Cripps Mission

The Cripps mission was an attempt in late March 1942 by the British government to secure full Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. The mission was headed by Sir Stafford Cripps, a senior left-wing politician and government minister in the War Cabinet of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Cripps was sent to negotiate an agreement with the nationalist leaders, speaking for the majority Hindu population, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, speaking for the minority Muslim population. Cripps worked to keep India loyal to the British war effort in exchange for a promise of full self-government after the war. Cripps promised to give dominion status after the war as well as elections to be held after the war. Cripps discussed the proposals with the Indian leaders and published them. Both the major parties, the Congress and the League rejected his proposals and the mission proved a failure. Cripps had designed the proposals himself, but they were too radical for both Churchill and the Indians; no middle way was found. Congress moved towards the Quit India movement whereby it refused to cooperate in the war effort, while the British imprisoned practically the entire Congress leadership for the duration of the war. Jinnah was pleased to see that the right to opt out of a future Union was included.

In 1939 the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, declared India a belligerent state on the side of Britain without consulting Indian political leaders or the elected provincial representatives. This caused considerable resentment in India and provoked the resignation en masse of elected Congress Party Provincial Governments, giving rise to the prospect of public revolt and political disorder in India. The Muslims, however, as well as smaller minorities, gave their support to Britain and celebrated "Day of Deliverance" as they had been oppressed during Congress rule. The British feared the destabilizing of India might encourage a Japanese invasion, and would reduce the number of men who volunteered to fight the war. Japan in 1942 had overrun Malaya and was into Burma; the threat of an invasion of India was real. London wanted the cooperation and support of Indian political leaders in order to recruit more Indians into the British Indian Army, which was fighting in the Middle East theatre. In the event they did recruit over 2½ million men, the largest volunteer army in history. Sir Cripps' plan landed in Karachi on 22 March, 1942 and incidentally it was the eve of celebration of Lahore resolution of 1940, so the next day Cripss saw Muslims marching in the streets of Karachi with green flag.

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