Cabinet Mission Plan—Main Points

● Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan, because

(i) the Pakistan so formed would include a large non- Muslim population—38 per cent in the North-West and 48 per cent in the North-East;

(ii) the very principle of communal self-determination would claim separation of Hindu-majority western Bengal and Sikh- and Hindu-dominated Ambala and Jullundur divisions of Punjab (already some Sikh leaders were demanding a separate state if the country was partitioned);

(iii) deep-seated regional ties would be disturbed if Bengal and Punjab were partitioned;

(iv) partition would entail economic and administrative problems, for instance, the problem of communication between the western and eastern parts of Pakistan; and

(v) the division of the armed forces would be dangerous.

● Grouping of existing provincial assemblies into three sections:

Section-A: Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Bihar and Orissa (Hindu-majority provinces)

Section-B: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province and Sindh (Muslim-majority provinces)

Section-C: Bengal and Assam (Muslim-majority provinces).

● Three-tier executive and legislature at provincial, section and union levels.

● A constituent assembly was to be elected by provincial assemblies by proportional representation (voting in three groups—General, Muslims, Sikhs). This constituent assembly would be a 389-member body with provincial assemblies sending 292, chief commissioner’s provinces sending 4, and princely states sending 93 members.

(This was a good, democratic method not based on weightage.)

● In the constituent assembly, members from groups A, B and C were to sit separately to decide the constitution for provinces and if possible, for the groups also. Then, the whole constituent assembly (all three sections A, B and C combined) would sit together to formulate the union constitution.

● A common centre would control defence, communication and external affairs. A federal structure was envisaged for India.

● Communal questions in the central legislature were to be decided by a simple majority of both communities present and voting.

● Provinces were to have full autonomy and residual powers.

● Princely states were no longer to be under paramountcy of the British government. They would be free to enter into an arrangement with successor governments or the British government.

● After the first general elections, a province was to be free to come out of a group and after 10 years, a province was to be free to call for a reconsideration of the group or the union constitution.

● Meanwhile, an interim government was to be formed from the constituent assembly.