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Question 91 of 137 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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When the Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946, which political party was in power in Britain?

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Answer: Option B — Labour Party

Detailed Solution

When the Cabinet Mission came to India in March 1946, the Labour Party was in power in Britain, with Clement Attlee as the Prime Minister.

The Labour victory (1945):

  • In the British general election of July 1945, the Labour Party won a large majority, defeating the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill.
  • Clement Attlee became the Prime Minister (1945-1951).
  • The Labour Party was more sympathetic to Indian independence than the Conservatives.

The Cabinet Mission (1946):

It was sent by the Attlee government, and arrived in India on 24 March 1946.

It had three members of the British Cabinet:

  • Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India (leader).
  • Sir Stafford Cripps, the President of the Board of Trade.
  • V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty.
  • Its aim was to find a way for the peaceful transfer of power, and to set up a body to frame a constitution.

The Cabinet Mission Plan (16 May 1946):

  • It rejected the demand for a fully separate Pakistan.
  • It proposed a Union of India, with control only over defence, foreign affairs and communications.
  • The provinces were to be placed in three groups: A (Hindu-majority provinces), B (north-western Muslim-majority provinces) and C (Bengal and Assam).
  • It proposed a Constituent Assembly, to be elected by the provincial assemblies, and an interim government.

Attlee's announcement (1947):

  • On 20 February 1947, Attlee announced that the British would leave India by June 1948.
  • Mountbatten was sent as the last Viceroy to arrange the transfer of power.
  • The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament in July 1947, during Attlee's government.

Earlier Labour governments:

The first Round Table Conference (1930) was held when a Labour government was in power in Britain.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Conservative Party, led by Churchill, had been in power during the war; the Liberal Party and the National Coalition were not in power in 1946.

Quick tip

Remember: Cabinet Mission (1946) = sent by the Labour government of Clement Attlee; members Pethick-Lawrence, Stafford Cripps, A. V. Alexander.

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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