Mountbatten Plan

Lord Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India. He released a plan known as the Indian Independence Act 1947 on June 3, 1947. He was selected as the final viceroy of India to set a pace to the procedure of the handing of the power by the British prime minister of that time, Clement Atlee. According to this act, the parliament of the united kingdom divided British India into India and Pakistan. On July 18, 1947, the act was given the royal agreement and Pakistan (consisting of today’s Bangladesh) and India (consisting of today’s India) came into action on 15th August of the year 1947. The leaders of the Indian national congress, the Sikh community, and the Muslim League agreed with lord Mountbatten on his plan named 3 June plan. 

3 JUNE PLAN BY LORD MOUNTBATTEN- 

Mountbatten plan is the second name of the 3 June plan. It was announced on June 3 of the year 1947. The principles of the 3 June plan were-

• Opinion of the partition of India was recognized by the government of Britain.
• The governments that were to be formed would be provided dominion status. 
• Both countries would get sovereignty and autonomy. 
• Both the countries had the right to make their constitutions. 
• The princely states were provided with the choice of joining either India or Pakistan on the pretext of geographical status and the people’s choice.

PROVISIONS OF THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT 1947

The major provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947 are-

• Partition of India into the dominion of India and dominion of Pakistan.
• Division of Punjab and Bengal between the newly formed countries of India and Pakistan. 
• A governor-general will be appointed in India and Pakistan each. He would represent the Crown. 
• Assignment of total legislative powers to the constituent assemblies of India and Pakistan.
• Revoking British control from the princely states. They had the choice to join either of the two new countries. 
• “emperor of India” title was abolished and was not to be used by the British ruler. 
• There were also provisions for the partition of the joint properties, etc, among the two newly formed countries of India and Pakistan, particularly the division of equipped forces. 

FEATURES OF THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT 1947-

1. Two newly formed dominion states were to take birth from the Indian territory. These were Pakistan and India. 
2. 15 August 1947 was set to be the day when the partition was to come into force.
3. East Bengal, Sindh, West Punjab, and the province of Balochistan were the territories to be included in Pakistan. 
4. The destiny of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the district of Sylhet was imperiled by the consequence of the vote. 
5. The jurisdiction of Bengal and Punjab as established under the Indian government act 1935 stopped to exist. 
6. West Punjab and East Punjab were established. 
7. The borders of the new dominions were to be determined by the boundary commission that was to be selected by the governor-general. 
8. Constitution for India and Pakistan were to be made and they were to be ruled by the government of India act 1935 till then.
9. Civil servants were to be selected on or before 15 august 1947.

FATE OF THE PRINCELY STATES-

There were a total of five hundred and sixty-five princely states in India. The treaty connections between the Indian provinces and Britain were to cease on August 15, 1947. The states were free to join either India or Pakistan. 

THE PRINCELY STATES OF INDIA-

Around five hundred and sixty states joined India by august 15 except Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagadh. Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu king and he remained initially independent. He joined India on October 26, 1947, after a tribal attack from Pakistan and the state became the cause of dispute between India and Pakistan. 

Junagadh requested India on November 8, 1947, to look after its administration after it faced opposition from its citizens. By the voting conducted on February 20, 1948, people decided to accept Junagadh to become an integral part of India.

Hyderabad had a majority of Hindus but was ruled by a Muslim. He faced serious turmoil and religious violence due to which it became a part of India on 13 September 1948 by signing the Instrument of Accession. 

THE PRINCELY STATE OF PAKISTAN-

Many states with Muslims as their majority joined Pakistan. These consisted of Bahawalpur, amb, dir, Kalat, Karan, Khairpur, las Bela, and swat. 

WHY 15TH AUGUST 1947 WAS SELECTED TO BE THE INDEPENDENCE DAY OF INDIA?

Lord Mountbatten was ordered to hand over power to India by 30th June 1948. He shifted it to august 1947 to avoid bloodshed and riot to some extent. Based on his effort, the Indian Independence Bill was presented in the British House of Commons on 4th July 1947. It was passed in a fortnight and the British rule on India came to an end on 15th august 1947. 

KHAN ABDUL GAFFAR KHAN-

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was born on February 6, 1890, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was a Pashtun liberty fighter and was given the title of Fakhr-e-Afghan. He was a spiritual and political leader famous for his nonaggressive opposition and lifetime pacifism. He was a sincere Muslim and a strong supporter of unity between Muslims and Hindus. 

He was also known as Sarhadi Gandhi due to his strong friendship with Mahatma Gandhi. He created the Khudai Khidmatgar movement in 1929 which became quite popular with the people of India. The foreign government turned people against Khan’s supporters and khan which resulted in repression during the Indian Independence Act 1947. 

Khan Abdul Ghaffar khan opposed the partition of India and supported the All-India Azad Muslim Conference and congress. He was hurt when Congress accepted the partition and along with Khudai Khidmatgar leaders, he proposed the Bannu Resolution in front of the British govt. in that, he demanded a separate state for Pashtuns to be called Pashtunistan. On refusal, he along with his brother refused to join the 1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum. 

He later joined Pakistan. 

CONCLUSION-

Lord Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India. He released a plan known as the Indian Independence Act 1947 on June 3, 1947. This is a British Act of Parliament that divided British India into two newly independent countries, India and Pakistan.

On July 18, 1947, the Act was signed by the King, dividing India and Pakistan. At the time, Pakistan was separated into two parts: the western territory, which is now Pakistan, and the eastern section, which is now Bangladesh.

On June 3, 1947, leaders from the Indian National Congress (INC), the Muslim League, and the Sikh Community concurred on the terms that became known as the Mountbatten Plan. This was India’s final strategy for independence.