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Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow: Mountbatten Plan and Independence Act of 1947

The document discusses Lord Mountbatten's plan for the transfer of power in India and the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. It outlines the key features of Mountbatten's plan which was announced on June 3rd, 1947, including that the provinces of Bengal, Punjab and Assam would vote on whether to partition, and that Muslim majority regions would decide whether to join Pakistan or India. It also discusses the implementation of the plan, with the assemblies of Bengal, Punjab and Sind voting for partition and independence. Mountbatten's plan led to the independence of India and Pakistan in August 1947 and the partition along religious lines.

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Irul Srivastava
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
374 views

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow: Mountbatten Plan and Independence Act of 1947

The document discusses Lord Mountbatten's plan for the transfer of power in India and the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. It outlines the key features of Mountbatten's plan which was announced on June 3rd, 1947, including that the provinces of Bengal, Punjab and Assam would vote on whether to partition, and that Muslim majority regions would decide whether to join Pakistan or India. It also discusses the implementation of the plan, with the assemblies of Bengal, Punjab and Sind voting for partition and independence. Mountbatten's plan led to the independence of India and Pakistan in August 1947 and the partition along religious lines.

Uploaded by

Irul Srivastava
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HISTORY

Dr. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW


UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

2018-19

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MOUNTBATTEN PLAN AND INDEPENDENCE ACT OF 1947

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SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Vandana Singh Arpit Richhariya (170101035)

AssociateProfessor 3rd Semester

Dr.RMLNLU

1
HISTORY

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to convey my sincere thanks to my colleagues, who painstakingly reviewed most
of the content Special thanks, are due to our teacher Dr. Vandana Singh.

I am grateful to my mother for her enormous help in formatting and verifying the contents of
the said project work. I am also thankful to the seniors for ensuring that project would be well
enough to be presented in front of others. I also acknowledge the contribution of my friends for
the editing, proof checking and general guidance they have provided. This has been invaluable.
Finally, I’m indebted to all my teachers for verifying of the content.

I am also very grateful to the various sources of information, the journals, magazines and lots
of articles which provided me all aspects of information.

2
HISTORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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3
HISTORY

INTRODUCTION
Fully briefed by the British Labour Government, Mountbatten landed on the soil of India on
March 22, 1947. Mr. Attlee had instructed him to see that power was transferred before June 30,
1948. Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony on (JUNE 3, 1947) March 24, 1947,
Mountbatten set to the task assigned to him. He had a series of interviews with topmost leaders
of the major parties and made them agree to the principle of partition of India to some extent.
Gandhijis’ alternative plan to hand over power to Jinnah at the Centre and present his Pakistan
plan for acceptance to his people before the transfer of power was appreciated by Mountbatten
but rejected by all the members of the Congress Working Committee except Badhshah Khan.

Thus Gandhiji was cleared out of the way. Thereafter the Viceroy decided to play the cards. He
proceeded to England in May, 1947 to seek the approval of His Majesty’s Government of his
proposed plan of resolving Indian political deadlock. On June 3, 1947, immediately after his
return to India, Lord mountbatten announced his plan for solving the ‘present impasse’. Before
the plan was publicized, Lord Mountbattan had obtained the consent of the Congress and Sikh
leaders and also of Mr. M.A. Jinnah. Maulana Azad was, however, vehemently opposed to the
plan. In his words, “The publication of this statement meant the end of all hopes for preserving
the unity of India.

This was the first time that the Cabinet Mission Plan was discarded and partition accepted
officially. It will interest the reader if we make a casual reference of Lady Mountbatten’s
significant role in bringing round the leaders of the Congress to agree to her husband’s plan. It
the words of Dr. Ishwari Prasad, “By remarkable adaptability of character and pleasing manners,
she won the hearts of all the greatest adversaries of the land…”. The Congress Socialist Party
deprecated its acceptance as an act of surrender.

4
HISTORY

MAIN FEATURES OF THE PLAN


The statement of June 3, 1947 was an announcement of great political importance. Before
referring to its main features, it was stated in the plan that His Majesty’s Government hoped for
the co-operation of two major political parties in working out the Cabinet Mission Plan of May
16, 1946, but the hopes remained unfulfilled. It was further stated that the Muslim League
members elected from the Punjab, Bengal and Sind boycotted the Constituent Assembly, hence
there was no justification of applying the Constitution, framed by the Constituent Assembly to
those parts of the country which were reluctant to accept it. In the later lines, the procedure for
ascertaining the wishes of such areas on the issue as to how their Constitution was to be framed
was laid down.1

The Legislative Assemblies of Bengal and the Punjab (excluding the European members) were
to meet each in two parts, one representing the Muslim majority districts and the other the rest
of the provinces. The Muslim Majority districts were specified in the statement. Each part was
to decide by a simple majority whether the province was to be partitioned or not. If either party
favored, partition was to be effected accordingly.

