By March, 1947, the situation in India had taken a turn for the worst. British authority had almost evaporated. The interim government was virtually defunct because the pro-Indian and pro-Pakistan members of the Executive Council could not cooperate in the matter of governance of the country even as a short-term measure. The observance of Direct Action Day on June 29, 1946 by the Muslim League had started a trail of blood in the country. Hindu-Muslim riots took the form of open group fights between the two communities, particularly in Pubjab. In other areas, the Hindus and the Sikhs were always at the receiving end. The European officers in the service of the undivided Government of india felt demoralised and became apathetic. The British Government recalled Lord Wavell, and sent Lord Mountbatten, a celebrated Admiral of the World War II fame and a close relative of the Kind of England as the Viceroy with the mandate to arrange the transfer of power to Indian hands. Lord Mountbatten arrived in India in March 1947 and immediately started consultations with the Congress and Muslim League leaders. With a couple of months, he came to the conclusion that any compromise between the Congress and the Muslim League leaders on the basis of United India was impossible. He, therefore, sought the agreement of both the parties on the proposal of partition of the country. He soon found that there was a certain measure of agreement between the two parties on the question of partition. Having made up his mind on partition, in May 1947, he went to England to hold consultations with the British Government. On his return to India, he announced his plan on June 3, 1947 to partition India into two dominions-- India and Pakistan. The scheme announced by him on that day is popularly known as the Mountbatten Plan after his name which had the approval of both the contenders--the Congress leadership and the Muslim League led by Mr. Jinnah.
(1) The Congress accepted the principle of self-determination for those parts of India which did not want to remain within the Indian Union, subject to the condition that a similar right was given to those parts of the breakaway provinces which desired to remain in the Indian Union. In practical terms it meant partition of Pubjab and Bengal, while Sind, North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan had a right to make their own choice. In the Punjab and Bengal, the representatives of the Muslim and non-Muslim-majority Districts of their respective legislative assemblies were given the right to decide separately whether they wanted to join India or Pakistan. In the case of NWFP and the Muslim majority District of Sylhet in Assam, this was left to be decided by a referendum by an adult suffrage.
(2) Independent Boundary Commission was appointed to decide the boundaries of the divided provinces of Bengal and Punjab. It comprised two judges each from each of the two dominions and was headed by Sir Cyrill Radcliffe, an English lawyer.
(3) Assets and liabilities of undivided India were also to be divided between the two dominions.
(4) The two States were to be given the dominion status to start with. They were given the right to withdraw from the British Commonwealth at their will.
(5) The earlier decision to transfer power in June 1948 was changed. It was now decided to effect the transfer of power at once. Accordingly the date was fixed as Aug. 15, 1947.
Partition of the Country
On June 3, 1947, while recommending the proposal of partition to the people affected, Jawaharlal Nehru said : “ For generations, we have dreamt and struggled for a free, independent and undivided India. The proposal to allow certain parts to secede from the Indian union is painful for any of us to contemplate. Nevertheless, I am convinced that our present decision is the right one. From this it appears that the Congress had to accept the partition as a necessary evil.
Historians have expressed different opinions regarding the consequences of the partition. Prof. Percival Spear says that it was inevitable and proved advantageous to India in the long-run. He said that “if there had been no partition of India, the Hindu-Muslim riots would have continued unabated. In that event, industrial development of India could not have been built”.
Many other scholars have supported this view. Dr. Lal Bahadul feels that the history of the Congress makes it clear that in the absence of partition, the Muslims would have enjoyed more privileges than were their legitimate due. The Unity of the country could be safeguarded only when instead of appeasing the Muslims, a policy of equal treatment to all could be pursued. The Congress could not pursue such a policy in partnership with the Muslim League. He said : “ It was choosing between two evils – Muslim domination over the country or vivisection of Mother India and in accepting the latter position, perhaps a lesser evil was chosen.”
But many others are of the view that it created more problems for India, particularly concerning defence and foreign affairs. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in his book, “India Wins Freedom” has tried to attribute the partition to the excessively cordial relations which had developed between the Nehru and the Mountbatten families. Summing up, it is felt that even if partition could have been averted in 1947, it would have taken place later under different conditions. Communal aspirations of both – the Hindus and the Muslims – could not find a self expression in a United India, with a divided legislature and a divided leadership.
Passage of the Indian Independence Act
After the Mountbatten Plan had been accepted by all concerned, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, in July 1947.
Provisions of the Act : (1) Under this Act, two independent Dominions were created with effect from Aug. 15, 1947. Complete control was transferred to Indian (and Pakistani) hands from that date.
(2) Indian Dominion got Bombay, Madras, UP, CP, Bihar, Eastern Punjab, West Bengal, (Minus the Muslim majority area of Sylhet), Delhi, Ajmer, Merwara and Coorg. Pakistan got the remaining territories of undivided British India. To demarcate the boundary between the two dominions in the provinces of Punjab and Bengal, the boundary line drawn by him is known as Radcliffe Line.
(3) The power in each of the two dominions was transferred to their respective Constituent Assemblies, which became fully sovereign bodies on Aug. 15, 1947.
(4) From Aug. 15, 1947, the Governor-General of each of the Dominions was to be appointed on the advice of the respective Dominion Cabinet. The Congress thus appointed Lord Mountbatten the first Governor-General of India, while the Muslim League appointed Mohd. Ali Jinnah as the first Governor General of Pakistan.
(5) Until the framing of the Constitutions of the two dominions, the Government of India Act of 1935 was to regulate the governance with suitable modifications. The Governors in the provinces became purely constitutional heads of the provinces. The Governors were also to be nominated by the Cabinet of the Dominion concerned.
(6) The provisions of the statute of Westminster were made applicable to both the Dominions. The office of the Secretary of State for India and the India office were abolished.
(7) During the transitional period, the respective Constituent Assemblises became the Dominion Parliaments.
(8) British paramountcy over Indian native states lapsed. The states were given the freedom to join either of the two dominions or even to remain independent.
With the coming into force of the Indian Independence Act, India and Pakistan emerged as independent nations.
The independence of India from the iron rule of the British government was one of the greatest events in modern history. Independence of India opened the floodgates of independence of countries in the continents of Asia and Africa and within a few years, almost all the colonies of the Western powers in these continents became independent, sometimes even without asking for it. In a way independence of India marked the end of the era of colonialism and imperialism in the world. It was for the first time in history that such a huge territory with such a big population had achieved independence, though the reasons for such an occurrence are traced to the destruction of British Military and economic power during the World War II. However, the wily English made a virtue of necessity and abdicated the power gracefully. The other circumstances which made the independence of the country at that particular point of history possible are the following:
(1) Work Done by the INC : The work done by the Congress in bringing about a political awakening among the Indian masses played a significant role in the transfer of power. In the last phase, World War II, Quit India Movement, INA trial, Naval Mutiny and the general discontent intensified the spirit of nationalism. After the end of the War, the cry on every body's tongue was, "Now or Never".
(2) The Sword Wielding Hand of Britain had Become Paralysed : As already stated, war had weakened British government so much that it could no more wield any effective power abroad.
(3) Progressive Movements : Second World War had awakened the whole of Asia. The Asian people everywhere rose against the western colonial powers. Progressive Movements started in most of the Asian countries. Among all the under-developed countries in the region, India was the most developed one and, therefore, was the first to become independent.
(4) Loyalty of the Indian Army Became Suspect : In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the British had conquered India bit by bit with the Indian soldiers, who were paid out the Indian revenues and remained loyal to the British government because of the salt they ate. Now people realised that they were being exploited and that the salt that they ate was not the English salt but the Indian salt, which came from the Indian tax-payers. The stories of the adventures of the INA and the revolt of the Indian Naval Ratings at various places made the loyalty of the Indian troops suspect in the eyes of the British rulers. They now realised that they could no more rely on the blind loyalty of the Indian soldiers, particularly when it came to controlling the Indian masses by use of force. They, therefore, thought it fit to leave gracefully before they were kicked out.
(5) Rise of Labour Party to Power in England : After the war, Labour Party, led by Clement Atlee came to power in England. The absolute majority which Labour enjoyed in England, brought Indian independence nearer. Even Churchill now did not seriously oppose the Labour action in accelerating the pace of transfer of power to Indian hands. Perhaps he had also realised that the time of the British power was up.
(6) Keeping India in Bondage had ceased to be Profitable : During War time, India had made remarkable progress in industrialisation and modernisation. Therefore, after the end of the war, India ceased to be very profitable market for the British goods. The English therefore soon realised that it would be more profitable to have a friendly independent India rather than have a hostile slave India. This prompted the British statesmen to speed up the process of Independence of the country.
(7) Compromise on Pakistan : In the past, progress of institutional reforms had always been hampered by the differences between the Congress and the Muslim League leaders. This time, both the parties suddenly came to agree on parting ways once and for all. Now English had no excuse to stay on in the sub-continent. No Indian leader liked the idea of partition, but they found that it was inevitable. They, therefore, accepted it as a lesser evil. Jinnah also realised that there was a limit to which he could dictate terms. He, therefore, reluctantly agreed to have mutilated, moth eaten and truncated Pakistan. But for this compromise over Pakistan between the Congress and the Muslim League, the process of independence would certainly have been somewhat delayed.
Advent of Independence :
Finally the crucial day arrived. On Aug. 14, 1947, Pakistani leaders and Lord Mountbatten flew to Karachi and inaugurated the separate Independent state of Pakistan on the other side of the Padcliffe Line, and installed Mohd. Ali Jinnah as its Governor-General. Liaqat Ali Khan became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. At midnight on August 15, a special session of the Constituent Assembly was held in New Delhi where Jawaharlal Nehru, delivered his famous speech and India had its tryst with destiny. In the morning the Tricolour was hoisted on the Red Fort to proclaim to the world that India was a free nation, no more subservient to any foreign power. But it was a blood-stained freedom. Lakhs of people were killed on both sides of the Radcliffe Line and crores of people had to leave their hearths and homes to seek a shelter in their newly independent and divided homelands, because they had become foreigners in their own homes and were left with only two alternatives "to face inhuman man-slaughter or to flee".
