Analyze the reasons behind the failure of “Simla Conference” in 1945.
Answers
Answer:
Meanwhile, a general election had been held in the United Kingdom in July 1945 which had brought the Labour Party to power. The Labour party wanted to transfer power to the Indians as quickly as possible.
Answer:
The Wavell Plan was first presented at the Shimla Conference in 1945. It was named after Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell.
The Shimla Conference was convened in order to agree on the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government, which provided for separate representations on communal lines. Both the plan and the conference failed on account of the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress not coming to an agreement.
Explanation:
Lord Wavell invited 21 political leaders including Mahatma Gandhi and M A Jinnah to Shimla, the summer capital of British India to discuss the Wavell Plan on June 25th, 1945.
The conference was a failure because the League and the Congress could not settle their differences.
Jinnah insisted that only League members could be the Muslim representatives in the Council, and opposed to the Congress nominating Muslim members. This was because Jinnah wanted the League to be the sole representative of Muslims in India. Congress would never agree to this demand.
In the Wavell Plan, there were 6 Muslim representatives out of 14 members, which was more than the Muslim share of the population. Despite this, the League wanted the power of veto to any constitutional proposal which it believed was not in its interest. Congress opposed this unreasonable demand also.
Jinnah refused to give the names to the council unless the government acknowledged that only the Muslim League was the exclusive representative of Indian Muslims.
The Wavell Plan, thus, was dissolved with the failure of the conference. And with it the last chance to avoid partition.
After this, the war ended and a new Labour government was elected in Britain. This new government was intent on giving independence to India without much delay and sent the Cabinet Mission with that purpose.
The failure of the Wavell Plan and the Shimla Conference was a watershed moment for the Indian Independence struggle. All steps taken to prevent partition had been met with failure, meaning that it was inevitable.