MPPSC 2023 Prelims Paper-I · Question 90 of 100

Correct — B, Cabinet Mission Plan. The Cabinet Mission (1946), a three-member British delegation, proposed the scheme under which the Constituent Assembly of India was constituted — its members were indirectly elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, and the Assembly first met on 9 December 1946.

• (a)Cripps Mission Plan — The Cripps Mission (1942) offered dominion status after WWII and a separate constitution-making body, but it was rejected by both the Congress and the Muslim League, so it never led to the actual Constituent Assembly.
• (c)Simon Commission — The Simon Commission (1927) was an all-British body sent to review the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms; it was boycotted by Indian parties and had no role in forming the Constituent Assembly.
• (d)None of these — Wrong — the Cabinet Mission Plan is precisely the plan that led to the Constituent Assembly's formation.

The Cabinet Mission Plan (May 1946) — proposed by three members of the British Cabinet (Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander) — envisaged a loose federal union and laid out the scheme for a Constituent Assembly, whose members were indirectly elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation.

Exams often line up the pre-independence British plans/missions (Simon Commission 1927, Cripps Mission 1942, Cabinet Mission 1946, Mountbatten Plan 1947) — only the Cabinet Mission's scheme actually produced the Constituent Assembly that drafted India's Constitution; the others failed or addressed different questions.

• Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 — proposed the Constituent Assembly's composition and election method.
• Members were indirectly elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies (proportional representation, single transferable vote).
• The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946.
• The Muslim League initially accepted, then withdrew from, the Cabinet Mission Plan.

• Confusing the Cabinet Mission (1946, formed the Constituent Assembly) with the Cripps Mission (1942, an earlier, rejected proposal)
• Assuming the Constituent Assembly members were directly elected by the public — they were indirectly elected by Provincial Legislative Assemblies

MPPSC & UPSC frequently ask 'under which plan/mission was the Constituent Assembly formed' or 'how were its members elected' — lock the chain: Cabinet Mission (1946) → indirect election by provincial legislatures → Constituent Assembly (first met 9 Dec 1946).

• practice — not a real PYQ

  How were the members of the Constituent Assembly of India elected?

  • (a)Directly, by universal adult franchise
  • (b)Indirectly, by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
  • (c)Nominated by the Viceroy
  • (d)Nominated by political parties

  Answer(b) Indirectly, by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies — via proportional representation, as laid down by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which British Cabinet Mission member is generally regarded as having headed the 1946 Cabinet Mission?

  • (a)Lord Wavell
  • (b)Lord Mountbatten
  • (c)Lord Pethick-Lawrence
  • (d)Lord Linlithgow

  Answer(c) Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Secretary of State for India, headed the three-member Cabinet Mission alongside Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander.