Wavell Plan 1945: Objectives, Simla Conference, Its Failure

In order to overcome the deadlock that had arisen when the discussions between Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah failed to resolve the political and communal crisis in India, on June 14, 1945, the Viceroy of India at that time, Lord Wavell, presented a plan to the Congress and the Muslim League for the transfer of power in India. This plan is known as the ‘Wavell Plan.’

The contemporary Secretary of State for India, L. S. Amery, said, “We are placing India’s immediate future in Indian hands.” To implement this Wavell Plan, meetings were held continuously for 20 days in Shimla from June 25 to July 14, 1945. It is often referred to as the “Simla Conference.” However, ultimately both the Simla Conference and the Wavell Plan failed. Below is a discussion about the background of the Wavell Plan, its proposals, and the Simla Conference and its failure.

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Reasons for Adopting the Wavell Plan 1945

• After the failure of the meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah regarding the C. Rajagopalachari Formula, also known as the ‘C R Formula‘ of March 1944, the British government became interested in reaching an understanding with India. As a result, Lord Wavell took charge as Viceroy in October 1943 after Viceroy Linlithgow. He realized that India could no longer be ruled by force. The government’s cruel and oppressive policies in governing India would no longer be acceptable to the Indian people. Therefore, he took the initiative to resolve India’s problems by addressing the differences between various Indian political parties. He understood that India’s problems could not be solved by excluding Congress or the Muslim League.
• Meanwhile, two major world powers, America and Russia, began pressuring Britain to resolve India’s problems. Winston Churchill, Britain’s Conservative Prime Minister, was under considerable pressure regarding his India policy before Britain’s upcoming general election. The opposing Labour Party was against Churchill’s India policy. There was an immediate need to take some innovative and constructive steps to control this unstable political situation. Therefore, the then Viceroy Wavell presented a plan to the Congress and Muslim League on June 14, 1945, known as the “Wavell Plan.”

Proposals of the Wavell Plan 1945

The proposals of the Wavell Plan of 1945 were:

• Firstly, the Wavell Plan stated that the British government would quickly begin the process of power transfer and constitution-making for India.
• Secondly, an interim government comprising Indians would be formed until the new constitution was created.
• Thirdly, the Viceroy’s Executive Council would be reorganized, and all members except the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief would be appointed from among Indians.
• Fourthly, in the Wavell Plan, it was decided that the ratio of caste Hindus and Muslims in the Viceroy’s Executive Council would be equal.
• Fifthly, as long as India’s defense responsibility remained in British hands, the military department would also remain under British control.

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Simla Conference

Lord Wavell organized an all-party meeting at Simla to discuss the aspects of his plan. This Simla Conference lasted from 25 June 1945 to 14 July 1945. Maulana Azad represented Congress, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah was present on behalf of the Muslim League. The initiatives observed by Congress and the Muslim League in this meeting were:

Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Firm Stance

At the Simla Conference, Muhammad Ali Jinnah remained firm on his demand for a separate ‘Pakistan’ country. Additionally, he made a demand on behalf of the Muslim League that the League be given the exclusive power to choose all Muslim candidates for the cabinet.

Congress’s Initiative

At that time, Hindus constituted 70 percent and Muslims 27 percent of India’s population. Therefore, to achieve self-governance and build unity with the Muslim League, Congress accepted the principle of equal Hindu-Muslim representation mentioned in the Wavell Plan. However, Congress could not accept what the Muslim League demanded because that would mean acknowledging Congress as solely a party of caste Hindus. In fact, the hard reality was that Maulana Azad was the President of Congress at that time.

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Failure of the Simla Conference

• The Simla Conference failed due to the Sikhs’ demand for a separate region, the British Conservative Party’s unwillingness to leave India, and above all, due to the disunity of India’s political parties and the rigid, stubborn attitude of the Muslim League. Wavell closed the Simla meeting since the joint government could not function without the League. After the failure of the Simla Conference, the Viceroy announced elections to determine representatives for the central and provincial legislatures. This failure pleased the British government in a way because the government did not want to lose India.
• The failure of the meeting made several things clear, such as the Simla meeting was an election stunt for Winston Churchill’s Conservative Party in the upcoming general election (July 1945) in Britain; Muhammad Ali Jinnah would not agree to any kind of cooperation until getting a separate Pakistan; Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the British government’s ‘Trump Card’ for rejecting Congress’s demands. Without Jinnah’s consent, the British government would not allow any constitutional progress in India.

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