WAVELL PLAN AND SHIMLA CONFERENCE

The Shimla conference was called by lord Wavell to discuss the Wavell plan. It was an interim political agreement. There was an impasse with the congress since the 1939 registrations. Lord Wavell came up with the Wavell plan on June 14 of the year 1945. 

SCHEMES OF THE WAVELL PLAN- 

The Wavell plan focussed on interim political agreement. It had the following schemes-

• Formation of a new executive council at the center with all Indian viceroys and commander in chief. The vitality of this executive council was until the agreement of a new permanent constitution. 
• Every portfolio was to be held by the Indians. This does not include the defense portfolio. 
• There will be equal representation of Hindus and Muslims.
• Except the viceroy and commander in chief, all the members of the council would be Indians. 

To discuss the Wavell plan a conference attended by 21 Indian political leaders was held in the summer capital of the British Government in Shimla. The then-president of congress Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad also attended the conference. It was also attended by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. 

Mohammad Ali Jinnah claimed that only the Muslim league holds the right of representing Muslims of India hence no non-league Muslim will be elected as a member of the executive council. Hence, congress had no right to nominate or elect any Muslim in the executive council. Jinnah also demanded that a vote will only be cleared if there is a two-thirds majority in the case of votes and objections of Muslim members. 

Lord Wavell assigned places to six Muslims in the executive council. Only twenty-five percent of the population of India were Muslims. Due to this reason, these demands were seen as unreasonable and were rejected by congress. 

SHIMLA CONFERENCE- 

Lord Wavell was appointed as the viceroy of India after world war II. He organized a conference in Shimla which was attended by every political party of India. Quaid-i-Azam was the representative of the Muslim league. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad represented congress. He was chosen as the representative of congress because congress wanted to propagate the message that it also represented Muslims. On June 25, 1945, the conference began and lasted for several days. Lord Wavell addressed the objective and breadth of the ideas reflected in the British Government’s offer, the Wavell Plan, in his opening comments at the conference’s first session, and requested the conference to accept his leadership until an agreed-upon change in the constitution was achievable. He went on to say that their cooperation on the suggestions will make a long-term solution to India’s constitutional crisis simpler. The Viceroy also voiced the hope that if the Conference was successful, province-level ministries would be constituted again, this time on a coalition basis.

The Viceroy’s Executive Council was to be reconstituted, with the Viceroy appointing members. individuals nominated by political parties Different communities were to have equal representation in the Council, with Cast-Hindus and Muslims receiving equal treatment. The Secretary of State for Indian Affairs made it clear when announcing the plan that the British government wanted to hear from all major Indian communities. However, he stated that it would only be achievable if the leaders of the major Indian political parties agreed to the British government’s recommendations.

Congress had no substantial objections to the proposed revisions in terms of their overall framework. A similar offer had been made by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942, but it had been rejected by Congress.

On all major topics in 1945, the goal was to get on the right side of the British government to seize power under British auspices and torpedo Pakistan’s demand under the guise of interim arrangements. The Congress delegation’s entire focus and effort at the conference were thus focused on one goal: to render Muslim representation in the projected Executive Council ineffectual and unreal and to move Muslim India into a position where it would be difficult for it to work for Pakistan.

It should be noted that Lord Wavell convened this meeting to avoid the Pakistan scheme; he believed that once the two major parties started cooperating, the idea of Pakistan would fade away over time.

WHAT WAS WAVELL PLAN? 

In October 1943, the British government chose to replace Lord Linlithgow as Viceroy of India with Lord Wavell. Wavell had previously served as the Chief of the Indian army and hence had a thorough awareness of the Indian situation. Wavell’s first objective as Viceroy was to provide a strategy for solving the Indian problem that was acceptable to both the Congress and the Muslim League. After completing his fundamental studies, he traveled to London in May 1945 to discuss his ideas with the British government. The London meetings led to the creation of a specific plan of action, which was concurrently made public by Secretary of State L.S. Amery on June 14, 1945. 

India was mentioned in the House of Commons, as well as by Wavell in a broadcast speech from Delhi. The Wavell Plan, as it was known, proposed the following ideas:

• If all Indian political parties support the British throughout the war, the British government will implement constitutional reforms in India following the conflict.

• The Viceroy’s Executive Council would be recreated immediately, with the number of members raised.

• There would be equal representation of high-class Hindus and Muslims in that Council.

• Other minorities would be represented on the Council, including low-caste Hindus, Shudders, and Sikhs.

• Except for the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief, all members of the Council would be Indians.

• In the United Nations, an Indian would be appointed as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

However, a British Commissioner would be appointed to oversee all trade-related things.

Until power was passed to Indian hands, the defense of India was to be in the hands of a British administration.

The Viceroy would call a gathering of Indian politicians, including the heads of the Congress and the Muslim League, to propose the members of the new Council.

If the Central Government approves this plan, the same type of popular ministry made up of political figures will be formed in all provinces.

None of the proposed amendments will influence or prejudge the core shape of India’s future permanent Constitution in any manner.

To have a discussion about the proposal with the  Indian leaders, Wavell summoned a conference in Simla on June 25, 1945. 

FAILURE OF WAVELL PLAN AND SIMLA CONFERENCE- 

Meanwhile, in July 1945, the Labour Party won a national election in the United Kingdom, bringing them to power. The Labour Party sought to give Indians as much control as much as soon as feasible. The new administration dispatched the Cabinet Mission to India, which proved to be the final nail in the Wavell Plan’s coffin.

The Shimla Conference is regarded as one of the pivotal events in the country’s split. Partition was unavoidable due to M. Jinnah’s adamant stance on the construction of a separate state for Muslims and his fear of the INC nominating Muslim delegates.

CONCLUSION- 

The Shimla Conference is regarded as one of the pivotal events in the country’s split. It was given by lord Wavell to form an interim executive council until the formation of a permanent government. Jinnah’s claim was deemed to be unreasonable by congress hence was rejected. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad represented congress at this conference.