Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Which tension inside the British establishment weakened Cripps's flexibility?
A. Differences between Cripps and Linlithgow-Amery-Churchill
B. Differences between Jinnah and Iqbal
C. Differences between the Simon Commission members
D. Differences between Punjab and Bengal governors only
Correct Answer: A
Cripps was more willing to negotiate than several senior imperial policymakers.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Viceroy and Commander-in-Chief resisted proposals that would:
A. Increase British control
B. Delay constitution-making
C. Protect minority rights
D. Reduce their wartime authority
Correct Answer: D
Officials opposed significant transfer of executive and defence power during the military emergency.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Why did the proposals fail to satisfy both Congress and the League?
A. Both wanted identical terms
B. Neither represented any community
C. Their constitutional objectives were fundamentally different
D. Both opposed Indian constitution-making
Correct Answer: C
Congress stressed unity and immediate national power, while the League demanded explicit Pakistan recognition.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The post-war timing of the main offer created:
A. Immediate Indian sovereignty
B. Distrust about British intentions
C. A common Congress-League cabinet
D. Agreement on Pakistan
Correct Answer: B
Indian leaders wanted guarantees and authority in the present, not only after hostilities.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
British refusal to transfer full defence authority weakened the mission because:
A. Congress considered real power impossible without defence
B. The League demanded British withdrawal from Europe
C. The princes controlled the army
D. Japan supported the proposals
Correct Answer: A
Defence was the central practical issue during the war.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The immediate deadlock with Congress centred most sharply on:
A. The date of the Lahore Resolution
B. The title Lord Privy Seal
C. The location of Delhi
D. The interim national government
Correct Answer: D
Congress wanted effective wartime power, while Britain refused to create an executive responsible only to party leaders.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Cripps Mission failed primarily because:
A. Cripps never met Indian leaders
B. The proposals had already become law
C. No major political settlement acceptable to all parties could be reached
D. India was not involved in the war
Correct Answer: C
Congress, the League, minorities and British authorities disagreed on both immediate and future arrangements.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The diversity of reactions to the mission demonstrated:
A. Complete agreement among all parties
B. India's unresolved communal and constitutional divisions
C. The disappearance of minority politics
D. A united demand for the same interim government
Correct Answer: B
Congress, League, Sikhs, princes and minorities approached the proposals from different interests.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Cripps believed Punjab's communal problem required understanding mainly between:
A. Muslims and Sikhs
B. Congress and Japan
C. Britain and Burma
D. Princes and labour unions
Correct Answer: A
Muslim-Sikh relations were critical to any territorial settlement in Punjab.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan's party was the:
A. Muslim League only
B. Congress Socialist Party
C. Justice Party
D. Unionist Party
Correct Answer: D
Punjab was governed by the cross-communal Unionist Party.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Muslim-majority Unionist government in Punjab was led by:
A. Khizar Hayat Tiwana in March 1942
B. A. K. Fazlul Huq
C. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan
D. B. G. Kher
Correct Answer: C
Sir Sikandar was Punjab Premier during the mission and discussed the proposals with Cripps.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Representatives of the Depressed Classes demanded:
A. A separate British colony
B. Protection against caste-Hindu domination
C. Military control of India
D. A ban on provincial elections
Correct Answer: B
They feared that a Congress-dominated system might not protect their political and social rights.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Hindu Mahasabha opposed the Cripps proposals mainly because the non-accession clause:
A. Could lead to partition
B. Prevented all Hindu representation
C. Created universal suffrage
D. Transferred defence to Congress
Correct Answer: A
The Mahasabha strongly defended the territorial unity of India.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Some Sikh leaders proposed territorial adjustment of Punjab to:
A. Increase Japanese influence
B. Abolish all provincial boundaries
C. Join Burma
D. Avoid Muslim domination
Correct Answer: D
Sikh memoranda argued for re-demarcation to protect Sikh and non-Muslim interests.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Who was the best-known Akali Sikh leader during the Cripps Mission?
A. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
B. Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
C. Master Tara Singh
D. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Correct Answer: C
Master Tara Singh led major Sikh political opposition to Pakistan-related implications.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The principal Sikh fear was that the provincial opt-out clause could place them under:
A. A Buddhist-majority Bengal
B. A Muslim-majority Punjab or Pakistan
C. A Christian-majority Sind
D. A British province in Europe
Correct Answer: B
Sikhs feared domination in a Muslim-majority territorial settlement.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Which Sikh organisation submitted a memorandum to Cripps on 31 March 1942?
A. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
B. Khudai Khidmatgar
C. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
D. All-India States Peoples Conference
Correct Answer: A
The SGPC presented Sikh constitutional concerns to Cripps.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Cripps Mission enhanced the Muslim League's political position because:
A. Congress dissolved the League
B. The League obtained immediate power
C. The princes joined the League
D. Britain treated it as an essential negotiating party
Correct Answer: D
The mission demonstrated that no all-India settlement could ignore the League and Muslim demand.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
From the League's perspective, the Cripps proposals recognised Pakistan:
A. Explicitly by name and boundaries
B. Not even through provincial choice
C. Only indirectly and in principle
D. As an immediate sovereign state
Correct Answer: C
The right of non-accession was significant, but no definite Pakistan was promised.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The League waited for which party's decision before announcing its final response?
A. Unionist Party
B. Congress
C. Hindu Mahasabha
D. Communist Party
Correct Answer: B
The League delayed its formal decision while Congress negotiated and prepared its reaction.