Which of these were main points of the Mountbatten Plan? I. Punjab and Bengal Legislative Assemblies would meet in two groups, Hindus and Muslims, to vote for Independence with Partition. II. Sindh would be part of Pakistan. III. NWFP will be part of Pakistan while Sylhet district of Bengal will be part of India. IV. In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created.
Which of these were main points of the Mountbatten Plan? I. Punjab and Bengal Legislative Assemblies would meet in two groups, Hindus and Muslims, to vote for Independence with Partition. II. Sindh would be part of Pakistan. III. NWFP will be part of Pakistan while Sylhet district of Bengal will be part of India. IV. In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created. Correct Answer Only I and IV
The correct answer is Only I and IV.
Key Points
- Lord Mountbatten came to India as the last Viceroy and was assigned the task of a speedy transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister Clement Atlee.
- In May 1947, Mountbatten came up with a plan under which he proposed that the provinces be declared independent successor states and then be allowed to choose whether to join the constituent assembly or not. This plan was called the 'Dickie Bird Plan'.
- Jawaharlal Nehru when apprised of the plan, vehemently opposed it saying it would lead to the Balkanisation of the country.
- The Viceroy came up with another plan called the June 3 Plan. This plan was the last plan for Indian independence. It is also called Mountbatten Plan.
- The June 3 Plan included the principles of partition, autonomy, sovereignty to both nations, right to make their own constitution.
- The Princely States such as Jammu and Kashmir were given a choice to either join India or Pakistan.
- This plan was accepted by both Congress and the Muslim league. By then, Congress had also accepted the inevitability of the partition.
- This plan was put into action by the Indian Independence Act 1947 which was passed in the British Parliament and received royal assent on 18 July 1947.
- The Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly would not be applicable to the Muslim majority areas. The question of a separate constituent assembly for the Muslim majority areas would be decided by these provinces.
- As per the plan, the legislative assemblies of Bengal and Punjab met and Voted for the partition. Accordingly, it was decided to partition these two provinces along religious lines.
- To fix the international boundaries between the two countries, the Boundary Commission was established chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The commission was to demarcate Bengal and Punjab into the two new countries.
- The princely states were given the choice to either remain independent or accede to Indian or Pakistan. The British suzerainty over these kingdoms was terminated.
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Feb 20, 2025