Towards Independence and Partition — Practice Questions
UPSC Prelims-pattern practice questions on 1935–1947 with full explanations — Cabinet Mission, Quit India, INA trials, British proposals and the Mountbatten Plan.
Questions
These are original UPSC-pattern practice questions. Attempt each one before revealing the answer.
Consider the following statements about the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946):
- It rejected the demand for a full-fledged sovereign Pakistan.
- It proposed a Union government dealing with defence, foreign affairs and communications.
- It provided that members of the Constituent Assembly would be directly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Mission rejected a sovereign Pakistan and proposed a limited Union with provinces grouped into Sections A, B and C. Statement 3 is wrong — members were to be elected indirectly by the provincial legislative assemblies through the single transferable vote, with princely states sending their own representatives.
Answer: C
Consider the following pairs:
| Parallel government (Quit India) | Present-day State |
|---|---|
| 1. Ballia | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2. Tamluk | West Bengal |
| 3. Satara | Maharashtra |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
All three are correct. Ballia had a short-lived parallel government under Chittu Pandey in August 1942; Tamluk (Midnapore) had the Jatiya Sarkar; Satara had the longest-lasting parallel government of the movement.
Answer: D
Arrange the following in chronological order:
- Cripps Mission
- August Offer
- Wavell Plan and the Simla Conference
- Cabinet Mission
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Solution
August Offer — August 1940; Cripps Mission — March 1942; Wavell Plan / Simla Conference — June–July 1945; Cabinet Mission — March–June 1946. Order: 2-1-3-4.
Answer: A
Who led the defence of the accused in the first INA trial held at the Red Fort in 1945?
Solution
Bhulabhai Desai led the defence of Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon. Tej Bahadur Sapru, Asaf Ali, K.N. Katju and Jawaharlal Nehru were also on the defence team — which is exactly why the other options are tempting — but Desai was its leading counsel.
Answer: B
Consider the following statements about the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947:
- It provided for a referendum in the North-West Frontier Province and in Sylhet district.
- It provided that all princely states would automatically become part of India.
- It provided that the legislative assemblies of Punjab and Bengal would vote on partition of their provinces.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong — with the lapse of British paramountcy, princely states were free to accede to either dominion; their integration was achieved later through Instruments of Accession and merger agreements.
Answer: D
Mains
Although suppressed within months, the Quit India Movement marked a turning point in the freedom struggle. Comment.
Solution
Introduction: Launched on 8 August 1942 with the call “Do or Die”, Quit India lost its leadership overnight and was crushed by the end of 1942 through mass arrests, firing and collective fines.
Body:
- Demand: for the first time, the demand was immediate withdrawal of British rule — independence was no longer negotiable.
- Spontaneity and spread: students, peasants and workers acted without central direction; parallel governments at Ballia, Tamluk and Satara.
- New leadership: underground leaders (JP, Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta) and wider participation of women.
- Effect on the Raj: revealed the scale of disaffection; combined with the INA and the 1946 naval revolt, it convinced Britain that ruling India had become untenable.
- Limits: violence departed from Gandhian methods; the League, the Communists and the Hindu Mahasabha kept away, and the League gained ground while Congress leaders were in jail.
Conclusion: Quit India failed as an insurrection but succeeded as a statement — after 1942 the question was no longer whether the British would leave, but when and to whom they would transfer power.