Wavell Plan and it's rejection

Lord Wavell

In 1943 Lord Wavell became the Viceroy. He believed that Britain cannot continue to rule India for long. So in order to retain India as a willing member of the British Commonwealth, he decided to hold a meeting in Shimla on 25 June 1945. Before that he put forward his plan:

1.   A new constitution would be formed only after major political parties had reached an agreement.

2.   Viceroy’s executive council will have equal number of caste Hindus and Muslims.

3.   Viceroy’s veto power was to continue.

4.   A British High Commissioner would live in India.

The plan was rejected as no agreement could be reached over the composition of the Viceroy’s Executive Council. Mr. jinnah wanted that only Muslim League could represent Muslim community. This was not accepted to the Congress. It asserted that it represented all communities and therefore out of five Muslim members two should be nominated by the Congress. Mr. Jinnah was not ready for this so the plan was rejected.