If partition of the province was opted for, each part of the Assembly had to determine if it would
like to join the Constituent Assembly already established or a new Constituent Assembly
separately established and composed of representatives of those areas which decided not to
participate in the existing Assembly.2

The Legislative Assembly of Sind had to decide at a special meeting whether Sind as a whole
should join the Constituent Assembly at Delhi or a new Constituent Assembly of areas which
did not join it. The Muslim majority area of Sylhet in Assam had to decide by referendum
whether the district in question would like to remain a part of Assam or join East Bengal which
would constitute a part of Pakistan.

1
MP Jain, The Outlines Of Indian Legal And Constitutional History, 7th edition.

2
MP Jain, The Outlines Of Indian Legal And Constitutional History, 7th edition.

5
HISTORY

Referendum was to be held in the N.W.F. Province to decide whether that province would like
to join Pakistan or India. However, referendum was to be conducted under the aegis of the
Governor-General and in consultation with the provincial government.

Baluchistan was also given the right to decide whether or not to remain in the Indian Union. A
joint meeting of the representative institutions was to be held to decide the issue. In case Bengal,
Punjab and Assam opted for partition, independent Boundary Commission was to be appointed
to fix the dividing lines between the two parts of the provinces. An agreement was also to be
entered into for dividing the assets and liabilities between the two Dominions of India and
Pakistan. Both the states were to be accorded Dominion Status in the beginning and were to be
entitled to leave the British Commonwealth at a later date if they so desired.

In the end, Lord Mountbatten declared: “The whole plan may not be perfect but like all plans, its
success will depend on the spirit of goodwill with which it is carried out. I have always felt that
once it was decided in what way to transfer power, the transfer should take place at the earliest
possible moment but the dilemma was that if we waited until a constitutional set up for All-India
was agreed, we should have to wait a long time particularly if partition was decided on.3

Whereas if we handed over power before the Constituent Assemblies had finished their work,
we should leave the country without a Constitution. The solution to this dilemma which I put
forward is that His Majesty’s Government should transfer power now to one or two Governments
of British India each having dominion status as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.4
This I hope will be within the next few months.”

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN:


Since the plan was accepted by the Congress and the Muslim League, Lord Mountabatten
unhesitatingly proceeded to implement without any delay. The Hindu members of the Bengal

3
Menon, V.P, Transfer of Power in India. Orient Blackswan.

4
Menon, V.P, Transfer of Power in India. Orient Blackswan.

6
HISTORY

Assembly voted for the partition of Bengal on June 20, 1947 and those of the Punjab Assembly
did the same three days later. The Legislative Assembly of Sind voted for Pakistan on June 26,
1947. The residents of Sylhet decided to join the new province of East Bengal. Referendum was
held in N.W.F.P. between July 6, and July 17. The Congress boycotted it. The electors decided
to opt for Pakistan. British Baluchistan also decided to join Pakistan on June 29, 1947.5

Boycott of Referendum by Congress in N.W.F.P


Khan Brothers who led the Congress in N.W.F.P. boycotted referendum despite the fact that Dr.
Khan Sahib who was the then Chief Minister of N.W.F.P had agreed to hold Plebiscite in
N.W.F.P. The question arises why Dr. Khan Sahib agreed to referendum and then evaded it? Dr.
Khan Sahib could not afford to differ from Lord Mountbatten’s proposal of referendum, because
he claimed the support of majority in N.W.F.P. In fact, Khan Brothers were not as strong as the
Congress had thought.

The agitation for partition had given a staggering blow to their influence in N.W.F.P. When
creation of Pakistan was inevitable and the Muslim majority provinces had been promised the
opportunity of forming an independent State, an emotional upheaval swept through Frontier.

