Mountbatten Plan, Partition and Independence (1947)

Lord Mountbatten's plan of 3 June 1947 partitioned India, and the Indian Independence Act 1947 created the two dominions of India and Pakistan on 14 to 15 August 1947.

Attlee's announcement and Mountbatten

• On 20 February 1947 Prime Minister Clement Attlee declared that the British would leave India by June 1948, and Mountbatten was named Viceroy to replace Wavell. He arrived on 22 March and took office on 24 March 1947. The date of transfer was later advanced to 15 August 1947.

The Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947)

• India would be partitioned into India and Pakistan.
• The Legislative Assemblies of Punjab and Bengal would vote on partition. A referendum would be held in NWFP and in Sylhet (Assam).
• Princely states were free to join either dominion (or remain, in effect, not independent), as paramountcy lapsed.
• A Boundary Commission would draw the lines.
• The Congress (CWC) and League accepted the plan. Gandhi opposed partition, but he did not stop the Congress's decision.

Indian Independence Act, 1947

• Passed on 18 July 1947. Created two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, from 15 August 1947.
• The Constituent Assembly of each dominion became its legislature. The Crown's suzerainty over princely states ended. The Secretary of State for India was abolished. Each dominion was free to leave the Commonwealth. The 1935 Act continued as the interim constitution.

Radcliffe Award and Partition

• Cyril Radcliffe chaired both Boundary Commissions (Punjab and Bengal). The awards were announced on 17 August 1947, after the independence day.
• Partition caused one of the largest migrations in history (over 10 million people) and huge violence, with estimates of deaths ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million.

Independence

• Pakistan became a dominion on 14 August 1947 (Jinnah the first Governor-General). India became free at midnight on 14 to 15 August 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru gave the "Tryst with Destiny" speech in the Constituent Assembly. Mountbatten was India's first Governor-General, and C. Rajagopalachari the last. Gandhi was in Calcutta, fasting and working for peace.