The Constituent Assembly of India held its first sitting on which date?

The correct answer is C, Cabinet Mission Plan. These three were the members of the Cabinet Mission that reached Delhi on 24 March 1946: Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, who headed it, Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander. Their plan rejected a sovereign Pakistan and proposed a three-tier union with grouping of provinces and an indirectly elected Constituent Assembly. Option A is wrong because the Wavell Plan of 1945 was the Viceroy's own proposal for a reconstructed Executive Council, discussed at the Simla Conference. Option B is wrong because the Mountbatten Plan, misspelt here, was the partition plan of 3 June 1947. Option D is wrong because the Cripps Mission of 1942 was a single-member mission; Cripps came alone then, which is why his name appears in both and makes this a favourite trap.

The correct answer is D, Direct Action Day. After withdrawing its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan in July 1946, the Muslim League called for direct action to press the demand for Pakistan and fixed 16 August 1946 for it. The day ended in the Great Calcutta Killings, which spread violence to Noakhali, Bihar and the United Provinces and hardened opinion on both sides. Option A is wrong because Republic Day marks the commencement of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950. Option B is wrong because the Congress had observed 26 January as Independence Day since 1930 after the Lahore session resolved on Purna Swaraj, and India's independence day is 15 August. Option C is wrong because Bloody Sunday is not associated with the Indian national movement; the term belongs to Russian and Irish history.

The correct answer is B, 24 August 1946. The Viceroy announced the formation of the interim national government on 24 August 1946, and the new Executive Council took office on 2 September 1946 with Jawaharlal Nehru as its Vice-President, which made him in effect the head of government. The Muslim League stayed out at first and joined only in October 1946. Options A, C and D are wrong because they shift the announcement by a day or two; the dates worth memorising in this chapter are the announcement on 24 August 1946 and the assumption of office on 2 September 1946. Candidates often confuse this interim government with the Constituent Assembly, which first met on 9 December 1946, so keep the two sequences separate: the interim government was the executive, the Assembly was the constitution-making body.

The correct answer is D, Clement Attlee. Attlee, the Labour Prime Minister of Britain, told the House of Commons on 20 February 1947 that His Majesty's Government intended to transfer power to responsible Indian hands by June 1948, and announced at the same time that Lord Mountbatten would succeed Lord Wavell as Viceroy. Option A is wrong because Nehru headed the interim government in India and could not make a declaration of British policy. Option B is wrong because Wavell was the Viceroy being replaced; the statement in effect ended his tenure. Option C is wrong because Mountbatten took office only on 24 March 1947 and later advanced the date of freedom to 15 August 1947 through his 3 June Plan. Remember the pair: the June 1948 deadline belongs to Attlee, the August 1947 date to Mountbatten.

The correct answer is C, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. At the midnight sitting of the Constituent Assembly on 14 and 15 August 1947, Nehru moved the pledge resolution with his Tryst with Destiny speech, and Dr S. Radhakrishnan, then a member of the Assembly and later the first Vice-President and the second President of India, spoke after him. Option A is wrong because C. Rajagopalachari was not among the speakers that night; he became Governor-General in 1948. Option B is wrong because Rajendra Prasad presided over the sitting as President of the Constituent Assembly rather than speaking as one of the orators in this list. Option D is wrong because Sardar Patel, though a member of the interim cabinet and soon Deputy Prime Minister, did not address the House at that midnight session.