In this article, we discuss August Offer 1940 which is offered by viceroy Lord Linlithgow.
The Viceroy of India at that time, Lord Linlithgow, included India in World War II without asking India.
Therefore, in anger, all the leaders of the Congress gave their resignation on 22nd 1939.
A Congress session was held at Ramgarh, Bihar in March 1940. A resolution was passed in this session that we will keep this demand in front of the Britishers that we are still ready to support you in the world war but you have to set up a provisional national government in the center.
The Viceroy Lord Linlithgow made a proposal in response to this, which is called the August Offer. It was published in the form of a white paper. The August offer date was 8 August 1940.
Lord Linlithgow knew that if Congress accepted this offer, then it was going to get the full support of India.
The Muslim League and the Princely States were already supporting the British Government. If Congress had joined it, Britishers would have got more army and Britishers would have won the war.
The August offer had the following terms and conditions -
1. In the August offer, it was said that an Indian Constituent Assembly would be established whose job would be to frame the Indian Constitution.
2. In the August offer, the Britishers first thought that Indians could frame their own constitution.
3. There will be only Indians in the Constituent Assembly and Goal will have dominion status.
4. There will be more Indians than Britishers in the Viceroy's executive council.
5. A War Advisory Council will be established where Britishers, as well as Indian Representatives, will be included.
6. When the Constituent Assembly sits down and makes a new constitution, no such constitutional provisions will be accepted in which minority community has not progressed. This is what is called veto power to minorities.
The Muslim League seemed to like most of the points of the August offer as the minorities were given veto power. That means the approval of the Muslim League was necessary at every constitutional point.
August Offer rejected by Congress. Congress President Abul Kalam Azad also refused to discuss this offer with Lord Linlithgow.
The main reason for this was that in the Lahore Congress session of 1929, the Congress changed its Goal Dominion status to Purna Swaraj.
Dominion status was being given in August offer and this demand of Congress was only till 1929 and now they were demanded Poorna Swaraj.
The British government had put this condition here that we will fulfill these demands only when all the communities and political parties of India will fully support the Britishers in the World War and demands will be accepted after the end of World War II.
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