Cripps Mission Definition and Overview

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Indian National Congress

The Congress rejected the proposals because they offered neither immediate self-government nor control over defence, and because the provincial opt-out threatened national unity; Jawaharlal Lal Nehru and Maulana Azad (then Congress President) led the negotiations. The Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah rejected them too, as they did not unequivocally concede Pakistan. The Sikhs, Depressed Classes, and other minorities were also dissatisfied. The mission's failure, announced in April 1942, convinced Gandhi and the Congress that British promises were hollow, directly precipitating the Quit India Movement (the "Do or Die" call) launched at the Bombay AICC session on 8 August 1942. It also hardened the demand for partition by legitimising the right of provinces to secede.

All-India Muslim League

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In March 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps arrived in Delhi with a draft declaration offering post-war Dominion Status, which Mahatma Gandhi rejected as "a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank."

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Positions at a glance

Indian National Congress

All-India Muslim League

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The Cripps Mission was a failed diplomatic effort dispatched by the British War Cabinet under Prime Minister Winston Churchill in March 1942, headed by Sir Stafford Cripps, a left-wing Labour member of the Cabinet sympathetic to Indian aspirations. Its immediate context was the military crisis of the Second World War: the fall of Singapore (February 1942), the Japanese advance through Burma to India's eastern frontier, and intense pressure from the United States (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) and the Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to secure Indian cooperation in the war effort. The mission sought to break the constitutional deadlock that had existed since the Congress ministries resigned in 1939 over India's involvement in the war without consultation.

The Draft Declaration carried by Cripps promised the creation of a new Indian Union with Dominion Status after the war, the framing of a new constitution by an elected Constituent Assembly, and the right of any province unwilling to accept the new constitution to retain its existing status or frame a separate one — a provision that conceded the principle of partition and was the seed of Pakistan. The provinces could accede individually, and the Indian States could enter the Union by treaty. Crucially, the offer was post-dated; no transfer of effective power or defence portfolio was promised during the war, only a vague enlargement of the Viceroy's Executive Council. Mahatma Gandhi famously dismissed it as "a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank" (the phrase "on a failing bank" is often attributed to him via the press).

The Congress rejected the proposals because they offered neither immediate self-government nor control over defence, and because the provincial opt-out threatened national unity; Jawaharlal Lal Nehru and Maulana Azad (then Congress President) led the negotiations. The Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah rejected them too, as they did not unequivocally concede Pakistan. The Sikhs, Depressed Classes, and other minorities were also dissatisfied. The mission's failure, announced in April 1942, convinced Gandhi and the Congress that British promises were hollow, directly precipitating the Quit India Movement (the "Do or Die" call) launched at the Bombay AICC session on 8 August 1942. It also hardened the demand for partition by legitimising the right of provinces to secede.

For UPSC and other civil-service examinations, the Cripps Mission is a high-frequency topic in Modern Indian History (Prelims and the General Studies Paper I mains module on the freedom struggle). Typical question angles include: identifying it as the first explicit British acceptance of the right to secede (the partition seed); contrasting it with the later Cabinet Mission of 1946; the reasons for Congress and League rejection; and the link to the Quit India Movement of 1942. Candidates should remember the key personalities (Cripps, Churchill, Linlithgow as Viceroy, Azad as negotiator) and Gandhi's celebrated metaphor, which is frequently quoted in objective questions.

Frequently asked questions

Why was the Cripps Mission sent to India in 1942?

It was sent due to the wartime emergency after the fall of Singapore and the Japanese advance toward India, and under pressure from the United States and China to secure Indian cooperation in World War II by breaking the political deadlock.

Why did the Indian National Congress reject the Cripps proposals?

The Congress rejected them because they offered only post-war Dominion Status rather than immediate self-government, gave no real control over defence during the war, and the provincial opt-out clause threatened national unity by conceding the principle of partition.

How did the Cripps Mission relate to the demand for Pakistan?

By permitting any province to decline the new constitution and frame a separate one, the proposals implicitly conceded the right to secede, effectively legitimising the partition principle and strengthening the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan.

What was the consequence of the Cripps Mission's failure?

Its failure in April 1942 convinced the Congress that British promises were unreliable and directly led to the launch of the Quit India Movement on 8 August 1942 with Gandhi's 'Do or Die' call.

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Indian National Congress

All-India Muslim League

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Indian National Congress

All-India Muslim League

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Frequently asked questions

Why was the Cripps Mission sent to India in 1942?

Why did the Indian National Congress reject the Cripps proposals?

How did the Cripps Mission relate to the demand for Pakistan?

What was the consequence of the Cripps Mission's failure?

Go deeper than the definition

Take Cripps Mission beyond the glossary

Frequently asked questions

Why was the Cripps Mission sent to India in 1942?

Why did the Indian National Congress reject the Cripps proposals?

How did the Cripps Mission relate to the demand for Pakistan?

What was the consequence of the Cripps Mission's failure?