Nandini Maharaj is teaching live on Unacademy Plus
INDEPENDENCE AND PARTITION BY NANDINI MAHARAJ
ABOUT ME BA (Hons.) in History from Lady Shri Ram MA in Applied Human Rights from Sheffield Hallam University Love to teach, read and dance
CONTENTS .COMMUNAL HOLOCAUST INTERIM GOVERNMENT OBSTRUCTION BY THE LEAGUE ATTLEE'S STATEMENT MOUNTBATTEN PLAN PARTITION INDEPENDENCE PYQ PRIE
COMMUNAL HOLOCAUST . It began after the call for direct action on 16th August 1946 . The communal riots began on an unprecedented scale. . The worst affected areas were Calcutta, Bombay, Noakhali, Bihar and Garhmukteshwar in UP. The estimates of lives lost vary between a few thousand to 2 million.
INTERIM GOVERNMENT . The Congress dominated Interim government was sworn in on 2nd September, 1946 The interim government worked like the Viceroy's Executive Council Wavell brought the League into it on 26th October. The League was allowed to join without giving up direct action, or its rejection of the Cabinet Plan, or relenting on its stance on compulsory grouping.
INTERIM GOVERNMENT The League did not attend any Constituent assembly session. Therefore, in the first session, the Assembly could only pass an objectives resolution (drafted by Nehru) The resolution defined the aims of the assembly and expressed fundamental commitments to equality, liberty, n identity.
INTERIM GOVERNMENT The League did not attend any of the informal meetings to take decisions. In February 1947, nine Congress members of the cabinet wrote to the Viceroy demanding the resignation of the League, threatening to withdraw their nominees otherwise . The League then demanded the dissolution the Constituent Assembly. . Another impasse was reached.
ATTLEE'S STATEMENT .Clement Attlee, the British PM declared the following on Feb 20: Deadline of June 30, 1948 for the transfer of power . The British would relinquish power to a central government, or to provincial governments if the Constituent Assembly at the Centre was not representative (ie didn't include the Muslim majority provinces) The British authority over the princely states would lapse, but these would not be transferred to any successor government in British India. He also stated that Mountbatten would replace Wavell as the Viceroy. .
MOUNTBATTEN'S PLAN Mountbatten was informally given more powers to take decisions to facilitate the British exist at the fastest. The Cabinet Plan was definitely not an option anymore .The communal riots continued, and so did the Congress-League impasse . The Hindu and Sikh groups in Bengal and Punjab began demanding partition, as they did not want to be included in a compulsory grouping of Muslim majority areas. . On April 1947, the Congress President Kriplani communicated to the Viceroy that the Congress was ready to consider a fair partition
MOUNTBATTEN'S PLAN Mountbatten suggested a freedom-with-partition formula, simplified by the immediate grant of dominion status with a right of secession. This negated the need to wait for the Constituent Assembly on a new political structure. . He proposed that the Punjab and Benga legislative assemblies would meet in two groups, hindus and Muslims to vote for partition by a simple majority. would meetin two groups, hindus and Muslims to ate for would meetin wo groups, hindus and Muslims to vote for . In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created. . Sindh would take its own decision
PYQ The Radcliffe committee was appointed to: (a) solve the problem of minorities in India solve the problem of (b)Give effect to the independence bill (c) Delimit the boundaries between India and Pakistan (d)Enquire into the riots of East Bengal