It will not be out of place to point out that the British officers in N.W.F.P. also openly supported
Pakistan and went to the extent of persuading the majority of the tribal chiefs to assist the Muslim
League. Moreover,- Dr. Khan Sahib’s leadership was likely to suffer a great eclipse in case the
Frontier Congress had participated in referendum and suffered a defeat on the issue. Hence Dr.
Khan Sahib invented a new issue which could enable him to exploit the sentiments of Pathans.
If there was to be referendum in N.W.F.P. he emphasized, the Pathans of Frontier, too, should
be allowed to opt for ‘Pakhtoonistan’—their own State. Since Lord Mountbatten was not
prepared to complicate the matter still more, and was keen to push through his scheme as
promptly as possible, he did not discuss the Pakhtoonistan issue in details. It led to the boycott
of referendum by disgruntled Khan Brothers.

All-India Congress Committee Meets at Delhi on June 14 and 15


The All-India Congress Committee met at Delhi on June 14 and 15 to discuss Committee meets
the Mountbatten Plan. Despite the fact that the Congress had striven hard for the at Delhi on June

5
MP Jain, The Outlines Of Indian Legal And Constitutional History, 7th edition.

7
HISTORY

14 realisation of a free and united India, it agreed to the proposal embodied in the statement of
June 3, 1947. Rather it welcomed the decision of the British Government to transfer power
completely to the Indians without delay. Even Gandhiji commended the decision of the Congress
Working Committee for acceptance. In fact there was no way out for him.

Sikh Conference (June 1947)


A conference of Sikhs was convened at Lahore in the first week of June to discuss the plan. They
accepted the plan though with reservation. It was resolved in the Conference that “no partition
of the Punjab which does not preserve the solidarity and integrity of the Sikh community will be
acceptable to the Sikhs.”

Muslim League‘s Acceptance June 2, 1947


The Muslim League accepted the Plan on June 9, 1947. In fact Jinnah’s strategy of naked
violence was responsible for making Pakistan a reality. However, the Plan gave Jinnah no better
Pakistan than the one which he had described as “mutilated, moth-eaten and truncated.” Jinnah
was shrewd enough not to decline the offer.

Partition Committee (June 7, 1947)


A Partition Committee was set up on June 7, 1947 for dealing with different questions involved
in partition. It was composed of two Congress and two Muslim League members of the Interim
Government with the Viceroy as the Chairman. It was a sort of fact-finding body which was
assigned the duty of making proposals regarding the division of assets and liabilities between
India and Pakistan.

Pakistan Council Replaced Partition Committee (June 27, 1947)


When Bengal and the Punjab decided in favour of partition. Partition Committee was replaced
by a Pakistan Council, on June 27, 1947. It also consisted of two leaders of the Congress and
two of the Muslim League. The Viceroy acted as its chairman.

By July 1, 1947 it was in a position to reach an agreement on the general principles governing
the reconstitution of the Armed Forces. It decided that India and Pakistan should have their own
Armed Forces, predominantly non-Muslims and Muslims respectively which from the date of
the transfer of power were to be under its own operative control.

8
HISTORY

Until the division of forces was completed, and the Dominion Government could administer
them, the existing forces were to remain under the control of the then Commander-in-Chief who
was to function under the Joint Defence Council consisting of the Governor-General or
Governors-General, the two Defence Ministers and the Commander-in-Chief himself. It. was
mutually agreed that Lord Mountbatten was to be the Chairman of this Council.

The Commander-in-Chief was not to be responsible for law and order or have operative control
of any unit except during transit from one Dominion to another. As regards the British forces, it
had already been decided by the Partition Committee that they would be withdrawn from India.
The credit for their withdrawal from India goes to Field Marshal Montgomery.

Boundary Commission
Under the Chairmanship of Sir Cyril Redcliff, two Boundary Commissions were appointed for
demarcating the boundaries of new parts of the Punjab and Bengal on the basis of ascertaining
the contiguous majority areas of Muslims and non-Muslims and in so doing, they had to take
account of some other factors also.

9
HISTORY

THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCES ACT, 1947


On July 4, 1947, the Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the House of Commons and
was passed by both the Houses of the Parliament, within a fortnight. The Act provided for the
end of the British rule in India, on August 15, 1947, and the establishment of the Dominions of
India and Pakistan which were allowed to secede from the British Commonwealth. In the words
of Attlee, the Act did not “lay down a new Constitution for India, providing for every detail. It
was far more, in the nature of an enabling bill, a bill to enable the representatives of India and
Pakistan to draft their own Constitutions.”

