The Cripps Mission failed primarily because it offered “Dominion Status” with the right to secede for provinces, which the Congress viewed as a blueprint for the “Balkanization” of India. Sir Stafford Cripps adopted a rigid “take-it-or-leave-it” stance, refusing to grant immediate cabinet responsibility or control over defense to Indians. Gandhi famously dismissed the offer as a “post-dated check on a crashing bank.” ANSWER: (B) Cripps’ take-it-or-leave-it approach