The principle that the framing of the new Constitution for independent India should be primarily (though not solely) the responsibility of Indians themselves, was for the first time conceded in the
- (a)Government of India Act, 1935
- (b)August Offer of Viceroy Linlithgow
- (c)Cripps Proposals
- (d)Cabinet Mission
Correct — B, August Offer of Viceroy Linlithgow. The August Offer (8 August 1940) was the first official British statement to concede that the framing of India's new constitution should primarily be the responsibility of Indians themselves. It proposed setting up a constitution-making body after the war and offered to expand the Governor-General's Executive Council, with Dominion Status as the declared goal.
- (a)Government of India Act, 1935 — The 1935 Act was drafted and enacted by the British Parliament; it introduced provincial autonomy and a proposed federation but did not concede that Indians would frame their own constitution.
- (c)Cripps Proposals — The Cripps Mission (1942) did promise a constitution-making body, but it came two years after the August Offer — so it was not the first time the principle was conceded.
- (d)Cabinet Mission — The Cabinet Mission (1946) actually set up the Constituent Assembly, but that was much later; the principle had already been conceded in 1940.
British constitutional policy toward India shifted from framing constitutions in London (the Acts of 1919 and 1935) to conceding that Indians should write their own. The August Offer of 1940 marked that turning point in principle; the Cripps Proposals (1942) and finally the Cabinet Mission (1946) translated it into a concrete Constituent Assembly.
The trap is to choose the later, more famous Cabinet Mission that actually created the Constituent Assembly. The question asks where the principle was 'for the first time conceded' — that is the August Offer.
- The August Offer was made by Viceroy Linlithgow on 8 August 1940 during the Second World War.
- It first conceded that framing India's constitution would primarily be Indians' own responsibility.
- It offered expansion of the Executive Council, a War Advisory Council, and Dominion Status as the goal.
- The Congress rejected the Offer; the Cripps Mission (1942) and Cabinet Mission (1946) built on the same principle.
- 1935 Government of India Act — framed in London, no such concession
- 1940 August Offer — first concedes Indians should frame the constitution
- 1942 Cripps Proposals — promise a post-war constitution-making body
- 1946 Cabinet Mission — actually sets up the Constituent Assembly
The August Offer of 1940 was the first to concede the principle; the Cabinet Mission of 1946 implemented it.
- Choosing the Cabinet Mission because it created the Constituent Assembly — but that was the implementation, not the first concession.
- Confusing the 1935 Act's federal scheme with a concession on constitution-making.
Asked as 'which announcement first conceded X' — watch for the words 'for the first time'.
Which one of the following first mooted the idea of a constituent assembly to frame a constitution for India?
- (a) Swaraj Party in 1934
- (b) Congress Party in 1936
- (c) Muslim League in 1942
- (d) All Parties Conference in 1946
Answer(a) Swaraj Party in 1934
Same theme — Indians framing their own constitution. UPSC 1996 asks who first mooted the idea of a constituent assembly (M N Roy / Swaraj Party, 1934); this NDA item asks which British offer first conceded the principle (the August Offer, 1940).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The August Offer of 1940 was made by which Viceroy of India?
- (a)Lord Wavell
- (b)Lord Linlithgow
- (c)Lord Mountbatten
- (d)Lord Irwin
Answer(b) Lord Linlithgow — he issued the August Offer on 8 August 1940.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which body finally set up the Constituent Assembly that framed the Constitution of India?
- (a)The Simon Commission
- (b)The Cripps Mission
- (c)The Cabinet Mission
- (d)The Nehru Report committee
Answer(c) The Cabinet Mission (1946) — under its plan the Constituent Assembly was constituted.