A set of proposals made by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow in August 1940, during the Second World War, offering Indians a greater role in the war effort and post-war constitutional change in return for cooperation.
- Announced in August 1940 to win Indian support for the British war effort after the fall of France.
- Offered expansion of the Viceroy's Executive Council to include more Indians, the setting up of a War Advisory Council, and Dominion Status as the objective for India after the war.
- For the first time it conceded that Indians themselves would frame their constitution, and gave an assurance (sometimes seen as a veto to the Muslim League) that no future constitution would be adopted without the agreement of "minorities".
- The Congress rejected it because it fell short of immediate self-government and effectively gave a communal veto; the Muslim League also found it inadequate, though it welcomed the minority assurance.
- Its rejection led to the Individual Satyagraha (1940 to 1941), in which Vinoba Bhave was the first and Jawaharlal Nehru the second satyagrahi.
It is a wartime constitutional offer with the first concession that Indians would frame their own constitution, and it led to the Individual Satyagraha, both examinable.
The August Offer (1940) is distinct from the Cripps Mission (1942); the August Offer led to Individual Satyagraha, while the Cripps failure led to Quit India.
1940 August Offer (Linlithgow): post-war Dominion Status, Indians to frame their constitution, minority veto; rejected, led to Individual Satyagraha.