The Attlee government announced in February 1946, the decision to send a high-powered mission of three British Cabinet Members (Pethick Lawrence, Secretary of State for India; Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade; and A.V. Alexander, First Lord of Admiralty) to India to find out ways and means for a negotiated, peaceful transfer of power to India. (Pethick Lawrence was the Chairman of the Mission.)

Salient points of the Cabinet Mission Plan:

1. Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan

2. Grouping of the existing Provincial Assemblies into three sections: Section 1 (Hindu majority provinces); Section 2 (Muslim majority provinces); and Section 3 (Muslim majority provinces)

3. Three tier executive and legislature at provincial, section and union levels.

4. A Constituent Assembly was to be elected by the Provincial Assemblies by proportional representation (Voting in three groups – General, Muslims, and Sikhs). This Constituent Assembly would be a 389 member body, with the Provincial Assemblies sending 292, Chief Commissioners’ Provinces sending 4, and the Princely States sending 93 members.

5. In the Constituent Assembly, members from groups A, B and C were to sit separately to decide the Constitution for the Provinces and if possible, for the groups also. Then, the whole Constituent Assembly (all three sections A, B and C combined) would sit together to formulate the Union Constitution.

6. A common Centre would control defence, communication and external affairs. A federal structure was envisaged for India.

7. Communal questions in the Central Legislature were to be decided by a simple majority of both communities, present and voting.

8. Provinces were to have full autonomy and residual powers.

9. Princely States were no longer to be under paramountcy of the British government. They would be free to enter into an arrangement with the successor governments or the British government.

10. After the first general elections, a province was to be free to come out of a group and after 10 years, a province was to be free to call for a reconsideration of the group or the Union Constitution.

11. Meanwhile, an Interim Government was to be formed from the Constituent Assembly.