Ans: C

Exp:

In February 1946, the Attlee government announced the decision to send a high-powered mission of three British cabinet members. 

They were:

1. Pethick Lawrence, Secretary of State for India; 
2. Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade; 
3. A.V. Alexander, First Lord of Admiralty 

These were sent to India to find out ways and means for a negotiated, peaceful transfer of power to India. Pethick Lawrence was the chairman of the mission. 

However, Lord Mountbatten was not a member of the Cabinet Mission Plan. He was appointed as the Viceroy of India after the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Ans: A

Exp:

The Wavell Plan, also known as the Wavell’s Offer, was a proposal put forward by the British Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell, in 1945, as an attempt to resolve the political deadlock between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. The idea was to reconstruct the governor general’s executive council pending the preparation of a new constitution. For this purpose, a conference was convened by the viceroy, Lord Wavell, at Shimla in June 1945. 

The main proposals of the Wavell Plan were as follows: 

Statement 1 is correct:  The governor general was to exercise his veto on the advice of ministers.

Statement 2 is incorrect: With the exception of the governor general and the commander-in-chief, all members of the executive council were to be Indians.

Statement 3 is incorrect: It did not specifically propose equal representation to all religious communities in the Viceroy’s  council, but Caste Hindus and Muslims were to have equal representation in it.

Ans: B

Exp:

An all-white, seven-member Indian Statutory Commission, popularly known as the Simon Commission

(after its chairman, Sir John Simon), was set up by the British government on November 8, 1927. The commission was to recommend further constitutional reforms in British India.

Statement 1 is correct: The Indian response to the Simon Commission was primarily triggered by the exclusion of Indians from the commission. Indians were angered by their exclusion from a commission that was meant to discuss India’s self-government.

Statement 2 is correct: The exclusion of Indians from the all-white Simon Commission was perceived as a violation of the principle of self-determination.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The Indian National Congress, during its Madras session in December 1927, presided by Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, decided to boycott the Simon Commission “at every stage and in every form”. 

Statement 4 is incorrect: The youth and students played a significant role in the protests against the Simon Commission, and leaders like Nehru and Subhash Bose emerged during this period. This upsurge among the youth also provided a fertile ground for the spread of new radical ideas.

Ans: B

Exp:

Before the Simon Commission report came out, a declaration was made by Lord Irwin on October 31, 1929, with a purpose to restore faith in the ultimate purpose of British Policy in India. Various features of the declaration were:

• It was the combined effort of the Labour government and a Conservative viceroy. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• It declared the achievement of Dominion Status as the natural aim of India’s constitutional progress. However, it did not delineate any timeline for the achievement of dominion status. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• There was, in reality, nothing new or revolutionary in the declaration. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• A round table conference was promised after the submission of the Simon Commission report.

Ans: D

Exp:

The main reason for beginning the Quit India Movement was that the Britishers had dragged India into World War II without consent to fight on behalf of the United Kingdom (UK).

The failure of the Cripps Mission to solve the constitutional deadlock exposed Britain’s unchanged attitude on constitutional advance and made it clear that any more silence would be tantamount to accepting the British right to decide the fate of Indians without consulting them. Hence, Option 1 is correct.

News of reverses suffered by the British in Southeast Asia and an imminent British collapse enhanced popular willingness to give expression to discontent. Hence, Option 2 is correct.

There was popular discontent because of rising prices and shortage of rice, salt, etc., and because of factors such as the commandeering of boats in Bengal and Orissa. There were fears of Britain following a scorched earth policy in Assam, Bengal, and Orissa against possible Japanese advance. Hence, Option 3 is correct.

The leadership wanted to condition the masses for a possible Japanese invasion. Hence, Option 4 is correct.