History Notes Page 1 Section 2

CABINET MISSION PLAN

WHY CABINET MISSION PLAN WAS INTRODUCED?
 The Cabinet Mission Plan was introduced because the British wanted to
figure out how to create a constitution for India as they were planning to
leave. They wanted to make sure that everyone, both from British India and
the Indian states, had a say in how the constitution was made. The Cabinet
Mission wanted to have discussions with the elected representatives of the
people in India to make sure everyone agreed on how the country should
be run. This way, the rules (or constitution) would be fair and agreed upon
by everyone involved in the game of building a new India.
 After World War II, countries around the world were letting go of their
colonies, and the British government realized that India wanted to run its
own affairs. So, they introduced the Cabinet Mission Plan to help India
smoothly become independent. The plan aimed to create a plan for India's
journey to freedom while considering what the Indian people wanted.
 At that time, there were tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and some
people wanted a separate Muslim state. The Cabinet Mission tried to make
a plan that would deal with these issues, making sure everyone's voice was
heard and all communities were treated fairly in a united India. So, the
Cabinet Mission Plan was introduced to solve these problems and make
sure India could become independent in a way that respected everyone's
wishes.

CABINET MISSION PLAN

 In March 1946 Lord Attlee British Prime Minister sent a delegation to India
to discuss various issues including the future constitution of India, to solve
the differences in India & to discuss the transfer of power to Indians.
 Three Cabinet Ministers including Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford
Cripps and A.V Alexander reached India.
 Jinnah wanted that the mission should consider the demand of a
separate state on the basis of Muslim majority areas to be called
independent Pakistan.
 The meetings were held at Simla with political leaders of India.
 The congress had good relations with Sir Stafford Cripps so he gave full
support to Congress on various issues.
 Congress was represented by Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abdul
Ghaffar Khan and Vallabhai Patel & the Muslim League led by Jinnah,
with Liaquat Ali Khan, Nawab Ismail and Abdul Rab Nishtar in their
delegation.
 Muslim League was demanding Pakistan with 6 provinces while Congress
was against any type of partition in India.
 The British govt. wave it’s on scheme, which was consisted of two plans.
History Notes Page 2 Section 2

SHORT TERM PLAN

 A caretaker (interim central govt.) would be set up & in the meantime the
British govt. would manage the withdrawal.
 The govt. would form an All-Indian Commission with the help of members
of Provincial & Central Legislatures.
 The Commission would decide the formation of one or two states.
 Both the Congress & Muslim League rejected this plan because it neither
considered immediate transfer to power nor a Muslim State but the
commission continued its work & gave its final plan.

LONG TERM PLAN

 It did not approve the idea of Pakistan. It agreed that a union of India
should be formed including both British states and Indian states & all the
main departments such as foreign affairs, defence and communication
would be given to it.
 Three groups of provinces such as Hindu majority provinces, Muslims
majority provinces & provinces of Bengal and Assam would be formed.
 All these provinces and states would be considered as the basic units and
power of constitution making would be given to the provinces.
 Muslims League agreed to nominate its member for this interim govt.
Gandhi was not pleased with the proposals of the govt.
 And Nehru said that after the withdrawal of the British he would not bound
to this plan.
 He termed it as “An appeal and advice”.
 Muslim League was disappointed to know the remarks of Congress, so it
dropped the plan.

WHY CABINET MISSION FAILED?

 The Cabinet Mission Plan didn't work out for a few important reasons. In
1946, the British government, just before leaving India, tried to find a way for
the country to stay united. They sent three important people to help – Lord
Pethic Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and Mr. A. V. Alexander. However,
there was a big problem. The Indian National Congress (INC) and the
Muslim League (ML), two major groups with different ideas, didn't agree.
The INC wanted India to stay together as one independent country, while
the ML, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, wanted a separate country for
Muslims, which later became Pakistan. Both groups were stubborn and
didn't change their minds.
 The British team suggested a temporary government that would decide
later whether India should be one country or two, but both the INC and the
History Notes Page 3 Section 2

ML didn't like this idea. They wanted a final decision while the British were
still there.
 In May 1946, the British tried one more plan. They said India could be a
federation with three parts – one for Hindu-majority areas, one for the
western Muslim areas, and one for Bengal and Assam. Each part could
make its own rules, but some things like foreign affairs and defense would
be decided by a central government. The Muslim League agreed, but
Jawaharlal Nehru from the INC said they wouldn't stick to this plan once the
British were gone. This disagreement messed up the whole plan, and it didn't
work. So, the Cabinet Mission Plan failed because the important groups
couldn't agree on how India should be when the British left.

IMPORTANCE
 Cabinet Mission Plan played a pivotal role in attempting to prevent the
outright partition of India. It sought to find a middle ground between the
Indian National Congress (INC), which wanted a unified and independent
India, and the Muslim League (ML), which demanded a separate nation for
Muslims (later leading to the creation of Pakistan). The plan's failure to
secure agreement between these major political forces eventually
contributed to the partition in 1947.
 During the Cabinet Mission Plan, the British said no to creation of Pakistan.
This made Muslims, especially led by Jinnah, realize they had to pressure the
British for it. This was a big moment in the Pakistan Movement, showing the
need to influence British decision-makers. The conference revealed
challenges in getting Pakistan and boosted determination in the Muslim
League to insist on it. It showed that reaching their goal meant not just
talking to other Indian leaders but also dealing with resistance from the
British. The Cabinet Mission Plan became a crucial point, shaping how the
Pakistan Movement moved forward.
 Jinnah knew that Congress wasn't just fighting for general independence;
they also wanted to stop Pakistan from happening. So, he made the
Pakistan movement faster while the British were still around. He did it in a
way that when the British left in 1947, Pakistan was ready to be its own
country. Jinnah's plan worked, and Pakistan was formed while Congress
was busy with other things. It was like Jinnah outsmarted Congress to make
Pakistan a reality.
History Notes Page 4 Section 2

