The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War

1. The Cripps Mission, led by Sir Stafford Cripps, arrived in India in March 1942, during the Second World War, to secure Indian cooperation for the British war effort. 2. The plan envisaged by the Mission proposed that after the War, steps would be taken to set up an elected body in India to frame a new Constitution. 3. Crucially, the proposal offered Dominion status to India. This meant India would be autonomous within the British Empire, free to manage its own affairs, but still owing allegiance to the Crown and having the right to secede from the Commonwealth if it chose. 4. Option (D) correctly states that India should be given Dominion status. 5. Option (A) is incorrect; the offer was Dominion status, not complete independence (Purna Swaraj), which was rejected by the Indian National Congress. 6. Option (B) is incorrect; while the proposals allowed provinces unwilling to accept the new constitution to opt out and form a separate union (implicitly allowing for partition), the main offer was Dominion status, not partition as a prerequisite. 7. Option (C) is incorrect; the offer was Dominion status, not a republic, although the right to leave the Commonwealth was included.