2.4 Subcontinent Problems 1940–1947

2026 Syllabus Objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

  1. Explain how successful the meetings held during World War II were in deciding the future of the subcontinent.
  2. Explain how the Muslim League's success in the 1945–46 elections changed the way the British tried to solve India's problems.
  3. Cover all specified content: the Second World War and India; the Quit India Movement; the Pakistan Resolution (1940); the Cripps Mission (1942); the Gandhi–Jinnah Talks (1944); Lord Wavell and the Simla Conference (1945); the 1945–46 Elections; reasons for Muslim League success; the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946); Direct Action Day (1946); the June 3 Plan (1947); the Radcliffe Commission and Award (1947); the Indian Independence Act (1947).

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1. The Second World War (1939–45) and India

In September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany and entered World War II. Without asking Indian leaders, the British Viceroy (the British ruler of India) also declared India to be at war. This angered Indian political leaders — both Congress and the Muslim League — because they had no say in such a huge decision.

How did this affect Indian politics?

  • Congress leaders resigned from their provincial governments in protest. They felt they were being used to fight a British war without being given any real power or freedom.
  • The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, took a different approach. Jinnah did not immediately oppose the war. Instead, he used this opportunity to strengthen the League's position and push for Muslim political rights.
  • The British, being busy with the war, desperately needed Indian cooperation. This gave Indian leaders — especially Jinnah — more bargaining power than before.

The war period (1939–45) was therefore a critical time when the question of India's future became urgent. The British needed to keep Indians on their side while fighting a world war, which meant they had to make political promises they had never made before.

2. The Pakistan Resolution, 1940

What was it?

On 23rd March 1940, the All India Muslim League held its annual session at Minto Park, Lahore (where Minar-e-Pakistan now stands). At this session, a historic resolution was passed that would change the subcontinent forever.

What did the resolution demand?

The resolution demanded that the north-western and north-eastern Muslim-majority provinces of India be grouped together to form independent states (separate homelands) for Indian Muslims.

Key details:

  • The resolution was presented by A.K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the Chief Minister of Bengal, who was also known as "Sher-i-Bengal" (Lion of Bengal).
  • Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah chaired the session and used this occasion to explain the Two-Nation Theory — the idea that Hindus and Muslims were two completely different nations with different religions, cultures, languages, traditions, and customs, and therefore could not live together under one government.
  • Chaudhry Khaliq-uz-Zaman supported the resolution.
  • The Hindu press (Hindu newspapers) mockingly called it the "Pakistan Resolution" — but Muslims proudly adopted this name.

Why was Jinnah in favour of a separate state now?

Earlier, Jinnah had not fully supported the idea of a separate country. But after seeing how Congress had treated Muslims during the Congress rule of 1937–39 (discussed earlier in Topic 2.3), he concluded that Muslims' rights could never be protected in a united India dominated by Congress.

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