Wavell Plan, 1945

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 The Wavell Plan was a proposal put forward by Lord Archibald Wavell, the Viceroy of India, in 1945 to resolve the political deadlock in India and pave the way for Indian independence. The plan was designed to bring together the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, which represented the interests of India's Muslim minority, and create a united government to oversee the transition to independence.

Background

By 1945, India had been under British rule for nearly 200 years, and there was growing unrest and agitation for Indian independence. The Indian National Congress, which had been formed in 1885, was the largest political party in India and had been at the forefront of the independence movement. However, the party was dominated by Hindus, who made up the majority of India's population, and many Muslims felt that their interests were not being adequately represented.

The Muslim League, which was formed in 1906, represented the interests of India's Muslim minority. The League had initially supported the idea of Indian independence, but by the 1940s, it had adopted the position that India should be partitioned into separate Hindu and Muslim states.

The political deadlock between the Congress and the League had made it difficult for the British government to move forward with plans for Indian independence. In 1942, the Congress had launched the Quit India Movement, a mass civil disobedience campaign, which had forced the British government to take a hardline approach to the independence movement.

The Wavell Plan

In early 1945, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, put forward a proposal to resolve the political deadlock in India. The Wavell Plan called for the creation of an interim government, made up of representatives from both the Congress and the League, to oversee the transition to independence.

Under the Wavell Plan, the interim government would be responsible for organizing free and fair elections to a Constituent Assembly, which would be tasked with drafting a constitution for India. The Constituent Assembly would be made up of representatives from all of India's diverse religious and ethnic communities and would have the power to determine the future of India.

The Wavell Plan also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners and the repeal of repressive laws, such as the Defense of India Act and the Public Safety Act.

Reaction to the Wavell Plan

The Congress and the League both initially welcomed the Wavell Plan, and negotiations began between the two parties to form an interim government. However, the negotiations quickly broke down over the issue of Muslim representation in the proposed government.

The League insisted that Muslims should be given a greater share of power in the interim government, in order to protect their interests. The Congress, on the other hand, argued that the interim government should be based on a system of proportional representation, with seats allocated to each party based on their share of the vote in the 1945 elections.

The negotiations between the Congress and the League ultimately failed, and the Wavell Plan was never implemented. The British government, which was focused on the aftermath of World War II, was unable to devote the resources necessary to resolve the political deadlock in India, and the country remained under British rule for another two years.

Legacy of the Wavell Plan

The Wavell Plan was ultimately unsuccessful in resolving the political deadlock in India, but it represented an important step forward in the struggle for Indian independence. The Plan acknowledged the need for Indian self-government and recognized the importance of creating a united government that represented all of India's diverse communities.

The failure of the Wavell Plan, however, was a significant setback for the Indian independence movement. The breakdown of negotiations between the Congress and the League contributed to a deepening of communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and paved the way for the partition of India in 1947, which resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan as separate countries.

Despite its failure, the Wavell Plan set the stage for future negotiations between the Indian nationalist movement and the British government, and laid the groundwork for the eventual transfer of power to an independent India.