Consider the following events and arrange them in correct chronological order.

Question

Consider the following events and arrange them in correct chronological order.

1. Cripps Mission

2. Cabinet Mission

3. Shimla Conference

4. Wavell Plan

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 1, 4, 3, 2 (Correct answer)
2. B. 4, 1, 2, 3
3. C. 4, 1, 3, 2
4. D. 1, 4, 2, 3

Correct Answer

Option A — 1, 4, 3, 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 1, 4, 3, 2.

Key Points

• 1. Cripps Mission — March 1942. Sir Stafford Cripps offered dominion status after the war; Gandhi called it a "post-dated cheque".
• 4. Wavell Plan — June 1945. Viceroy Lord Wavell proposed a reconstituted Executive Council with equal Hindu and Muslim representation.
• 3. Shimla Conference — June-July 1945. Convened to discuss the Wavell Plan; it broke down over Jinnah's insistence that the League alone could nominate Muslim members.
• 2. Cabinet Mission — March-June 1946. Three British Cabinet ministers proposed a three-tier federal structure and a Constituent Assembly, rejecting the demand for a separate Pakistan.
• Order: 1 → 4 → 3 → 2, option (a).

Additional Information

• The failure of the Cripps Mission led directly to the Quit India Movement (August 1942).
• The Cabinet Mission members were Pethick-Lawrence, Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander; the Constituent Assembly was elected under its plan in July 1946 and first met on 9 December 1946.
• The Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947) finally accepted partition, and was given effect by the Indian Independence Act, 1947.
• Earlier missions to revise alongside: the August Offer (1940) and the Simon Commission (1927), the latter boycotted for having no Indian member.