Main Provision of the Act


Before we enumerate the main provisions of the Act, we may state that it was an exceedingly
simple and brief Act, containing only twenty clauses and three schedules. Its important
provisions are summarized as below:

(a) The Act provided for the establishment of two dominions, India and Pakistan on August 15,
1947. The powers previously exercised by the British Parliament and the Government in the
British provinces were transferred to the Governments of India and Pakistan on the due date.6

(b) The territories of the Dominions were demarcated. The division of the Punjab and Bengal
was to be effected according to the recommendations of the Boundary Commission set up under
the chairmanship of Redcliff. Since the Commission could not come to unanimous conclusion,
the division was made in accordance with the award given by the chairman.7

(c) The Act abolished the office of the Secretary of State for India and his Advisers and provided
a Governor-General for each Dominion. It was, however expressly laid down that one Governor-
General might be asked to serve in dual capacity. The Governor-General was to be appointed by
His Majesty the King on the advice of the Dominion and not on that of the British Cabinet. The
Governor-General was no longer to be called the Viceroy. He was divested of his special powers
and responsibilities and also power of acting in his ‘individual judgment’ and in his ‘discreation’.
In other words, he was to be a mere Constitutional Ruler, It may however, be stated that in case
of India and Pakistan dominions, the Governor- General consulted the leaders of the Congress
and the Muslim League in the matter of appointment of their respective Governor-General, since

6
Indian Independence Act 1947.
7
Indian Independence Act 1947.

10
HISTORY

the usual method of appointment of the Governor-General of Dominions could not be resorted
to, in the absence of popular governments in these newly sprung Dominions.

(d) Each Dominion was to have a sovereign Legislature which was to be vested with full powers
of making laws for the Dominions concerned. No Act passed by the British Parliament, after
August 15, 1947, was to apply to either Dominion, unless it was extended thereto by its own
legislature. His Majesty could no longer disallow any Bill passed by the Legislature of either
Dominion. The Governor-General was fully empowered to assent in his Majesty’s name to any
Bill passed by it.8

The Constituent Assemblies of the two Dominions were to serve as their respective legislatures.
Until the Constitution framed by each of the Constituent Assembly was enforced, each Dominion
was to be governed as nearly as possible according to the provisions of the Government of India
Act, 1935 as adapted to the new circumstances by the Governor-General.9

(e) The Governors of the provinces were to be nominated by the Dominion Cabinets. They were
to follow the advice given by their ministers under all circumstances. In other words, the
Governors were to be mere constitutional heads of their respective provinces.10

(f) With the creation of the Dominions, appointment to Civil Services and reservation of posts
by the Secretary of State were to be discontinued. Moreover, compensation was to be given to
those of then existing services who might like to resign their services after the transfer of power.
The Act made a provision for the maintenance of the then existing conditions of service as well
as pensioner rights, as regards those services who had to continue service under the Government
of either of the new Dominion or of any province. The government was, however, empowered
to revise the conditions as the circumstances demanded.11

(g) According to the Act, the paramountcy of the British Crown over the Indian native States and
also its connection with Tribal Areas came to an end with effect from August 15, 1947. The
States were henceforth to be independent. The British Governments, in fact, did not intend to
hand over powers and obligations under paramountcy to the Government of the Dominions.
Hence, the States were declared free to accede to India or Pakistan or remain independent. All

8
Indian Independence Act 1947.
9
Indian Independence Act 1947.
10
Indian Independence Act 1947.
11
Indian Independence Act 1947.

11
HISTORY

treaties and agreements entered into between the British Crown and the States and all the
obligations of His Majesty’s Government towards the Rulers of the States ended with the lapse
of paramountcy.12

(h) It was further provided in the Act that the relations of the British Government with the new
Dominions were to be conducted through the Commonwealth Relations Office.13

(i) The title of ‘Emperor of India’ was to be dropped from the royal style and titles of the King
of England.14

Significances of the act


The Indian Independence Act, 1947 was the swan song of the British power over India. It closed
the chapter of Imperialists’ rule and opened a new one of independent India. During the Second
reading of the Independence Bill in the House of Commons, Attlee said, “It is the culminating
point in a long course of events……………. The Act of 1935, the Declaration at the time of the
Cripps Mission, the visit of my right honourable friends to India last year, are all steps in the
road that led up eventually to the proposals that 1 announced to the House on 3rd June last. The
Bill is designed to implement those proposals.”

