Indian Independence Act, 1947

At a Glance

• What it is The British law that ended British rule in India and created the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan
• Royal Assent 18 July 1947
• In force 15 August 1947
• Based on The Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947
• Dominions India and Pakistan, each with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth
• Interim law The Government of India Act, 1935 governed each dominion until its new Constitution
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Historical Background

Where Does It Fit in British Rule?

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 is the last of the Acts of the Crown Rule (1858-1947). It ended that rule. After it, the story of the Constitution moves from British Acts to the work of the Constituent Assembly.

Why Was the Act Passed?

• Attlee’s declaration: On 20 February 1947, the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, declared that British rule in India would end by 30 June 1948, after which power would be transferred to responsible Indian hands.
• Demand for partition: This announcement was followed by an agitation by the Muslim League demanding the partition of the country.
• The statement of 3 June 1947: The British Government made it clear that any Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly of India, formed in 1946, could not apply to those parts of the country which were unwilling to accept it.
• The Mountbatten Plan: On the same day, Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India, put forward the partition plan, known as the Mountbatten Plan. The Congress and the Muslim League accepted it. The plan was given immediate effect by the Indian Independence Act of 1947.

Timeline

• 1946 The Constituent Assembly is formed; the Interim Government takes office
• 20 February 1947 Attlee’s declaration
• 3 June 1947 The Mountbatten Plan
• 4 July 1947 The Indian Independence Bill is introduced in the British Parliament
• 18 July 1947 The Bill receives Royal Assent
• 14-15 August 1947 At midnight British rule ends and power passes to the two dominions

What Did the Indian Independence Act, 1947 Provide?

Independence and partition

• It ended British rule in India and declared India an independent state from 15 August 1947.
• It provided for the partition of India and the creation of two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.

The Governor-General and the Crown

• It abolished the office of Viceroy and provided a Governor-General for each dominion, appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet. His Majesty’s Government in Britain was to have no responsibility for the Government of India or Pakistan.
• It took away the British Monarch’s right to veto bills or to ask for the reservation of certain bills for his approval. This right was kept for the Governor-General, who had full power to assent to any bill in the name of His Majesty.
• It made the Governor-General of India and the provincial governors constitutional (nominal) heads, who had to act on the advice of the council of ministers in all matters.
• It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the King of England.

The Constituent Assemblies

• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their nations, and to repeal any Act of the British Parliament, including the Independence Act itself.
• It empowered the Assemblies to make laws for their territories until the new constitutions were drafted and enforced. No Act of the British Parliament passed after 15 August 1947 was to extend to either dominion unless the dominion’s legislature extended it.

Governance in the meantime

The Act provided that each dominion and its provinces would be governed by the Government of India Act of 1935 until the new constitutions were framed. The dominions could, however, make modifications in that Act.

Secretary of State and civil services

• It abolished the office of the Secretary of State for India and transferred his functions to the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs.
• It discontinued appointments to the civil services and the reservation of posts by the Secretary of State for India. Members of the civil services appointed before 15 August 1947 kept all the benefits they were entitled to.

Princely states

The Act proclaimed the lapse of British paramountcy over the Indian princely states, and of treaty relations with tribal areas, from 15 August 1947. It gave the princely states the freedom to join the Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan, or to remain independent.

What Happened at Midnight on 14-15 August 1947?

At the stroke of midnight, British rule came to an end, and power passed to the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten became the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India, and he swore in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India. The Constituent Assembly of India, formed in 1946, became the Parliament of the Indian Dominion.

The boundaries between the two dominions were fixed by a Boundary Commission headed by Radcliffe. Pakistan included the provinces of West Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, East Bengal and the North-Western Frontier Province, and the district of Sylhet in Assam. The referendum in the North-Western Frontier Province and in Sylhet was in favour of Pakistan.

Who Was in the First Cabinet of Independent India?

Why Is the Act Important?

• End of British rule: It ended British rule in India and made India an independent state from 15 August 1947.
• Two dominions: It created the independent dominions of India and Pakistan.
• Sovereign Constituent Assembly: It empowered the Constituent Assemblies to frame any constitution and to repeal British Acts, including the Independence Act itself.
• Self-government in practice: The Governor-General and the provincial governors became constitutional heads acting on ministers’ advice, and Britain had no responsibility for the governments of India and Pakistan.

What Did It Leave to Be Done?

• A Constitution: India was to be governed by the Government of India Act of 1935, with modifications, until the new Constitution was framed.
• The princely states: They were free to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent.
• The effects of partition: The drawing of the boundary between the two dominions led to large migrations and communal violence.

What Changed on 15 August 1947?

What Came Next?

The Constituent Assembly, formed in 1946, went on to frame the Constitution. With the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 were repealed.

Key People and Terms

• Clement Attlee The British Prime Minister who declared on 20 February 1947 that British rule would end by 30 June 1948
• Lord Mountbatten The last Viceroy; the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India; author of the Mountbatten Plan
• Mountbatten Plan The partition plan of 3 June 1947, accepted by the Congress and the Muslim League
• Dominion A self-governing state within the British Commonwealth, as India and Pakistan were at first
• Paramountcy British supremacy over the princely states, which lapsed on 15 August 1947
• Radcliffe The head of the Boundary Commission that fixed the boundary between the dominions
• Jawaharlal Nehru The first Prime Minister of independent India

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 is the legal bridge between British rule and the Constitution. Use these points to add depth.

• How it came about: Attlee’s declaration of 20 February 1947, the Muslim League’s agitation for partition, and the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947, which the Congress and the Muslim League accepted, led to the Act.
• Sovereignty passes to the Assemblies: The Act empowered the Constituent Assemblies to frame any constitution and to repeal British Acts. No British Act passed after 15 August 1947 applied to the dominions unless their legislatures extended it.
• The Crown becomes a symbol: The Monarch lost the veto, the Governor-General and provincial governors became constitutional heads acting on ministers’ advice, and Britain had no responsibility for the governments of India and Pakistan.
• The princely states’ choice: British paramountcy lapsed, and the states were free to join either dominion or to remain independent.
• An interim constitution: The Government of India Act of 1935 continued, with modifications, until the new Constitution came into force, and then both Acts were repealed.