QUESTION 12
GS1
15 marks
Assess the role of British imperial power in complicating the process of transfer of power during the 1940s.
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Assess how British policies in the 1940s complicated India's transfer of power.
AssessWeigh the evidence and say how far the claim holds.
Demand-wise check
- 1Divide and rule: separate electorates, veto to the League (August Offer 1940, Cripps' opt-out clause)≈50 words
- 2Cabinet Mission's grouping ambiguity; Interim Government tensions≈50 words
- 3Princely states: lapse of paramountcy left them free to choose≈50 words
- 4Hasty withdrawal: Mountbatten advanced the date to August 1947, Radcliffe line in five weeks≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
ContextEach policy and its effectCounter-view (Indian factors)Assessment
Where marks usually go
- Narrating events only
- No assessment of British responsibility
Draw this
- Timeline 1940–47 with British moves
Value addition
- FactThe Cripps Mission (1942) let provinces opt out of a future Union, which the Congress saw as opening the door to partition.Historical record
- FactCyril Radcliffe had about five weeks to draw the boundaries and had never visited India before.Historical record
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 23 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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