Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Did Cripps publicly admit that the proposals had accepted Pakistan?
A. No
B. Yes, without conditions
C. Yes, through a separate Pakistan constitution
D. Yes, by naming Pakistan in the declaration
Correct Answer: A
Cripps denied at a press conference that the mission had formally accepted the Pakistan scheme.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Muslim League saw the non-accession clause as:
A. A complete rejection of provincial choice
B. An immediate abolition of the Lahore Resolution
C. A plan for unitary Congress rule
D. A possible opening for Pakistan
Correct Answer: D
The clause acknowledged that Muslim-majority provinces might remain outside a single Indian Union.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Congress opposed the non-accession clause because it feared:
A. Immediate British withdrawal
B. Abolition of provincial legislatures
C. Fragmentation of India
D. Loss of the princely states only
Correct Answer: C
Congress believed the clause could divide India into separate political units.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The provincial opt-out clause is often called the principle of:
A. Dyarchy
B. Non-accession
C. Separate electorate
D. Paramountcy
Correct Answer: B
Non-accession meant a province could decline to join the new Union.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
If a non-acceding province desired a separate constitution, Britain was prepared to grant it:
A. The same full status as the Indian Union
B. Only municipal status
C. No constitutional status
D. Status below a province
Correct Answer: A
The declaration envisaged a separate arrangement with full status comparable to the Indian Union.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
A non-acceding province could later:
A. Never reconsider its decision
B. Be automatically annexed by Britain
C. Join only through Congress approval
D. Join the Indian Union if it chose
Correct Answer: D
The declaration allowed subsequent accession.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The most controversial territorial clause allowed a province to:
A. Abolish all neighbouring provinces
B. Join Britain as a county
C. Remain outside the new Indian Union
D. Control defence of the whole subcontinent
Correct Answer: C
A province unwilling to accept the new constitution could retain its existing constitutional position.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The principal Congress objection to the state representatives in the constitution-making body was that they were:
A. All Muslim League members
B. Nominated by rulers rather than elected by the people
C. All British soldiers
D. Excluded from the body
Correct Answer: B
Congress objected that subjects of the princely states could not elect their own representatives.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The British Government promised to accept and implement the constitution:
A. Subject to non-accession and treaty conditions
B. Only if Congress won every province
C. Only if no minorities participated
D. Without any stated conditions
Correct Answer: A
The declaration made implementation conditional on provincial choice and a transfer-of-power treaty.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The proposed constitution-making process is historically important because it accepted the principle of:
A. British officials permanently writing India's constitution
B. A constitution without Indian participation
C. Military rule after the war
D. Indians framing their own constitution
Correct Answer: D
The declaration committed Britain to accepting a constitution framed by an Indian body, subject to stated conditions.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Were all members of the constitution-making body to be directly elected by the public?
A. Yes, by universal adult franchise
B. Yes, by separate provincial referendums
C. No
D. Yes, by municipal councils only
Correct Answer: C
British Indian members were indirectly elected by provincial legislators, while state representatives were appointed.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The constitution-making body would be approximately what fraction of the provincial electoral college?
A. One-half
B. One-tenth
C. One-third
D. Two-thirds
Correct Answer: B
The declaration proposed a body about one-tenth the size of the electoral college.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The election to the constitution-making body was to use:
A. Proportional representation
B. First-past-the-post only
C. Hereditary nomination
D. Direct universal voting
Correct Answer: A
The official declaration specified proportional representation.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Who would form the electoral college for the constitution-making body?
A. Only provincial governors
B. Only princely rulers
C. Only members of the British Parliament
D. Members of the lower houses of provincial legislatures
Correct Answer: D
The entire membership of the provincial lower houses would act as a single electoral college.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Before the constitution-making body's election, the proposals required:
A. A referendum in Britain
B. A royal conference of governors
C. Provincial elections
D. The dissolution of all provinces
Correct Answer: C
Provincial elections were to provide the legislatures that would serve as the electoral college.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
When was the constitution-making body to be established?
A. Before Cripps arrived
B. Immediately after the end of hostilities
C. After the 1946 Cabinet Mission only
D. After fifty years
Correct Answer: B
The process was to begin upon the cessation of the war.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Who would frame the new constitution under the Cripps proposals?
A. A constitution-making body
B. The British Cabinet alone
C. The Viceroy alone
D. The Federal Court alone
Correct Answer: A
An elected constitution-making body was to prepare the future constitution.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Which statement best describes the proposed Union?
A. It forced every province to join
B. It excluded the princely states
C. It provided only provincial reforms
D. It aimed at unity but allowed provinces to remain outside
Correct Answer: D
The declaration's central objective was an Indian Union, but it contained a non-accession clause.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
The Cripps offer went beyond earlier proposals by explicitly promising:
A. Permanent rule under the 1919 Act
B. No Indian role in constitution-making
C. Full self-government through a new constitution
D. A return to Company rule
Correct Answer: C
It laid out a procedure for an Indian constitution-making body and Dominion status.
Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1942 - Constitutional Proposals - Cripps Mission
Gandhi's cheque metaphor criticised the proposal as:
A. An immediate transfer of sovereignty
B. A future promise from a weakening imperial power
C. A fully independent constitution
D. A permanent Muslim federation
Correct Answer: B
The metaphor conveyed distrust of a delayed British promise.