The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War

The correct answer is: India should be given Dominion status.

To understand why this is the correct answer, we need to look closely at the historical background and the specific proposals put forward by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942.

Who was Sir Stafford Cripps?
Sir Stafford Cripps was a senior British Cabinet Minister sent to India in March 1942 by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. His mission — famously known as the Cripps Mission — was to secure Indian cooperation and support for the British war effort during the Second World War, in exchange for a promise of political concessions to be fulfilled after the war ended.

What did the Cripps Proposals actually say?
The Cripps Mission came with a specific set of proposals. The most critical post-war proposal was that India would be granted Dominion Status — not full and complete independence. This is the heart of why this option is correct and the others are not.

Under the concept of Dominion Status, India would:

• Become a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations.
• Have its own constitution framed by an elected Constituent Assembly.
• But still remain formally linked to the British Crown, similar to countries like Canada and Australia at the time.

Why not "Complete Independence"?
Cripps explicitly did not offer complete independence. The British government, especially Churchill, was unwilling to sever all ties with India. The offer was designed to keep India within the British imperial fold. This is why Option A — "India should be granted complete independence" — is incorrect.

Why not "Partition into two"?
While the Cripps proposals did allow for the possibility that provinces (or Indian states) could opt out of the Indian Union and form a separate constitution, this was not the central envisagement for the post-war arrangement. The plan did not explicitly propose partitioning India into two nations (India and Pakistan) before granting any status. That formal partition plan came much later with the Mountbatten Plan of 1947. Therefore, Option B is incorrect in this context.

Why not "Republic with condition to join the Commonwealth"?
The Cripps plan did not use the term "republic" at all. A republic implies the complete severance of monarchical ties, which was against British intentions in 1942. India becoming a republic while choosing to remain in the Commonwealth actually happened in 1949 — years after the Cripps Mission — through a separate agreement. So Option C is anachronistic and incorrect here.

Summary of the Key Point:
The Cripps Mission's post-war promise was clearly and specifically Dominion Status — a middle path between full independence and continued colonial rule. This proposal was ultimately rejected by Indian leaders, including the Indian National Congress, because they demanded nothing less than complete independence (Purna Swaraj). Mahatma Gandhi famously called it a "post-dated cheque on a crashing bank."

Thus, the plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War, India should be given Dominion Status — making this the correct and historically accurate answer.