CPI's critique of the Cabinet Mission of 1946: Princistan - Imperialism's Nest for Tomorrow

NB: This is another document related to the history of Indian independence. It contains the Communist Party of India's understanding of the controversial Cabinet Mission scheme of 1946; and takes a close look at the military and political implications of that scheme. DS

The document is titled File CPI-99 (1947); and forms part of the P.C. Joshi Archives at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 

The full text in PDF, may be downloaded here: https://tinyurl.com/zezcm2f

Here is an extract from the Preface by Romesh Chandra:

At every stage, at which the national movement has raised a new threat to imperialism and taken a new stride towards freedom, imperialism has jockeyed the Princes into a new position… The Princes were the key to the Federal Constitution of the Act of 1935… The Cripps offer had the Princes as also at its core as imperialism’s safeguard. The Congress’ reasons for rejecting the offer had at their head the continued use of Princistan and the Princes to block the path to freedom… 

The Cabinet Mission Plan has also Princistan as its crux. The 93 seats in the Constituent Assembly which the Plan gave to the States were meant to serve the same purpose as Lord Reading outlined for the States in the Federal Constitution of 1935 – to exercise “steadying influence”. Today the British rulers, compelled to declare that they will quit India in June 1948, have worked out in their plan  for “Indian Independence” the new use for the 584 States.

This pamphlet gives a glimpse of this new conspiracy to retain real control over India, in the way which corresponds to the new reality.. will that conspiracy succeed?..

April 10, 1947

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