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
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The British government sent Stafford Cripps to India during World War II to secure Indian cooperation against the Axis powers. However, the proposals lacked any concrete timeline for full independence. The Congress rejected the plan because it allowed princely states to stay out of the Indian Union, effectively threatening national unity. Furthermore, the British refused to hand over the Defense portfolio to an Indian minister during the war. This lack of flexibility and the refusal to grant real executive power led to the collapse of negotiations and the subsequent launch of the Quit India Movement.