Really, the Act was the last milestone on the highway leading to the ultimate destination of a
subject nation. It was the noblest and greatest law ever enacted by the British Parliament. It was
said to be a gracious and dignified farewell. In the words of Lord Samuel, “It was an event unique
in history—a treaty of peace without war.” A liberal-minded politician like Attlee described the
Act “as the fulfilment of the British Mission.” Dr. Rajendra Prasad said, “The period of
domination of British over India ends today and our own relationship with Britain is henceforth
going to rest on a basis of equality, of mutual goodwill and mutual profit. “‘ Speaking before the
Constituent Assembly on August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Long years ago, we made a
tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in
full measure but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps,
India will awake to life and freedom”.

12
Indian Independence Act 1947.
13
Indian Independence Act 1947.
14
Indian Independence Act 1947.

12
HISTORY

There is no denying the fact that the dark days of untold sufferings and misery ended and dawn
of a new era of freedom ushered in. There was tumultuous joy on that day all over India. The
Congress leaders were acclaimed with demonstrative joy and deep affection. Lord and Lady
Mountbatten were enthusiastically cheered by the teeming millions overwhelmed with feeling of
gratefulness for the benign masters. “The upsurge of goodwill was an augury for the future.” But
the Act left one blot on the British escutcheon for all times to come. It left sad trail of memory
behind. The vivisection of India was fraught with unprecedented distress and untold problems,
complex and complicated. A country which had enjoyed political unity was dismembered.
Hence, all hearts were heavy when India was partitioned.

In fact vivisection of India could not bring peace both for its authors and the adherents of
disintegration of India on communal basis. One shudders at the very memory of the aftermath of
partition. The drama of barbarism and carnage played on the soil of vivisected India is
ineffaceable. The stains of blood which flowed profusely after the announcement of partition of
India, are not yet obliterated from both sides of the new frontiers. In the words of Azad, “The
14th of August was for the Muslims of Pakistan a day of rejoicing. For the Hindus and Sikhs it
was a day of mourning. This was the feeling not only of most people but of most important
leaders. “Fanatical ‘mullas’ preached hatred and bigoted Hindus did not lag behind in retaliation.

13
HISTORY

CONCLUSION
Mountbattens’ tall talk (at the time of advancing the date of independence from June 1948 to
August 1947) that there will be no bloodshed or riot, reflects his poor judgment and lack of
capacity to do the right thing at the right time. There was unprecedented blood bath of innocent
men and women on both sides of the borders. The Father of the Nation was no exception.
Sometimes later he too became the victim of a barbaric assault by a fanatic Hindu who did not
like him to safeguard Muslims’ interest by promptly parting with 55 crores of rupees legitimately
due to Pakistan. So a very heavy price was paid by both the communities for acceptance of
independence of India in truncated and dismembered form without opting for transfer of
population as well.

Moreover, the provision of independence of the Rulers of States if they so desired was also a
mischievous move which could pose a grave problem for the Indians. If these States had not
acceded to India and decided to remain independent, India would have been turned into a hydra-
headed monstrosity.

If would have remained a house divided against itself and its hard won freedom would have been
jeopardized by any clever invader in times to come. In fact, it was a vicious parting kick to a
country which had been tyrannically ruled and exploited by the British imperialists for over two
centuries. Many die-hard Conservatives like Churchill fondled a hope that Indian independence
would be a mere illusion and the British would be once again, requested to rule over India, torn
with strife’s and animosities, ravaged with civil war and anarchy. But to the utter dismay of the
Conservative politicians, the Indian leaders of Nehru, Patel and Azad caliber were equal to the
occasion. They could face the tempestuous times posing baffling eventualities with exemplary
courage and undaunted boldness and frustrate the wishful thinking of Conservative Imperialists.

14
HISTORY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 MP JAIN , The OUTLINES OF INDIAN LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY 7 th


edition

 Indian Independence Bill,1947

 "Indian Independence Act 1947 (c.30)" (PDF). Original Statute from The UK Statute
Law Database. Office of Public Sector Information, National Archives, UK.
Retrieved 2010-04-30.

 "Indian Independence Act 1947 (c.30)". Revised Statute from The UK Statute Law
Database. Office of Public Sector Information, National Archives, UK. Archived
from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-02.

 Menon, V.P (1957). Transfer of Power in India. Orient Blackswan.


p. 512.ISBN 9788125008842
 "20th-century international relations (politics) :: South Asia". Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved 2014-08-16.

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