Mahatma Gandhi described the Cripps proposals of 1942 as:

Mahatma Gandhi described the proposals brought by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942 as "a post-dated cheque", and the phrase "on a crashing (failing) bank" is often added to it.

Meaning of the phrase:

• A post-dated cheque is a cheque that can be cashed only on a future date.
• Gandhi meant that the main promise of the Cripps proposals, Dominion Status, could be "cashed" only after the war, and there was no guarantee that it would be honoured.
• "On a crashing bank" suggested that Britain, which was facing defeat in Asia in early 1942, might not be in a position to honour its promise; the words are often attributed to others who added them.

The Cripps proposals:

• Dominion Status for India after the war.
• A Constituent Assembly after the war, with representatives of the provinces and the princely states.
• The right of any province to stay out of the new Union.
• British control of defence during the war.

Reasons for rejection:

The Congress objected to the offer of Dominion Status instead of independence, the lack of real power during the war, the provision for the provinces to stay out (which could lead to partition), and the nomination of representatives of the princely states.

The Muslim League rejected them because they did not concede Pakistan clearly.

Cripps returned to Britain in April 1942, having failed to win agreement.

Significance:

• The failure of the Cripps Mission convinced Gandhi and the Congress that the British were not serious about giving power to Indians.
• Soon after, Gandhi called for the British to "Quit India", and the Quit India Movement was launched in August 1942.

Other descriptions:

Jawaharlal Nehru said that the Cripps proposals would lead to the "balkanisation" of India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗"A charter of slavery", "a Magna Carta" and "a gift of freedom" were not Gandhi's description.