Previous Year Question

All three stated reasons are incorrect. The actual reason for the resignation of the Congress Ministries was Britain’s decision to involve India in the Second World War without consulting the Indian people or their elected representatives.

Following Britain’s declaration of war against Germany, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India to be at war with Germany on 3 September 1939. The Central Legislature, the Congress and the Indian political leadership were not consulted before the decision.

The Congress demanded that the British Government should:

• clearly state its war aims;

• declare that the war was genuinely being fought for democracy and freedom;

• recognise India’s right to independence; and

• establish a responsible national government at the Centre.

The British Government did not provide a satisfactory response to these demands. Consequently, in October 1939, the Congress Working Committee directed the provincial Congress Ministries to resign. The ministries left office during October–November 1939.

Therefore:

• failure to form governments in the remaining provinces was not the reason for resignation;

• the emergence of a left wing within the Congress was not the actual cause; and

• communal disturbances were not the reason for the collective resignations.

Hence, option D is correct.

Important clarification regarding the number: After the 1937 elections, the Congress initially formed ministries in seven provinces. A Congress-supported coalition headed by Gopinath Bordoloi was subsequently formed in Assam in September 1938, and it also resigned in November 1939. Therefore, some historical accounts refer to the original seven Congress Ministries, while accounts including Assam refer to eight governments.