After the end Second World War, the British government decided to quit India. Even most of the old political leaders involved in the freedom movement were also tired and were looking for some sort of face-saving formula itching to be in power. The government released most of the freedom fighters and the political prisoners from Indian National Congress (INC) and the All-India Muslim League. In 1946, the Cabinet Mission of Britain came to India to assist formulate manifestos and form the government. The interim government of India was formed from the newly elected Constituent Assembly with the Congress having 208 seats and the party had a majority in 8 out of 11 Indian provinces and the Muslim League had 73 seats. The members of the interim government also included the Viceroy and Commander-in-Chief of Britain and members from the Congress and the Muslim League. The government was formed to assist the switch of British India to India and Pakistan. The government also drafted the Constitution of India and led India post-Independence.
In August 1946, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held following the proposals of the British Cabinet Mission dispatched by the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. In this election, the Congress obtained a majority in the Assembly, and the Muslim League consolidated its support among the Muslim electorate. The Viceroy Wavell subsequently called upon Indian representatives to join the interim government. A federal scheme had been visualized under the Government of India Act of 1935, but this component was never implemented due to the opposition from India’s princely states. As a result, the interim government functioned according to the older Government of India Act of 1919.
On 2 September 1946, the newly-elected Constituent Assembly formed interim government of India. It was the only such cabinet in India’s history in which arch-rivals Congress and the Muslim League shared power at the Centre. The interim government functioned with a great degree of autonomy, and remained in power until the end of British rule, after which it was succeeded by the Dominions of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947. The executive branch of the interim government was served by the viceroy's executive council that was headed by the Viceroy of India. It was composed of 12 members, including 3 Muslims nominated by the Congress. It was for the first time since the coming of British that the Government of India was in Indian's hand. On 26, October, five nominees of the League joined the Government. Congress appointees redesigned to make room for the League nominees. Two seats were already vacant while Sarat Bose, Syed Ali Zahir and Sir Shafat Ahmed Khan resigned.
Though the Congress party formed the government on 2 September, the Congress party, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) ratified the Congress Working Committee’s decision on 23 September. The Muslim League initially decided to sit out of the government, and three of the five ministries reserved for Muslims were occupied by Asaf Ali, Sir Shafaat Ahmad Khan, and Syed Ali Zaheer, all non-League Muslim representatives. Two posts remained vacant. However, after Lord Wavell agreed to allot all five reserved portfolios to the Muslim League if it agreed to cooperate, the latter finally joined. Baldev Singh (Sikh), C.H. Bhabha (Parsi), and John Matthai (Christian) continued to represent the minority communities.
The cabinet after October 1946 was as follows: Viceroy and Governor-General of India: The Viscount Wavell (Britain), Commander-in-Chief: Sir Claude Auchinleck (Britain),Vice President of the Executive Council, External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations: Jawaharlal Nehru, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting: Vallabhbhai Patel, Agriculture and Food: Rajendra Prasad, Education and Arts: C. Rajagopalachari, Defence: Baldev Singh, Industries and Supplies: C. Rajagopalachari, Labour: Jagjivan Ram, Railways and Communications: Asaf Ali, Work, Mines and Power: C. H. Bhabha (All from Congress), Commerce: Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, Finance: Liaquat Ali Khan, Health: Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Law: Jogendra Nath Mandal, Posts and Air: Abdur Rab Nishtar (All from the Muslim League). The Life-time President of the Muslim League Mohamad Ali Jinnah preferred not to join the interim government and opted to be the remote control of his party’s Hon’ble Members (Ministers) as was Mahatma Gandhi for the Congress Members. Lord Mountbatten took over as the Viceroy in March 1947.
On 26, September 1946, Nehru, the de-facto Prime Minister, declared the government’s plan to engage in direct diplomatic relations with all countries and goodwill missions. He also expressed support for the independence of colonized nations. In November 1946, India ratified the Convention on International Civil Aviation. In the same month, a committee was appointed to advise the government on nationalizing the armed forces. In December, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was inducted into the cabinet. The year 1947 saw the opening of diplomatic channels between India and many countries. In April 1947, the US announced the appointment of Dr. Henry F. Grady as its ambassador to India. Embassy level diplomatic relations with the USSR and the Netherlands also started in April. In May, the first Chinese ambassador Dr. Lo Chia Luen arrived, and the Belgian Consul-General in Kolkata was appointed Belgium’s ambassador to India.
On 1, June 1947, the Indian Commonwealth Relations Department and the External Affairs Department were merged to form the single Department of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations. After Partition was announced on 3, June 1947, a dedicated cabinet sub-committee was formed to deal with the situation on 5, June, and consisted of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Liaquat Ali Khan, Abdur Rab Nishtar and Baldev Singh. Later, on 16 June, a special cabinet committee aimed at tackling the administrative consequences of Partition was created. It included the Viceroy, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Liaquat Ali Khan, and Abdur Rab Nishtar. This committee was later replaced by a Partition Council.
Next Column: Bikaner threatened to join Pakistan
