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RAS question

The Cabinet Mission (1946) proposed:

Correct answer: (C) A three-tier federal structure rejecting the demand for Pakistan.

The Cabinet Mission of 1946 proposed a three-tier federal arrangement that rejected the demand for Pakistan while placing defence, foreign affairs and communications under a limited Union centre.

  1. (A)

    Immediate British withdrawal

  2. (B)

    Continued British rule for 20 years

  3. (C)

    A three-tier federal structure rejecting the demand for Pakistan

  4. (D)

    Partition of India

Explanation

The Cabinet Mission, consisting of Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps and A. V. Alexander, tried to find a constitutional settlement without accepting the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan. The cited IGNOU unit states that the Mission rejected both a larger and a smaller Pakistan, then proposed a loose union of all Indian territories. In that scheme, the centre would control only defence, foreign affairs and communications, while other subjects would remain with the provinces. Provincial legislatures would elect a Constituent Assembly, and elected members would divide into three sections: Section A for non-Muslim-majority provinces, Section B for Muslim-majority provinces in the north-west, and Section C for Muslim-majority provinces in the north-east. This is why the option combining a three-tier federal structure with rejection of Pakistan is correct.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Immediate British withdrawal is wrong because the plan proposed constitutional arrangements, a Constituent Assembly and an interim government process rather than an instant British exit.
  • (B) Continued British rule for 20 years is wrong because the Mission was framed around transfer of power through a negotiated constitutional settlement, not an extension of colonial rule for a fixed period.
  • (D) Partition of India is wrong because the Mission expressly rejected the Pakistan scheme and instead offered a loose Union with grouped provincial sections.

Concept

This tests the constitutional negotiations of 1945-47, especially how the Cabinet Mission tried to balance Congress unity claims and the League's Pakistan demand. It recurs in RAS because the plan links late-colonial negotiations, federal design, communal politics and the making of the Constituent Assembly.

Source

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