C. Rajagopalachari's formula (or C. R. formula or Rajaji formula) was a proposal formulated by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari to solve the political deadlock between the All India Muslim League and the Indian National Congress on the independence of British India. The League's position was that the Muslims and Hindus of British India were of two separate nations and henceforth the Muslims had the right to their own nation. The Congress, which had predominantly Hindu members and opposed to the idea of partitioning the Subcontinent. With the advent of the Second World War the British administration sought to divide the Indian political elite into two factions so as to make sure that the Indian independence movement does not make large progress, taking advantage of the war.
C. Rajagopalachari, a Congress leader from Madras, devised a proposal for the Congress to offer the League the predominantly Muslim region that became Pakistan based on a plebiscite of allowing the people in those regions where Muslims were in the majority. Although the formula was opposed even within the Congress party, Gandhi used it as the basis of his proposal in talks with Jinnah in 1944. However, Jinnah rejected the proposal and the talks failed and thus C.R. Formula did not come into effect.
Congress and League
The All India Muslim League was formed in 1906 to "protect the interests of Muslims" in British India and to "represent their needs and aspirations to the Government". The Indian National Congress, formed in 1885, had demanded self-governance in India. In 1916, the League and the Congress entered into a pact in which the League agreed to support the Congress' efforts for home rule in exchange for the Congress' support for a two electorate system that would create constituencies where only Muslims could contest and vote. In the elections of 1937, Congress emerged as the largest party in seven of the 11 provinces with a clear majority in five (Madras Presidency, Uttar Pradesh, Central Province, Bihar and Orissa). On the whole, Congress won 716 of the 1161 seats it contested. The League secured 4.8% of the total Muslim votes (winning 25% of the seats allotted for Muslims) and did not acquire majority in any of the four Muslim predominant provinces (Punjab, Sind Province, North West Frontier Province and Bengal Presidency). The League had hoped that its candidates would win the votes over the Congress in Muslim electorates, but was disappointed. Since Congress had majority in Hindu majority provinces, it refused to share power with the League in those provinces. The eventual disagreement led to a political tussle between the League and the Congress climaxing with the League's Lahore Resolution in March 1940, calling for an independent Muslim nation carved out of British India.
Second World War
In September 1939, Lord Linlithgow, the then Viceroy of India, announced that India was at war with Germany. The Congress Party resigned its provincial seats in protest, stating that the viceroy's decisions had pushed India into a war not of India's making and without consulting its people or representatives. Nevertheless, many Congress leaders, including Nehru had expressed moral support to the Allies cause against the Nazis. Congress demanded that if Britain was fighting to protect democracy through the war, it should also establish democracy in India. However, both the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India (Leo Amery) openly disliked Indian National Congress and its leaders including Gandhi and Nehru. Moreover, since the British Indian army was dominated by Muslims and Sikhs, the government in London was keen to get both these parties' support rather than appeasing Congress. While Jinnah's Muslim League wanted a Muslim Pakistan, Sikhs feared that if India were divided, Punjab would come under Pakistan and hence put the Sikhs under Muslim rule. Eventually the British administration concluded that no progress towards Indian statehood could be made unless Congress and the League reached an agreement.