PAST PAPER QUESTIONS SOLVED

BY MUHAMMAD YOUSUF MEMON
Question 1 QUESTION BY MYM
Explain why Cabinet Mission Plan was introduced in 1946. [7]
After Writing Any 1 Paragraph from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 5 Marks

After Writing Any 2 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 6 Marks

After Writing Any 3 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 7 Marks

The Cabinet Mission Plan was introduced because the British wanted to figure
out how to create a constitution for India as they were planning to leave. They
wanted to make sure that everyone, both from British India and the Indian
states, had a say in how the constitution was made. The Cabinet Mission
wanted to have discussions with the elected representatives of the people in
India to make sure everyone agreed on how the country should be run. This
way, the rules (or constitution) would be fair and agreed upon by everyone
involved in the game of building a new India.

After World War II, countries around the world were letting go of their colonies,
and the British government realized that India wanted to run its own affairs. So,
they introduced the Cabinet Mission Plan to help India smoothly become
independent. The plan aimed to create a plan for India's journey to freedom
while considering what the Indian people wanted.

At that time, there were tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and some
people wanted a separate Muslim state. The Cabinet Mission tried to make a
plan that would deal with these issues, making sure everyone's voice was
heard and all communities were treated fairly in a united India. So, the Cabinet
Mission Plan was introduced to solve these problems and make sure India
could become independent in a way that respected everyone's wishes.

Question 2 QUESTION BY MYM

Explain why Cabinet Mission Plan failed in 1946. [7]
After Writing Any 1 Paragraph from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 5 Marks

After Writing Any 2 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 6 Marks

After Writing Any 3 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 7 Marks

The Cabinet Mission Plan didn't work out for a few important reasons. In 1946,
the British government, just before leaving India, tried to find a way for the
country to stay united. They sent three important people to help – Lord Pethic
Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and Mr. A. V. Alexander. However, there was a
History Notes Page 5 Section 2

big problem. The Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League (ML),
two major groups with different ideas, didn't agree. The INC wanted India to
stay together as one independent country, while the ML, led by Muhammad
Ali Jinnah, wanted a separate country for Muslims, which later became
Pakistan. Both groups were stubborn and didn't change their minds.

The British team suggested a temporary government that would decide later
whether India should be one country or two, but both the INC and the ML
didn't like this idea. They wanted a final decision while the British were still there.

In May 1946, the British tried one more plan. They said India could be a
federation with three parts – one for Hindu-majority areas, one for the western
Muslim areas, and one for Bengal and Assam. Each part could make its own
rules, but some things like foreign affairs and defense would be decided by a
central government. The Muslim League agreed, but Jawaharlal Nehru from
the INC said they wouldn't stick to this plan once the British were gone. This
disagreement messed up the whole plan, and it didn't work. So, the Cabinet
Mission Plan failed because the important groups couldn't agree on how India
should be when the British left.

Question 3 QUESTION BY MYM

Explain the importance of Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. [7]
After Writing Any 1 Paragraph from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 5 Marks

After Writing Any 2 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 6 Marks

After Writing Any 3 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 7 Marks

Cabinet Mission Plan played a pivotal role in attempting to prevent the outright
partition of India. It sought to find a middle ground between the Indian
National Congress (INC), which wanted a unified and independent India, and
the Muslim League (ML), which demanded a separate nation for Muslims (later
leading to the creation of Pakistan). The plan's failure to secure agreement
between these major political forces eventually contributed to the partition in
1947.

During the Cabinet Mission Plan, the British said no to creation of Pakistan. This
made Muslims, especially led by Jinnah, realize they had to pressure the British
for it. This was a big moment in the Pakistan Movement, showing the need to
influence British decision-makers. The conference revealed challenges in
getting Pakistan and boosted determination in the Muslim League to insist on
it. It showed that reaching their goal meant not just talking to other Indian
leaders but also dealing with resistance from the British. The Cabinet Mission
History Notes Page 6 Section 2

Plan became a crucial point, shaping how the Pakistan Movement moved
forward.

Jinnah knew that Congress wasn't just fighting for general independence; they
also wanted to stop Pakistan from happening. So, he made the Pakistan
movement faster while the British were still around. He did it in a way that when
the British left in 1947, Pakistan was ready to be its own country. Jinnah's plan
worked, and Pakistan was formed while Congress was busy with other things.
It was like Jinnah outsmarted Congress to make Pakistan a reality.
History Notes Page 7 Section 2

04 MARKS
What was Cabinet Mission plan?

In March 1946, the British sent a three member delegation to India to hold talks
with the INC and the ML. It included Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord Pethic Lawrence
and Mr. A. V. Alexander. The Commission first proposed the formation of an All
India Commission by an interim government, After its rejection by the INC and
the ML, it proposed an Indian Federation with three groups of provinces: the
Hindu majority territories, the western Muslim provinces, and Bengal and
Assam. The ML accepted it but Nehru termed it only a scheme that was not
binding on any Indian government.