Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell was a senior officer in the British Army who served in many British Empire conflicts before becoming Viceroy of India during the most critical period of the Independence struggle. This article will provide additional information about Lord Wavell in light of the UPSC Examination.

Lord Wavell

• On May 5, 1883, Archibald Wavell was born to Archibald Graham Wavell and Lillie Wavell.
• Summer Fields was his first school before graduating from Windsor College. Archibald Wavell graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the British Army on May 8, 1901.
• During the Second Boer War, Lord Wavell served as a second lieutenant. Following the war's conclusion in 1902, he served in India until 1909, when he attended the Staff College for additional training.
• When World War I broke out in 1914, Wavell was working as a staff officer. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the Second Battle of Ypres.
• Wavell was promoted to brigadier general on a temporary basis in March 1918 and returned to Palestine as the brigadier general of the General Staff, part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
• Following World War I, he was given numerous assignments by the British government, which kept him busy during the interwar years.
• When World War II broke out, he was in command of the Middle Eastern theatre, where he played a critical role in keeping the vital oil fields of Iraq and Iran out of the hands of Axis-backed factions.
• Wavell was promoted to field marshal in January 1943, and on April 22, 1943, he returned to London. On 4 May, he met with the King before departing with Churchill for America.

Viceroy of India

• Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered Lord Wavell the position of Viceroy of India on June 15, 1943, and he accepted.
• One of his first acts upon his arrival in India was to address the disastrous Bengal Famine, which had killed millions of Indians.
• He accomplished this by directing the army to distribute relief supplies to rural populations and attempting to increase the rising supply by lowering its price. The latter action produced inconclusive results.
• He attempted, with varying degrees of success, to increase rice supplies in order to lower prices.
• During his reign, Gandhi led the Quit India campaign, Mohammad Ali Jinnah worked for an independent state for Muslims, and Subhas Chandra Bose befriended Japan, which was steadily pushing towards India's eastern borders.
• Lord Wavell, sympathetic to the Indian Independence Struggle, convened the Shimla Conference and the Wavell Plan to bring the various factions together in order to set the tone for independent India's future government. Both failed due to a lack of agreement between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.
• In any case, his government was far less supportive. Winston Churchill did not support him because he opposed Indian independence, and the next Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, did not believe Lord Wavell was making any progress in presenting a solution acceptable to both the Congress and the League.
• Atlee eventually lost faith in him and had Lord Wavell replaced by Lord Mountbatten in 1947.

Wavell Plan

• Lord Wavell convened the Simla Conference in the summer of 1945 to resolve the constitutional squabble.
• The Congress and the Muslim League both attended the Simla Conference, but the Conference was unable to succeed due to the Muslim League's attitude.
• Jinnah stated at this conference that only the Muslim League has the right to represent Indian Muslims and that Congress or any other non-league entity does not represent Muslims. Congress had no authority to appoint a Muslim to the executive council. He also demanded that in the event of a vote split and objections from Muslim members, the vote be cleared only by a two-thirds majority.
• Aside from that, Wavell had appointed six members to the executive council of 14, as well as the authority to veto any constitutional proposal that was not in its best interests. This was unjust, however, because Muslims made up only a quarter of the Indian population.
• Nonetheless, Wavell's decision to grant Jinnah a veto over any constitutional process in the executive council effectively ensured the creation of Pakistan. This is because the situation had shifted in favour of the Muslim League from the Cripps Mission to the Wavell plan. While the Cripps mission recognized Congress as the sole forum for discussion with the government, the Wavell plan established two forums. It established the Muslim League as the official representative of Muslims in India.
• Jinnah's status was elevated to that of Gandhi, and for the first time, two representatives were established –one for India and one for Pakistan.

Significant Events

Lord Linlithgow stepped down as Viceroy of India in the summer of 1943 and was succeeded by Lord Wavell, who served as the 23rd Viceroy of India from 1 October 1943 to 21 February 1947. During his tenure, the most significant events were:

• The Great Bengal Famine (1943)
• The Rajagopalachari Formula (1944)
• The Simla Conference (1945)
• The end of WW-II with Japan's surrender
• The Cabinet Mission (1946)
• Direct Action Day (1946)
• The Interim Government under Nehru

Conclusion

Wavell returned to England in 1947 and was appointed High Steward of Colchester. The following year, he was created Earl Wavell and given the additional titles of Viscount Keren of Eritrea and Winchester. He had an excellent memory for poetry and frequently quoted it at length. Wavell died on May 24, 1950, following a relapse following abdominal surgery on May 5. Following his death, his body was laid to rest at the Tower of London, where he had served as Constable. On June 7, 1950, a military funeral procession travelled along the Thames from the Tower to Westminster Pier and then to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service. Although, as a military commander, he was criticized by some, including Winston Churchill, for being overly cautious and indecisive during the Iraq war. However, he was still regarded favourably by his former adversaries in North Africa, one of whom was German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. To some extent, it can be said that Lord Wavell did his best among all the Viceroys to keep India united by attempting to bring together the various factions of the independence movement. However, his efforts were insufficient and came too late to prevent India's eventual partition.