The Indian Independence Act 1947 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Clement Attlee, announced on 20 February 1947 that:
1. British Government would grant full self-government to British India by June 1948 at the latest,
2. The future of Princely States would be decided after the date of final transfer is decided.
The Act received the royal assent on 18 July 1947, and Pakistan came into being on August 14, and India on August 15, as two new countries.
The legislation was formulated by the government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee, after representatives of the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the Sikh community came to an agreement with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, on what has come to be known as the 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan.
3 June Plan was also known as the Mountbatten Plan. The British government proposed a plan announced on 3 June 1947 that included these principles:
1. Principle of Partition of India was accepted by the British Government
2. Successor governments would be given dominion status
3. Implicit right to secede from the British Commonwealth
The Indian Independence Act 1947 was the implementation of June 3 Plan.
The Act's most important provisions were:
• The dment of the office of Governor-General in each of the two new countries, as representative of the Crown;
• The conferral of complete legislative authority upon the respective Constituent Assemblies of the two new countries;
• The termination of British suzerainty over the princely states, with effect from 15 August 1947, and recognized the right of states to accede to either dominion
• The dropping of the use of the title "Emperor of India" by the British monarch (this was subsequently done by King George VI by royal proclamation on 22 June 1948).
The Act also made provision for the division of joint property, etc. between the two new countries, including in particular the division of the armed forces.
Salient Features of The Act
1. Two new dominions: Two new dominions were to emerge from the Indian Union, Pakistan and India.
2. Appointed Date: 15 August 1947 was declared as the appointed date for the partition.
3. Territories:
1. Pakistan: East Bengal, West Punjab, Sind, and Chief Commissioner’s Province of Baluchistan.
2. The fate of North West Frontier Province was subject to the result of the referendum.
3. Bengal & Assam:
1. The province of Bengal as constituted under the Government of India Act 1935 ceased to exist;
2. In lieu thereof, two new provinces were to be constituted, to be known respectively as East Bengal and West Bengal.
3. The fate of District Sylhet, in the province of Assam, was to be decided in a referendum.
4. Punjab:
1. The province as constituted under the Government of India Act 1935 ceased to exist;
2. Two new provinces were to be constituted, to be known respectively as West Punjab & East Punjab
4. The boundaries of the new provinces were to be determined by, whether before or after the appointed date, by the award of a boundary commission to be appointed by the Governor-General.
5. Constitution for the New Dominions: until the time of framing of the new constitution, the new dominions and the provinces thereof were to be governed by the Government of India Act 1935. (Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion.)
6. The Governors General of the new dominions:
1. For each of the new dominion, a new Governor General was to be appointed by the Crown, subject to the law of the legislature of either of the new dominions.
2. Same person as Governor General of both dominions: if unless and until provision to the contrary was made by a law of the legislature of either of the new dominions, the same person could be the Governor General of both.
7. Powers of Governor General: (Section-9)
1. The Governor General was empowered to bring this Act into force.
2. Division of territories, powers, duties, rights, assets, liabilities, etc., was the responsibility of Governor General
3. To adopt, amend, Government of India Act 1935, as the Governor-General may consider it necessary.
4. Power to introduce any change was until 31 March 1948, after that it was open to the constituent assembly to modify or adopt the same Act. (Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion.)
5. Governor General had full powers to give assent to any law.
8. Legislation for the new dominions:
1. The existing legislative setup was allowed to continue as Constitution making the body as well as a legislature. (Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion.)
2. The legislature of each dominion was given full powers to make laws for that dominion, including laws having extraterritorial operation.
3. No Act of Parliament of UK passed after the appointed date would be extended to the territories of new dominions.
4. No law and provision of any law made by the legislature of the new dominions shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to the law of England.
5. The Governor General of each dominion had full powers to give assent in His Majesty’s name to any law of the legislature. [Configuration of Pakistan’s Constitution Assembly (CAP I): 69 members of the central legislature + 10 immigrant members= 79]
9. Consequences of setting up of the new dominions:
1. His Majesty’s Government lost all the responsibility to the new dominions
2. The suzerainty of His Majesty’s Government over the Indian States lapsed.
3. All the treaties or agreements in force at the passing of the Act lapsed.
4. The title of “Emperor of India” was dropped from the titles of British Crown.
5. The office of Secretary of State for India was abolished and the provisions of GOI Act 1935 relating to the appointments to the civil service or civil posts under the crown by the secretary of the state ceased to operate
10. Civil servants: Section 10 provided for the continuance of service of the government servants appointed on or before 15 August 1947 by the Governments of new Dominions with full benefits.
11. Armed Forces: Sections 11, 12, & 13 dealt with the future of Indian Armed Forces. A Partition Committee was formed on 7 June 1947, with two representatives from each side and the viceroy in the chair, to decide about the division thereof. As soon as the process of partition was to start it was to be replaced by a Partition Council with a similar structure.
12. First and Second Schedules:
1. First Schedule listed the districts provisionally included in the new province of East Bengal:
1. Chittagong Division: Chittagong, Noakhali & Tippera.
2. Dacca Division: Bakarganj, Dacca, Faridpur, & Mymensingh.
3. Presidency Division: Jessor, Murshidabad & Nadia
4. Rajshahi Division: Bogra, Dinajpur, Malda, Rajshahi & Rangpur.
2. The second Schedule listed the districts provisionally included in the new province of West Punjab:
1. Lahore Division: Gujranwala, Gurdaspur, Lahore, Sheikhupura & Sialkot.
2. Rawalpindi Division: Attock, Gujrat, Jehlum, Rawalpindi & Shahpur.
3. Multan Division: Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Lyallpur, Montgomery, Multan & Muzaffargarh
On 4 June 1947, Mountbatten held a press conference in which he addressed the question of the princely states, of which there was then a total of 562. The treaty relations between Britain and the Indian States would come to an end, and on 15 August 1947, the suzerainty of the British Crown was to lapse. Consequently, the princely states would assume independent status. They would be free to choose to accede to one or the other of the new dominions. In the event, the rulers of ten states signed an instrument of accession to join Pakistan: Bahawalpur, Khairpur, Kalat, Kharan, Lasbela, Makran, Amb, Chitral, Dir, Phulra, and Swat.
Dominion of India
Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy, was asked by the Indian leaders to continue as the Governor-General of India. Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the Home Minister. Over 547 princely states acceded to India. The state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was expected to accede to Pakistan on account of its 77% Muslim majority and its cultural and commercial links to West Punjab (Pakistan), but whose Hindu ruler chose to accede to India, became a disputed territory. The states of Junagadh and Hyderabad, with majority Hindu populations but with Muslim rulers, were annexed to India after military actions by Indian Army soon after Lord Mountbatten left India in 1948.
Dominion of Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the Governor-General of Pakistan, and Liaquat Ali Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
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