Lord Wavell was the Governor General of India during the Colonial rule. Many Important reforms and events occurred in his time. He had a great participation in Indian modern history. Topic is useful for UPSC, State exams and other exams and for general knowledge.
Lord Wavell(1883-1950), GCB(Order of the Bath), GCSI(Order of the Star of the India), GCIE(Order of the Indian Empire), CMG(Order of Saint Michael and Saint George), MC(Military Cross), KStJ(Order of St. John), PC(Privy Council), was the accomplished senior officer and commander in the British Army.
Lord Wavell served as Commander-in-Chief, India from July 1941 until June 1943 and then went on to serve as Viceroy of India for the remainder of his career before retiring in 1947.
Events during his time in India
Lord Wavell was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of India and a member of the Governor General’s Executive Council, and his authority covered both India and Iraq.
In September of 1943, he was officially appointed as the Governor-General and Viceroy of India and served till 1947.
During the Bengal famine(1943), he distributed the relief supplies and packages to the victims of famine.
To resolve the issue between Congress and Muslim league, C. Rajagopalachari came up with C.R. formula(1944) which Jinnah rejected because he believed that separation of India and Pakistan could not be deferred until after independence. Jinnah believed in Two Nation Theory.
Congress leader Bhulabai Desai also came up with the talk with Muslim leader Liaquat Ali Khan to resolve the issue. The proposal was to give the Muslim league equal status in Interim Government but later on, the Idea was rejected by both Jinnah and Congress(1945).
Lord Wavell organised the Simla Conference(1945) to try and resolve the complex constitutional issues. Both Congress and Muslim league participated in the Conference but it was not successful because of the Muslim league attitude.
A group of non-commissioned officers and sailors known as Ratings in the Royal Indian Navy on February 18, 1946, revolted against their British Officers. This uprising began with violence erupting in Mumbai and more than 200 people lost their lives during this event.
On March 24, 1946 the Cabinet Mission arrived in India with a mission to create an effective and efficient system for drafting up the constitution of Independent India as well as making arrangements for interim Government.
On 16 August 1946, the Muslim League declared Direct Action Day in order to demonstrate their strength and commitment both to British authorities as well as Congress. During this time, thousands of Hindus and Muslims were affected very badly with their lives.
For the very first time, on 6 December 1946, Constituent assembly elections took place and members were elected by Single Transferable Vote System of proportional representation.
During his time in India, Gandhi led the Quit India Movement, Subhash Chandra Bose was pushing towards Indian eastern borders and Jinnah worked for an independent state of Muslims.
In 1947, Prime Minister Clement Attlee lost confidence in the Viceroy of India Lord Wavell and decided to replace him with Lord Mountbatten.
Wavell passed away on 24 May 1950 after suffering a relapse following abdominal surgery that he had undergone five days prior.
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