It was in I934 that the idea for a Constituent Assembly of India was put forward for the first time by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India.
In 1935, the Indian National Congress (INC), for the first time officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India. In I938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the INC, declared that ‘the Constitution of free India must be framed without outside interference by a Constituent Assembly elected based on adult franchise.
The demand was finally accepted in principle by the British Government in what is known as the ‘August Offer’ of 1940.
In I942, Sir Stafford Cripps, a cabinet member, came to India with a draft proposal of the British Government on framing an independent Constitution to be adopted after World War ll.
The Muslim League rejected the Cripps Proposals, which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two separate Constituent Assemblies.
Finally, a Cabinet Mission was sent to India. While it rejected the idea of two Constituent Assemblies, it put forth a scheme for the Constituent Assembly of India, which more or less satisfied the Muslim League.