Cripps Plan / Mission - General Knowledge of Modern India
The Cripps Plan (/Mission) (30 March 1942) was introduced under special circumstances. The Government of England itself was in trouble at the time of the war. He had to use India as a base. No date was fixed for the transfer of power. This proposal was far from true feelings. The Cripps-Proposal was opposed by the Hindu-Mahasabha and the Muslim League in addition to the Congress.
Winston Churchill's announcement
On March 11, 1942, the Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill announced that -
“In view of the fear and crisis that has arisen for India due to the progress of the Japanese, we consider it necessary that we should organize all its sections to protect India from the invaders. In August, 1940, we had made a declaration, highlighting our objectives and policy in relation to India, which in essence meant that India would be granted complete colonial Swaraj as soon as possible after the war was over. We have decided to send a member of the War Cabinet to India so that he can go to India after discussing with the Indian leaders to satisfy him that the decision we have taken regarding India is acceptable to the Indians. For this work Sir Stafford Cripps would go to India as the representative of the government with the aim of ending the Indian deadlock.”
Reasons For Presentation Of Cripps Plan
The reasons and circumstances which were behind the presentation of the Cripps plan can be discussed in the following way -
The situation of the Allies in World War II had become critical from the beginning. Germany and Japan were progressing forward with success in the war. The Prime Minister of England, Churchill himself said that - "The possibility of India's security from Japanese terror due to the surrender of Singapore and many other circumstances due to the fierce Japanese invasion in East Asia and the retreat of the British and American seafarers on the seashore." has become endangered. Our dominion over the Bay of Bengal ended and a lot more than the Indian Ocean. At that time there was a possibility that the provinces of Bengal and Madras would also become victims of Japanese invasion. Churchill also said that "we must remember that India is such a powerful base from which we can inflict powerful blows against the tyranny and aggression of Japan." Therefore, in such a critical situation, the Government of England considered it necessary to remove the constitutional deadlock of India.
Some people of England tried to draw the attention of the government to the Indian problem and stressed on finding a proper solution to it. An interesting debate took place in this regard in the British Lok Sabha in February 1942. Therefore, it became necessary to prepare the Cripps plan after the debate.
Chinese General Chiang Kai-shek, his wife and military officer arrived in India. Highlighting the importance of India's ability to counter Japan in the eastern sector, Chiang-koi-shek requested the British government to accept and satisfy the demands of the Indians. Chiang-Kai-shek said that - "I have full hope and conviction that our friend Britain, without waiting for the demands of the Indians, will give them real political power as soon as possible so that they can further their spiritual and intellectual powers." and thus realize that they are not only cooperating in the war for the victory of the counter-terrorism nations, but also realizing that their cooperation is also a contribution in their struggle for Indian independence. It is an epoch-making event. From a functional point of view, I think this would be the most intelligent policy which would spread the glory of the British Empire all around.
The great nations of the world put pressure on the government of England to give a just solution to the political problem of India. The President of the United States, Roosevelt, advised Churchill to apply the Atlantic Charter to India as well and affirmed the right of self-determination to Indians. Similarly, Dr. Iwatt, the Prime Minister of Australia, supported India's demand for independence. The natural sympathy of these nations was towards India.
The opinion of England was in favor of Indian independence. Members of the British Parliament accused the regime of breach of promise and stressed upon the independence of India by overcoming the constitutional impasse.
Subhash Chandra Bose went to Japan and formed the Azad Hind Fauj with the help of Rash Behari Bose. The tendency to make India independent had also awakened among the soldiers. This increased the concern of the British government and it decided to send Cripps to India.
Salient Features of Cripps Scheme
The two main demands of the Congress were accepted in the Cripps plan. Firstly, the matter of colonial self-government was accepted and secondly, the constitution-making council was established and the matter of making a new constitution was accepted. From this point of view, the Cripps plan was more clear and definite than the August plan but there were some practical flaws in the Cripps plan -
Disadvantages of Cripps Scheme
The Cripps-Mission did not specify any period for granting colonial independence. Its nature was ambiguous and uncertain. Mahatma Gandhi called it a "next-date check in the name of a bankrupt bank" and another writer called it "the name of a bank that is going to break". For this reason Mahatma Gandhi rejected the Cripps plan.
The demand for Pakistan was taken a step further by the Muslim League in the Cripps Mission. In this, in order to please the native states and the Muslim League, those states and provinces were given the freedom that they could join the Indian Union voluntarily. The Muslim majority provinces got the right to remain separate from the Indian Union. According to Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya 'this proposal had different substances to satisfy different interests'.
In the native states, no importance was given to know the opinion of the people. The right to appoint representatives of the kings was given. In this way, a quarter of the members of the Constitution-Making Council would come in an undemocratic manner and they, being conservative, would oppose the progressive reforms.
The government encouraged the communal elements by giving the British provinces the right to join the union or not. The Muslim League started demanding the creation of Pakistan, but the Sikhs of Punjab strongly opposed it and they agreed to oppose the boycott of Punjab from the Union of India at any cost.
The Cripps Mission did not have a clear explanation to protect the interests and rights of minorities. The people of the backward classes were of the view that there is no provision to protect their interests in the scheme.
By not putting the responsibility of protecting India in the hands of the Indians, the British government had kept it with itself. This was not acceptable to the Congress. Cripps had made it clear that under no circumstances the security department would be handed over to the Indians. At the most, the government was ready to appoint only one Indian as a security member.
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