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Essay on Independence Of India Between 1939 And The Early 1950s
The Congress OF India had considerable misgivings about participating in the provincial governments. They mistrusted the special powers reserved by the governors, and suspected the permanent civil servants of hostility towards them. They also had doubts whether the new constitution represented a step towards their goal of complete independence. However, in mid-1937 Congress took office in those provinces (the majority) where they had achieved a clear mandate from the electorate.
As it happened, participation in government showed that Congress, hitherto a party of opposition, could achieve much when in power. In the larger provinces in particular, Congress leaders began to lay sound foundations for much of the social progress that subsequently took place in India.Congress, dominated as it was by Hindus, gravely underestimated the mistrust of the Muslim minority towards the Hindu majority. There had at various times been theoretical discussions of Muslim areas and partition schemes - all of them anathema to the Indian nationalist ideal of 'All-India'. It was between 1937 and 1939, owing largely to Congress's failure to satisfy Muslim susceptibilities, which the idea of a Muslim state finally crystallized.
In 1940 the Muslim League, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, demanded the creation of a separate, independent Muslim state - Pakistan. (Barraclough, 1979)The main preoccupations of India during World War II were political. Public opinion at the outbreak of war, and indeed throughout its course, was divided as to what attitude India should adopt. On 3 September 1939 the viceroy unilaterally declared that India was at war with Germany. Furious at the lack of consultation, in October 1939 the central executive of Congress issued instructions to all Congress ministers to resign. The instructions were obeyed, though in some cases without enthusiasm. Thereafter, throughout the war, the provinces were directly ruled by their governors, except for those provinces where Muslim League ministries were in power......
