[Gandhiji reviewing the situation with Sardar Patel]

"..the Caste Hindu Fascist Congress and their henchmen who sought to dominate and rule over the Mussalmans and other minority communities of India with the aid of British bayonets.."

Regarding transfer of power, Gandhiji advised Congress not to accept any arrangement in be prepared to go once again into the wilderness. This advice did not appeal to Congress leaders who liked the British, tended to judge the situation in terms of political necessity, and feared a drift to civil war through vacillation or delay.

The British government announced in 1946 that they were willing to end their rule over India. A Cabinet Mission was sent to India to hold negotiations with the Indian leaders on the transfer of power. It proposed the formation of an interim government and the convening of a Constituent Assembly composed of members elected by Provincial Legislatures and the nominees of the rulers of Indian states. An interim government headed by Jawahar Lal Nehru was formed. The Muslim League and the Princes refused to participate in the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly, which started its work of framing the constitution in December 1946. At a time, when tension was mounting it was imperative that the country should have a strong and stable government at the centre.

The Cabinet Mission had failed to secure the formation of a national interim government. Jinnah who was approached by Nehru but refused to co-operate, was bitterly critical of what he described as ‘the Caste Hindu Fascist Congress and their henchmen who sought to dominate and rule over the Mussalmans and other minority communities of India with the aid of British bayonets.’ This bitterness boded ill at a time when exemplary restraints were necessary to pull the country through a critical period. The ‘Direct Action Day’ that was celebrated by the Muslim League on August 16 touched off a chain reaction of violent explosions, which in the succeeding 12 months shook the country. On 16th August 1946, the ‘Direct Action Day’ observed by the Muslim League, Calcutta witnessed a communal riot the scale and intensity of which had never been known in living memory. For 4 days, bands of hooligans armed with sticks, spears hatchets and even firearms roamed the town robbing and killing at will. The ‘Great Calcutta Killing’ took a toll of more than 5000 lives besides the 15000 or more that were injured.