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Indian Independence and Partition of India

The document discusses the events leading up to Indian independence and partition. It describes the failed Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 and the subsequent Mountbatten Plan of 1947 that ultimately led to independence and the partition of India and Pakistan. The key events were the Cabinet Mission to India in 1946 to facilitate power transfer, the communal violence and political disputes that ensued, and finally Lord Mountbatten's accelerated plan in 1947 that accepted the inevitability of partition along religious lines. This resulted in the Indian Independence Act of 1947 that officially established the two new dominions and implemented the partition.

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Independence and Partition of India
 Causes that led to the cabinet mission plan  Cabinet mission (date and members)  Clauses of cabinet mission  Reaction (INC and ML)  Mountbatten plan (date), 7 leaders  Clauses of Mountbatten plan  Acceptance reasons
Introduction  World War II ended in 1945, Indian Freedom Movement ended a new phase.  Memories of the suppression during the Quit India and unfortunate end of INA were still fresh.  Muslim League was in no mood to compromise and had demanded for Pakistan.  Wavell proposed some changes and also released the leaders arrested during the Quit India and proposed Wavell Plan.  But, it was opposed by Congress (as it didn’t promise total independence) and Muslim League (as it didn’t promise Pakistan)
Events that led to the Cabinet Plan 1. Changes in the Britain:  Government in Britain changed  Soldiers were tired after fighting the World War.  World War, had made economic and military powers of Britain weak.  Both the Power Blocs- USA and Soviet Union promoted Independence of India. 2. Revolts in the Administrative Agencies  Government could not depend on Indians for administration as they had the feeling of Nationalism entered in them.  There were strikes in the Navy and Royal Indian Air Force.  Police and Civil Service declared that its no longer safe
Events that led to the Cabinet Plan 3. Mood of the Indian People  Indians were in a confident and determined mood.  They were in no mood to tolerate any humiliation of British.  Everyone demanded Freedom. 4. Labour Unrest  All India strike of Postal and Telegraph strikes  Railway strikes  Paid Less or No tax  Struggle for land and against high rents.
Cabinet Mission in India  On Feb 19, 1946, Clement Attlee- the new British PM declared that Cabinet Mission would be sent to India to facilitate the process of transfer of power.  Cabinet Mission arrived in India in March 1946. It consisted of three cabinet members: a) Pethic Lawrence b) Sir Stafford Cripps c) A.V.Alexander
Clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan 1. Federal Union 2. Powers of the Union 3. Provincial Autonomy 4. Grouping of Provinces 5. Formation of Constituent Assembly 6. Representation of Minorities 7. Formation of an Interim Government 8. Freedom to join the Commonwealth 9. Transfer of Power
Clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan 1. Federal Union:  There would be a Federal Union of the British Provinces and Princely States.  Union Government should deal with Foreign Affairs, Defence, Communication & Finance. 2. Powers of the Union:  The Union would have its own Executive and Legislature. 3. Provincial Autonomy:  Provinces would enjoy full Autonomy except for the
Clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan 4. Grouping of Provinces: The British Provinces would be divided into groups. Group A: Six Hindu Majority Provinces like Madras, Bombay, Bihar, Orissa etc. Group B: Three Muslim Provinces- Punjab, NWFP (North West Frontier Province) and Sind. Group C: Bengal, Assam etc.
Clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan 5. Formation of Constituent Assembly:  389 Members would form the Constituent Assembly (296 Members of British Provinces and 93 from Princely States. 6. Representation of Minorities: Separate representation was to given to Muslims and Sikhs. 7. Formation of an Interim Government: An interim government at the Centre would be formed with 14 members. 8. Freedom to join the Commonwealth: India would have a choice to join or not to join The British Commonwealth.
5ClausesofCabinetMissionPlan Cabinet Mission Plan Federal Union Constituent Assembly Representation of Minorities, Interim Government Grouping of Provinces Freedom to Join Commonwealth 11
Reaction to the Cabinet Mission Plan  Reaction of Congress:  Congress accepted the plan but with some reservations.  It accepted that part of the plan that spoke about the Constituent Assembly and Constitution.  It proposed that Grouping of provinces should be made optional and not compulsory.  Congress rejected the formation of Interim Government because it gave parity (equality) to Muslim league at par with Congress. Reaction of Muslim League: Muslim League accepted the plan entirely as it saw Grouping of Muslim
Lord Mountbatten  Lord Wavell (who has proposed the failed- Cabinet Mission Plan) was recalled and Lord Mountbatten was appointed as new Viceroy in 1947.  His immediate task was to restore peace between INC and Muslim League.  He found that the task is difficult and decided to speed up the transfer of power without any delay.  He presented his plan- The Mountbatten Plan before the seven leaders- Nehru, Patel, Kripalani, Jinnah, Liaquat, Nishtar and Baldev Singh.  INC and Muslim league accepted the plan.  Plan was announced on June 3,1947.  Gandhi once again reminded not to go for Partition as it may cause harm to the country.
