Chronologically arrange the following developments leading to the independence of India:

A. The failure of Cripps Mission.
B. The Mountbatten Plan.
C. The Failure of the Cabinet Mission.
D. The Quit India Movement.
E. Independence of India.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

A, D, C, B, E

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, D, C, B, E

The correct chronological order is:

A. The failure of Cripps Mission (1942) - An attempt by the British government to secure Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II, but it failed due to lack of significant concessions.
D. The Quit India Movement (1942) - Launched by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, demanding an end to British rule in India.
C. The Failure of the Cabinet Mission (1946) - Aimed to propose a plan for the transfer of power from British hands to Indian control, but it couldn't resolve key issues between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.
B. The Mountbatten Plan (1947) - Proposed by Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, it outlined the partition of British India into two separate nations, India and Pakistan, leading to independence for both countries.
E. Independence of India (1947) - India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, following the partition and the transfer of power.

Explanatory tex from NCERT:

After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942. Although Gandhiji was jailed at once, younger activists organised strikes and acts of sabotage all over the country. Particularly active in the underground resistance were socialist members of the Congress, such as Jayaprakash Narayan. In several districts, such as Satara in the west and Medinipur in the east, “independent” governments were proclaimed. The British responded with much force, yet it took more than a year to suppress the rebellion.

“Quit India” was genuinely a mass movement, bringing into its ambit hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians. It especially energised the young who, in very large numbers, left their colleges to go to jail. However, while the Congress leaders languished in jail, Jinnah and his colleagues in the Muslim League worked patiently at expanding their influence. It was in these years that the League began to make a mark in the Punjab and Sind, provinces where it had previously had scarcely any presence.

In June 1944, with the end of the war in sight, Gandhiji was released from prison. Later that year he held a series of meetings with Jinnah, seeking to bridge the gap between the Congress and the League. In 1945, a Labour government came to power in Britain and committed itself to granting independence to India. Meanwhile, back in India, the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, brought the Congress and the League together for a series of talks.

Early in 1946 fresh elections were held to the provincial legislatures. The Congress swept the “General” category, but in the seats specifically reserved for Muslims the League won an overwhelming majority. The political polarisation was complete. A Cabinet Mission sent in the summer of 1946 failed to get the Congress and the League to agree on a federal system that would keep India together while allowing the provinces a degree of autonomy. After the talks broke down, Jinnah called for a “Direct Action Day” to press the League’s demand for Pakistan. On the designated day, 16 August 1946, bloody riots broke out in Calcutta. The violence spread to rural Bengal, then to Bihar, and then across the country to the United Provinces and the Punjab. In some places, Muslims were the main sufferers, in other places, Hindus.

In February 1947, Wavell was replaced as Viceroy by Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten called one last round of talks, but when these too proved inconclusive he announced that British India would be freed, but also divided. The formal transfer of power was fixed for 15 August. When that day came, it was celebrated with gusto in different parts of India. In Delhi, there was “prolonged applause” when the President of the Constituent Assembly began the meeting by invoking the Father of the Nation – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Outside the Assembly, the crowds shouted “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai”.