Mountbatten Plan and Partition of India

The Mountbatten Plan, announced on June 3, 1947, provided the final political and administrative framework for the partition of British India and the transfer of power into two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. Formulated by the last Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the plan replaced the Cabinet Mission Plan after the collapse of talks between the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League. The proposal drastically accelerated the British departure timeline, moving the date of power transfer from June 30, 1948, to August 15, 1947, and establishing the procedure for dividing the provinces of Punjab and Bengal based on religious majorities.

Background and Genesis

The failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan and the outbreak of widespread communal violence in late 1946 forced the British government to reconsider its exit strategy.

• British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced on February 20, 1947, that the British government would transfer power to Indian hands no later than June 30, 1948.
• Lord Mountbatten replaced Lord Wavell as Viceroy of India on March 24, 1947, with a specific mandate to oversee the British withdrawal.
• Upon assessing the political breakdown, Mountbatten initially drafted the “Dickie Bird Plan” (Plan Balkan), which proposed handing power over to individual provinces, but Jawaharlal Nehru rejected it due to the risk of Balkanizing India.
• Mountbatten then prepared a revised scheme, known as the June 3 Plan or the Mountbatten Plan, which received approval from the British Cabinet and major Indian political leaders.

Key Provisions of the June 3 Plan

The plan outlined a clear procedure for partition, the creation of two separate constituent assemblies, and the political future of the Princely States.

Partition of Bengal and Punjab

• The Legislative Assemblies of Bengal and Punjab met in two sections: one representing Muslim-majority districts and the other non-Muslim-majority districts.
• If either section voted by a simple majority in favor of partitioning the province, the province would be divided between India and Pakistan.
• Boundary Commissions headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe were created to demarcate the precise international borders for both divided provinces.

Referendums and Legislative Votes

• A plebiscite was ordered in the Sylhet district of Assam to decide whether it would remain in Assam (India) or join East Bengal (Pakistan).
• A referendum was scheduled in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to choose between India and Pakistan, despite opposition from Congress leaders in the region.
• The Legislative Assembly of Sindh voted on whether to join the existing Constituent Assembly or a new one.
• Baluchistan’s representative body, consisting of the Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality, was tasked with deciding its political future.

Status of Princely States

• British paramountcy over the 565 Princely States lapsed upon the transfer of power.
• The plan explicitly denied Princely States the option to declare independence as separate sovereign dominions.
• Rulers were advised to accede to either the Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan based on geographic contiguity and demographic factors.

Legislative Implementation: Indian Independence Act 1947

To give legal effect to the Mountbatten Plan, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947.

Execution and Outcomes

The implementation of the plan led to immediate administrative divisions, boundary decisions, and mass population transfers.

• The Sindh Assembly voted to join Pakistan, while the referendum in Sylhet resulted in its merger with East Bengal.
• The NWFP referendum favored Pakistan, as the Khudai Khidmatgars led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan boycotted the vote over the denial of an option for an independent Pashtunistan.
• The Radcliffe Award was completed on August 12, 1947, but was held back from public release until August 17, 1947, to prevent administrative disruption during Independence Day celebrations.
• The sudden redrawing of borders triggered mass migrations involving an estimated 14 million people and sparked severe communal violence across Punjab and Bengal.

Facts and Trivia

• Lord Mountbatten advanced the date of independence to August 15, 1947, because it marked the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
• Sir Cyril Radcliffe had never visited India prior to his appointment as Chairman of the Joint Boundary Commissions and was given only five weeks to complete the boundary demarcation.
• V.P. Menon, the Reforms Commissioner to the Viceroy, played a central role in drafting the technical details of the June 3 Plan.
• Mahatma Gandhi referred to partition as a spiritual tragedy, while the Congress Working Committee formally accepted the plan on June 15, 1947, to stop further communal bloodshed.
• The partition left the district of Murshidabad initially marked for Pakistan and the Chittagong Hill Tracts awarded to East Pakistan despite a 97% non-Muslim population.