfed the whole country convinced all that the only solution to the communal problem lay in the partition of India. These riots were the outcome of 'Direct Action Day' observed by the League.
• The country would have witnessed a brutal civil war.
• Immediate end of the British rule: The Mountbatten plan announced transfer of power to take place before June 1948. The British Parliament would pass an Act for the transfer of power before August 15, 1947. All the people and leaders wanted to get rid of British rule immediately and were ready to pay any price. Hence, partition was a price for immediate independence.

State 5 different clauses of the Cabinet Mission.Answer

1. India would be a federation of British Indian Provinces and Princely states.
2. The Central Government would have three subjects under its jurisdiction- defence, foreign affairs and communication. The other subjects rested with the Provinces.
3. The Union would have an interim government.
4. In order to give the minorities a greater assurance the country would be divided into three groups. Group A would consist of Madras, Bombay, Uttar Pradesh, Central Provinces, Bihar and Orissa. Group B would consist of Punjab, Sind and NWFP (North-West Frontier Province). Group C would comprise Bengal and Assam.
5. A constitution making body would frame the Union Constitution.

5. How did the Congress and the Muslim League respond to the Cabinet Mission Plan?Answer (i) The Congress: The Congress accepted the proposals with reservations. It accepted only that part of the scheme
which dealt with the Constitution making. It considered the Constituent Assembly as a sovereign body for drafting
the Constitution. The Congress wanted the grouping of the Provinces as optional and not compulsory.
This was important in view of the fact that Assam in the proposed Group C had a Congress government at that time.
The Congress, however, rejected the Viceroy's offer to form an Interim Government because of its limited status and powers and also because the principle of parity with Muslim League was not acceptable to it. It was also opposed to the League's claim that it alone had the right tc nominate all the Muslim members to the Executive Council. (ii) The Muslim League: The League accepted it in its entirety on June 6, 1946 because it felt that the grouping of Muslim majority Provinces in a way meant the formation of Pakistan. The League asked Wavell, the Viceroy, to constitute an Interim Government.

Why did the Muslim League observe the Direct Action Day?Answer (i) Result of the Constituent Assembly: Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in July, 1946. Congress won 212 seats out of 298 seats and got comfortable majority in the Assembly. The League feared that it would be outvoted in the Assembly. (ii) Rejection of its demands and formation of Interim Government by the Congress: The League demanded the establishment of two different Constituent Assemblies which were rejected by the Cabinet Mission. On 14th August, 1946 the Viceroy invited the Congress to form the Interim Government at the Centre and the offer was accepted by the Congress. At this M. A. Jinnah felt angry and attacked both the Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy and declared that the Muslims should say good-bye to the Constitutional methods and prepare for self-defence and self-preservation by resorting to direct action.

The Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, was accepted by all parties. What were the four salient features of the Mountbatten Plan?Answer
The four salient features of the Mountbatten Plan were:

• The Constituent Assembly: The existing Constituent Assembly would continue to work, but the Constitution framed by it would not apply to Pakistan. A separate Constituent Assembly would be constituted for those parts of India which decided in favour of partition.
• The Princely States: Treaties with the Princely States would end and they were free to join either of the two dominions or remain independent.
• A Boundary Commission: A Boundary Commission would be formed to demarcate the boundaries of the two dominions.
• Division of Country: The country would be divided into two dominions, i.e., India and Pakistan.

How did Lord Mountbatten plan to solve the communal problem existing in India?Answer
Lord Mountbatten came to a conclusion that partition of India was the only solution to the existing communal problem in India. Therefore in his plan, he proposed:

• (i) That the country would be divided into two Dominions that is, India and Pakistan.
• (ii) The Princely States can either choose between the two countries or resort to remain independent.
• (iii) A plebiscite would be held in the North-West Frontier Province to ascertain their choice between the two Dominions.
• (iv) The Provinces of Assam, Bengal and Punjab would be divided and the boundaries would be delineated.

Mention the reasons that made the Congress accept the Partition Proposals.Answer
The main reasons that made the Congress accept the partition proposals were: (i) Communal riots had taken a serious turn as a result of the 'Direct Action Day' carried out by the Muslim League. (ii) The League had joined the Interim Government to obstruct and not to cooperate and made it difficult for any Congress Minister to function effectively. (iii) The only alternative to partition was a federation with a weak centre. (iv) The leaders felt that partition would rid the constitution of separate electorates and other undemocratic procedures. (v) The leaders felt that further delay in the transfer of power could find India in the midst of a Civil War.

Mention four important reasons for the All India Congress Committee accepting the Mountbatten Plan.AnswerThe Congress accepted the Mountbatten Plan because:(i) Any extension of the British rule was considered harmful in India.
(ii) The Congress was assured that it was not possible to run the administration of the country jointly.
(iii) It was believed that a smaller India with a strong centre would be more powerful than a larger India with a weak federation and a weak centre.
(iv) The Congress had realised that it would be impossible to work with the Muslim League.