Formation of Interim Government

1. Formation of Interim Government Krithik Kushali Virdikar - 2101288 & Ashish Jadhav - 2101308 TYBA Indian National Movement (1857 – 1947) HIS VI.C-8 Vanessa Barros Colaço (Dept. of History)

2. Agenda • Introduction • Background • Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 • Cabinet Mission Failure • Formation of Interim Government • Composition of Interim Government • Contributions • Conclusion • Bibliography

3. Introduction • What is an Interim Government? • Form of temporary govt. • Became a bridge between imperial and democratic structure • Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 • Formed on the 2nd of September, 1946 • Jawaharlal Nehru – Prime Minister • Functioned till Independence in 1947 https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/arASsQsdIFSTnkDAMjX8Izq7q_DXo7YHu0rrxJf08FOyIRNSw3I7xqPY8HD7FNXRuP2C8xx_lOjJ6oA2iPHgk1ujYkYdfMio7iQIBr38kzLKShh0SEdSi0ltFF3dq8ggMCvXPcCgCUhEPSKcvMK5eeU

4. Background • Cripps Mission – March 1942 • Quit India Movement – August 1942 • WWII had weakened Britain’s position • Several Indian political leaders freed • Shimla Conference – June 1945 • Wavell Plan • Proposed changes to the Viceroy's Executive Council • Failed • Cabinet Mission Plan – May 1946 hthttps://www.mkgandhi.org/images/simlareport.gif

5. Cabinet Mission Plan – May 1946 • Suggested an initial proposal • Dominion of India would be granted independence, without any partition • Muslim-majority provinces were grouped into two groups • Group B: Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Baluchistan • Group C: Bengal and Assam • The remaining Hindu-majority in one of the groups • Group A: Madras, Central Provinces, UP, Bihar, Bombay and Orissa • Constituent Assembly for drafting Indian Constitution • Muslim supported proposal • Congress rejected it https://www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cabinet.png

6. Cabinet Mission Plan – June 1946 • New plan was proposed • Division of India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority India later to be renamed Pakistan • The Congress Party under Jawaharlal Nehru did not accept the second plan • Instead, it agreed to be part of the constituent assembly • The Viceroy invited 14 men to form the interim government • Both the League and the Congress were given the right to nominate 5 members to the Viceroy’s interim council • The Muslim League did not take part in it • The new government began the task of framing a constitution for the country https://www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cabinet.png

7. Jinnah and the League objected to the new central government • He geared to agitate for Pakistan and urged Muslims to demand Pakistan by any means • He called for ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16 August 1946 • This call led to widespread communal rioting in the country with thousands of people being killed on the first day in Calcutta • There was a call for the partitioning of the country on account of the riots https://www.opindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/direct-action-day.jpg

8. Why did the Cabinet Mission fail? • The Congress Party wanted a strong center with minimum powers for the provinces • The Muslim League wanted strong political safeguards for the Muslims like parity in the legislatures • Since both parties had many ideological differences and could not find common ground, the mission came up with its own set of proposals in May 1946

9. Formation of Interim Government • The interim government of India was formed on 2 September 1946 • British government to resolve the growing tensions between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League over the future of India • The plan proposed a federal structure for India with a weak central government and strong provincial governments. • Proposed a separate Constituent Assembly for the Muslim-majority areas of India • Interim Government formed by the newly elected Constituent Assembly of India • The Congress Party won a majority of seats in the assembly (69%), and its leader, Jawaharlal Nehru, became the prime minister • The Muslim League also joined the interim government • Joined to a foothold to fight for Pakistan

10. Composition of Interim Government • Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime Minister) • SardarVallabhbhai Patel (Deputy Prime Minister) • Liaqat Ali Khan (Minister for Finance) • Maulana Azad (Minister for Education) • C. Rajagopalachari (Minister for Home Affairs) • GovindBallabh Pant (Minister for States) • Baldev Singh (Minister for Defence) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Nehru_with_members_of_Interim_gov%27t_faction_leaving_Viceroy%27s_home_after_Swearing_in.jpg

11. Contributions • It helped to reduce communal violence • It established a number of economic reforms • It made some progress on the negotiations over the future of India • It laid the foundation for the two new countries that emerged from the partition of India https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/scrollstorage/1439577274-1076_Iday---ToI.png

12. Conclusion • A temporary government to bridge the gap between the imperial government and the democracy government • It helped to bring together the two main political parties in India, and it laid the foundation for the two new countries that emerged from the partition of India • The interim government also played a role in reducing communal violence and promoting economic development • It provided Indian leaders with valuable experience in governance and helped establish crucial structures like the Constitution-drafting committees

13. Bibliography Books: • Ankit, Rakesh. India in the Interregnum: Interim Government, September 1946 - August 1947. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2019. • Bourke, Richard, and Raymond Geuss. “Nehru’s Judgement.” Political Judgement: Essays for John Dunn, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 254–277. • Mansergh, Nicholas, et al., editors. Constitutional Relations Between Britain and India: The Transfer of Power 1942-7: The Interim Government 3 July - 1 November 1946. Vol. 8, London: H.M.S.O., 1970. • Menon, V. P. The Transfer of Power in India. Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan, 2017. • Mukhopadhyay, Subhas Chandra. Nehru and the Cabinet Mission: A Road to India’s Freedom Struggle. New Delhi: Gian Pub. House, 1991. • Rajput, A. B. The Cabinet Mission, 1946. California: Lion Press, 1946. • Ankit, Rakesh. “State before partition: India’s interim government under Wavell.” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, vol. 42, no. 1, 2 Jan. 2019, pp. 97–114, https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2019.1556890. • Venkatraman, V., and M.S. Fathima Begum. “The upsurge of 1946: A deadlock to the constitutional process of India as revealed in the political writings of madras presidency.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 28 Dec. 2020, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3756406. • “Cabinet Mission Plan (Cabinet Mission, 1946) Archives.” Constitution of India, www.constitutionofindia.net/historical-constitution/cabinet-mission-plan-cabinet-mission-1946/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.

14. Bibliography Articles: • Ankit, Rakesh. “State before partition: India’s interim government under Wavell.” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, vol. 42, no. 1, 2 Jan. 2019, pp. 97–114, https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2019.1556890. • Venkatraman, V., and M.S. Fathima Begum. “The upsurge of 1946: A deadlock to the constitutional process of India as revealed in the political writings of madras presidency.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 28 Dec. 2020, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3756406. • “Cabinet Mission Plan (Cabinet Mission, 1946) Archives.” Constitution of India, www.constitutionofindia.net/historical-constitution/cabinet-mission-plan-cabinet-mission-1946/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.

15. Bibliography Websites: • “Cabinet Mission Plan (Cabinet Mission, 1946) Archives.” Constitution of India, www.constitutionofindia.net/historical-constitution/cabinet-mission-plan-cabinet-mission-1946/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.

16. Thank you