Lahore Resolution to independence

Pakistan Affairs · The Pakistan Movement. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

In March 1940 the Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution. It demanded that the Muslim-majority areas of the north-west and east be grouped into independent states whose units would be autonomous and sovereign.

For seven years the British and the Congress tried other answers. The Cripps Mission (1942) offered dominion status after the war. The Congress launched Quit India. The Gandhi-Jinnah talks (1944) failed. The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) offered a loose union instead of Pakistan, and it also broke down.

The 1945-46 elections proved that the League spoke for Muslims. Lord Mountbatten then announced the 3 June Plan for partition, and the Indian Independence Act 1947 created two dominions on 15 August 1947.

Rules to remember

Order: Lahore Resolution (1940), Cripps Mission (1942), Quit India (1942), Gandhi-Jinnah talks (1944), 1945-46 elections, Cabinet Mission (1946), 3 June Plan (1947).
Cripps Mission: dominion status after the war, with provinces free to opt out; rejected by both parties.
Quit India, August 1942: Gandhi's slogan 'Do or Die'; the League stayed out.
Cabinet Mission Plan: a union with a weak Centre (defence, foreign affairs, communications) and three groups of provinces.
1945-46 elections: the League won every Muslim seat in the Central Legislative Assembly.
3 June Plan: the Punjab and Bengal assemblies voted on partition; a referendum was held in the North-West Frontier Province.
Indian Independence Act 1947: passed by the British Parliament; British paramountcy over the princely states lapsed.

Common mistake

Students say the League rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan from the start. It accepted the plan first, then withdrew in July 1946 after the Congress said it was not bound by the grouping of provinces.

Worked example

The League accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan although the plan refused a separate Pakistan. What made it acceptable?

The plan kept the Centre weak, with only three subjects.
It grouped provinces, so the Muslim-majority provinces of the north-west and the east would form their own groups.
These groups could frame their own constitutions, which gave Muslims self-rule in their areas.

Answer: The compulsory grouping of provinces. When the Congress would not treat the groupings as binding, the League withdrew.

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