Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference

Lord Wavell was the Governor General of India who proposed the Wavell Plan in 1945 during the Shimla Conference. It was also called the "Breakdown Plan". As the demand for India's self-governance increased, the Plan sought to restructure the Governor General's Executive Council with balanced representation for both Hindu and Muslims communities. The plan offered separate communal representation in governance in order to resolve the political deadlock.

To discuss the provisions of Wavell Plan, Lord Wavell called for a meeting of 21 Indian political leaders in the British India. The Viceregal Lodge in Shimla served as the venue for the conference. But the plan didn't work out as the Congress and the Muslim League could not come to an agreement. Negotiations failed because of disagreements, particularly regarding the Muslim League's insistence on it is being the sole representative of Muslims.

Background of Wavell Plan

By late 1944, the British had come to a conclusion that the situation in India should not be allowed to remain as it was post Quit India Movement. The British government faced a challenge in maintaining control over its colonies, including India, after the Second World War depleted its resources and diminished its imperial might. They came to understand that India could not be held for long time by force.

They thought a dialogue needed to be initiated with the imprisoned Congress leaders, so that their energies could be directed from the path of agitation against the weakened British government to some other direction such as dealing with the administrative and constitutional problems in India. In 1945, as England's general election drew near, the ruling Conservative Party made an effort to show that it was dedicated to resolving India's constitutional crisis. After the Congress leaders were released from prison in June 1945, the then Governor-General, Lord Wavell was given permission by the Churchill's government to begin talks with Indian leaders. As a result, the Wavell Plan was proposed in June 1945.

Wavell Plan Proposals

The Shimla Conference was held in Shimla on 24th June, 1945 to discuss about the Wavell Plan and to inform the Indians that the British Government was prepared to give India the dominion status in the near future. The conference invited leaders of Congress party, Muslim League and other political organisations.

The main proposals of the Wavell Plan that were discussed at the Shimla Conference are:

• The number of members in the Governor-General's Executive council was to be increased to 14. All the members of Executive council, except the Commander-in-Chief, who would look after the Defence subject, were to be Indians. The Governor-General, himself, should also be a British national.
  
  
• Balanced representation was guaranteed to Muslims, caste-Hindus, Sikhs, members of the lower castes, etc. However, Muslims were provided with 6 out of 14 members, which was more than their 25% population share.
  
  
• The reconstituted Executive Council would function as an interim government operating in accordance with the terms of the Government of India Act, 1935. The Executive Council would not be responsible to the Central Legislature.
  
  
• If this Plan got approved at the Central level, similar Executive Councils made up of local political leaders would be established in all the provinces.
  
  
• The Viceroy would call for a conference to allow the political parties to present a joint list of candidates for the Executive Council. In the event that the political parties could not agree on a joint list of nominees, they were permitted to submit separate lists for nomination to the Executive Council.
  
  
• On the advice of ministers, the Governor-General would use his veto power to prevent decisions that would be contrary to India's larger interests. However, the veto power should be minimally used.
  
  
• An Indian would be appointed as the newly established Foreign Affairs member in the Executive Council.
  
  
• After the war, there were to be possibilities for talks on framing a new constitution for India.

Shimla Conference 1945 failed due to lack of consensus among political parties. Jinnah insisted that all the 6 Muslim members in the Executive Council were to be drwan from the Muslim League. The Wavell Plan of 1945, which attempted to grant almost complete power to Indians, is regarded as a significant step towards India's independence.

Reactions to the Wavell Plan

• The Wavell plan was rejected by the Congress party, which insisted on its right to nominate the members from all the communities and claimed that the plan was an attempt to make the Congress party a caste Hindu party.
  
  
• Congress party argued that it takes into account the interests of all Indians and not just Hindus. It demonstrated its dedication to incorporating Muslim voices by sending its president, Abul Kalam Azad, as the Congress party's representative to the Shimla Conference.
  
  
• The Muslim League believed that if other minorities, such as Christians, Sikhs, or members of the lower classes, shared the same objectives as that of Congress, the Muslim League would be reduced to a one-third minority. For this reason, the Muslim League wanted all Muslim members of the Executive Council were to be from the Muslim League party alone.
  
  
• In addition to that, the Muslim League also wanted a form of veto power in the Executive Council, in which if some decision in the Council was opposed by Muslims, it should be approved with a two-thirds majority so that the decision would not be passed easily in the Council.

Failure of the Wavell Plan at Shimla Conference

• Disagreement over the question of Muslim representation caused the Shimla Conference negotiations to fail. Congress's broader claim to represent all religions ran counter to Jinnah's insistence on the Muslim League being the exclusive representative of Muslims.
  
  
• The Wavell Plan sought to assign Executive Council seats according to caste, religion, and race. However, the term "caste Hindus" in the plan was objected by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress party took a firm stand on electing representatives from all the communities.
  
  
• The Congress and the Muslim League, the two major parties, refused to budge from their stances. The Muslim League saw Muslims as a separate nation, whereas the Congress saw India as a single nation.
  
  
• Although the plan suggested for complete Indianization of the Governor-General's Executive Council, it did not ensure independence for India. A proposal for a future constituent assembly or a division of power among India's political parties should have also been part of the plan.
  
  
• The Muslim League's position was strengthened at the Shimla Conference when Wavell tried to reverse the Cripps Mission's recommendations, which had designated the Congress as the only forum for discussion.
  
  
• The Muslim League withdrew from Wavell's Plan, in an attempt to assert that it is the sole representative of Indian Muslims, while the Congress, which wished to designate Muslim representatives to the Executive Council, also rejected the plan.
  
  
• The failure of the plan represented an important turning point towards the partition of India ultimately, as the Muslim League grew more determined in its quest for a separate Muslim nation.
  
  
• The Labour Party was elected to power in the United Kingdom's general election in July 1945. The new Labour Party government wanted to transfer power to Indians as soon as possible. As a result, Cabinet Mission was dispatched to India.