The election results of 1945 and 1946 demonstrated the entrenchment of communal interests in Indian politics. This was also reflected in the almost innocuous sounding campaign slogan of the Muslim League, ‘if you want Pakistan, vote for the Muslim League.’

Election manifesto of the All-India Scheduled Caste Federation, 1946

Source: Unknown author, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Both Congress and the League experienced electoral success however this further cemented the division between the League and Congress. Emboldened by its success in the general and provisional elections, the Muslim League stated that it would only join an interim government if a Pakistan Constituent Assembly was created, effectively ruling out federation of any kind. Acting to strengthen its position, central and provincial Muslim League ministers backed a resolution in favour of ‘a sovereign independent state comprising Bengal and Assam in the North-East Zone and the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan in the North-West Zone.’

Stafford Cripps, as part of the Cabinet Mission delegation, in response to the League’s demand, proposed a powerful sub-national Pakistan within an Indian union. Such a sub-nation would have parity with a sub-national Hindustan in an all-India government.

Such overtures were met with interest by the Muslim League however, given the looming presence of the INC, this particular proposal was watered down to the effect that Hindu and Muslim provinces would be contiguously grouped in order to create Hindu-Muslim parity in the constituent assembly. Crucially however, the proposal also afforded the Muslim League parity with the Congress in an interim government. For the Congress such a concession was a step too far. The Congress refusal to accept the proposal outright necessitated Jinnah’s ominous call for Direct Action.