SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL, HIS ASSOCIATES AND OPPONENTS IN THE POLITICAL FORCES STRUGGLE OF BRITISH INDIA (1944 - EARLY 1945)

The associates and opponents of the Indian politician Sardar Patel, as well as the problem of independence and partition of British India in 1944 and early 1945 became the subject of discussion among Indian political leaders and parties, with the issue of formation of a Provisional National Government in the transitional period from self-rule to full independence of one or more Indian states being the most hotly debated. In this regard, a number of negotiations among the country's politicians that took place during this period at various levels - from bilateral meetings to inter-party forums - are of academic interest. The purpose of this article is to analyze the peculiarities of the approaches of the leading political forces of the country to the problem of forming an all-India coalition Provisional National Government in 1944-1945. The study is based on the fundamental publication of Anglo-Indian archival documents "Constitutional Relations between Britain and India. The Transfer of Power in 1942-1947" edited by renowned historians N. Mansergh and P. Moon, and on documents, memoirs, speeches, "A Nation's Homage. The Life and Work of Vallabhbhai Patel" edited by P.D. Saggi, Mahatma Gandhi's correspondence with the British colonial government and his conversations with the Muslim leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah.