A three-member British mission sent in 1946 to negotiate the transfer of power, which proposed a loose federal union of India with grouping of provinces and rejected the demand for a fully separate, sovereign Pakistan.
- Comprised three British cabinet ministers: Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India, chairman), Sir Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander.
- Rejected the demand for a sovereign Pakistan and instead proposed a Union of India with a weak Centre (handling defence, foreign affairs, and communications) and provinces grouped into three sections.
- Provided for the framing of a constitution by a Constituent Assembly to be elected by the provincial legislatures, and for an interim government.
- The Constituent Assembly of India was elected in 1946 under this plan; an interim government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru was formed in September 1946.
- Differing interpretations of the "grouping" clause by the Congress and the League led to its breakdown and to the League's Direct Action Day (16 August 1946).
It is the basis on which the Constituent Assembly was constituted, a direct polity link, and the last serious attempt to keep India united.
The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) rejected a separate sovereign Pakistan and proposed a united India with grouping; it was its breakdown that led towards the Mountbatten Plan and Partition.
1946 Cabinet Mission (Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps, Alexander): united India with weak Centre and grouped provinces; basis for the Constituent Assembly; rejected separate Pakistan.