Lord Mountbatten Plan: Clauses 1. Partition: Country would be divided into two Dominions, India & Pakistan. 2. Relations between two new Dominions: Two dominions would decide what kind of relations they wish to keep with the British Commonwealth and with each other. 3. Boundary Commission: Boundary Commission would be setup and it would settle the boundaries of the two Dominions. 4. Princely States: All the treaties with the Princely States would come to an end. They would be free to join any Dominion or to remain Independent. 5. Bengal & Punjab: Partition of Bengal and Punjab was proposed, provided the Constituent Assemblies
6. Sindh: Sindh was given a choice to take its own decision, either to join India or Pakistan. 7. NWFP: North West Frontier Province was given a choice to take its own decision, either to join India or Pakistan. 8. District of Sylhet: The Muslim Majority was given a choice to take its own decision, either to remain in Assam or to join East Bengal. 9. Constituent Assembly: The existing Constituent Assembly would continue to work, but Pakistan would have its own Constituent Assembly and Pakistan would frame its own Constitution. 10. Transfer of Power: Transfer of Power would take place earlier i.e. on August 1947 instead of June 1948. British would pass an Act before the Transfer of Power on 15th August 1947.
Lord Mountbatten Plan: Acceptance  Public expressed mixed feelings.  Nationalists criticized partition.  INC has no other alternative so accepted the plan.  Muslim league wasn’t happy with the way Pakistan was divided but still accepted it.  Reasons of acceptance of the plan are as follows: 1. Large scale communal riots convinced all that Partition is the only solution. Sardar Patel said India would be divided into smaller Pakistans if we refuse the partition. 2. Muslim League had joined interim government. INC had realized that it cant work/jointly administer with Muslim League. 3. Leaders realized that if Partition was further delayed then India may head towards a Civil War.
Lord Mountbatten Plan: Acceptance 4. British were trying to suggest the rulers of Indian states to remain independent. And continuation of British rule would mean a greater calamity. So partition was the price for immediate independence. 5. A smaller India with a Stronger Central Authority was better than a Bigger India with Weaker Central Authority. There was no alternative. 6. Leaders felt that partition would keep away undemocratic procedures and constitution of separate electorates from India. And then India can evolve as a truly secular and democratic state.
The Indian Independence Act 1947  After the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan by all the Indian leaders then British PM introduced the Indian Independence Bill in the British Parliament and it was passed by both the British Houses on July 1, 1947.  The main Clauses/Provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947 were as follows: 1. Two New Dominions (Pakistan would include Sindh, British Baluchistan, NWFP, West Punjab and East Bengal. The remaining territories would be included in India.) Boundary Commission: exact boundary 2. Provisions of Partition: a) Bengal and Punjab would be divided if desired by its people. b) Through Plebiscite (Voting) people of NWFP and Sylhet would decide whether to join India or Pakistan. Later they joined West and East Pakistan)
The Indian Independence Act 1947: Clauses 3. Governor – General for Each Dominion 4. Separate Constituent Assemblies to serve as Central Legislatures. 5. End of Jurisdiction of the British Parliament: a. From 15th August 1947 control of British parliament would end. b. Emperor of India and King of England- titles would be dropped. c. Till separate new constitutions are framed country would be governed as per Act of 1935. d. Governor-General would have the powers to modify or adopt Government of India. e. Right of king to veto (refuse) laws would be given up.
The Indian Independence Act 1947: Clauses 6. Princely states would be free from all British treaties. Free to join either of the Dominions. 7. Treaties and Agreements with Govt. of India would lapse. 8. Division of Army and Assets 9. Bringing Act into Operation (Governor- General) 10. Office of Secretary of State and Interest of Existing Officers: Interest of the existing officers would be safeguarded. And the Office of Secretary of State would be abolished.