The Cabinet Mission and the Failure of Unity

In 1945 Britain elected a Labour government under Clement Attlee that was committed to Indian independence. In 1946 it sent a Cabinet Mission to India to find a way to transfer power to a single united country. The Mission proposed a loose federation: a weak central government handling defence, foreign affairs and communications, with provinces grouped into Hindu-majority and Muslim-majority sections that would have wide autonomy.

Both Congress and the Muslim League at first appeared to accept parts of the plan, but each interpreted it differently. When Nehru suggested in July 1946 that Congress would not be bound by the grouping arrangements, Jinnah and the League withdrew their acceptance. Many historians see this as the last realistic chance to avoid partition, though they disagree over who bears most responsibility. Its collapse pushed both sides toward confrontation and made a divided independence more likely.