The Interim Government (1946)
April 5th, 2008 | by Raja Ghias |The Congress took place a sharp turn and an August 10 accepted the May 16 Plan. The political situation became so serious that the Quaid had to speak out so boldly: “If they want to arrest me now, I am ready to go to the prison immediately”. On August 24, the Viceroy announced that the King had accepted the resignations of the Governor General’s Executive Council members and that Nehru, Patel, Rajendra Prassad, Asaf Ali, Rajagopalacharia, Sarat Chander Bose, John Mathai, Sardar Baldev Singh, Shafat Ahmad Kahn, Jagjivan Ram, Syed Ali Zaheer and C.H Bhabha had been nominated in their place. Lord Wavell further allowed the Congress to nominate non-League Muslims to the five seats reserved for the Muslims. The same evening the Viceroy broadcast from AIR Delhi on the formation of the interim government and the Quaid, in reply, reiterated his demand for the division of India into Pakistan and Hindustan. However, on September 2 the interim government took office without the representatives of the Muslim League.
The League leaders took stock of the situation and relised that it would be disastrous of the Muslims if the entire field were left open to the Congress. After protected negotiations the Muslim League entered the interim government on October 25 in its own right without accepting the leadership of the Congress within the government. Nehru was appointed Vice-President of the Council solely to preside over the Council meetings in the absence of the Governor General. Neither in law nor in fact he enjoyed any special power or privilege. He, however, wanted powers usually enjoyed by the Prime Ministers, but the League did not agree to it. Patel, the Home Member, was misusing the government propaganda machinery for purely party ends. The coalition, therefore, turned out to be an uneasy partnership, rather a sort of armed neutrality.
The Viceroy summoned the Constituent Assembly to meet on December 9, 1946. The Quaid-e-Azam criticizing the move said:
“it is quite obvious that the Viceroy is blind to the present serious situation and the realities, facing him and is entirely playing into the hands f the Congress and is appeasing them in complete disregard of the Muslim League and other organizations and elements in the national life of the country.”
It met as scheduled; all its League members were absent. A chairman was elected, a procedure committee was appointed and an objective resolution was introduced proclaiming India as an independent federal republic. The rules of producer had been made in violation of the directives in the Plan that the central constitution was not to be considered until the provincial and regional constitutions had been settled. On the other hand, the Congress was supporting the coalition ministry of Khizar Hayat Tiwana in the Punjab that was imposing one restriction after another on civil liberties. On January 24, 1947 the Muslim League National guards were declared unlawful and the police raided the League Headquarters in Lahore. This was resisted and most of the top-ranking League leader in the Punjab was arrested. The movement became irresistible and so widespread that the Tiwana ministry had to resign.
Meanwhile, communal riots occurred in Bombay, Ahmadabad and several cities, towns and villages of the United Provinces, BIHAR, central Provinces and Madras and continued unabated. In places like Allahabad and Khanpur acts of violence had become endemic. In Calcutta stray cases of stabling continued to occur. The Muslim boatman from Naokhali, who used to ply their profession in the canals of Calcutta and thus there was some trouble in Dacca and Naokhali. The Hindus of the five districts, Saran, Patna, Gya, Monghry and Bhagalpur in Bilhar rose against the Muslims and so they did in Garh Mukhtesar in Meerut. Thousands and thousands of the Muslims were massacred, their property looted and women abducted. The sub-continent was engulfed in a one sided civil war. The confusion in India politics had become more confused. Finding India in such an atmosphere, British Prime Minister Attlee, on 20 February 1947, made a statement:
“His Majesty’s Government wish to make it clear that it is their definite intension to take steps to effect the transfer of power to responsible Indian hands by a date not later than June 1948.”
