Indian Independence Act 1947 - wikipedia Indian Independence Act 1947 Indian Independence Act 1947 Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title An Act to make provision for the setting up in India of two independent Dominion states, to substitute other provisions for certain provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, which apply outside those Dominions, and to provide for other matters consequential on or connected with the setting up of those Dominions. Citation 1947 c. 30 ( 10 & 11. Geo. 6. ) Dates Royal assent 18 July 1947 Status : Spent The Indian Independence Act 1947 ( 1947 c. 30 ( 10 & 11. Geo. 6. ) ) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received the royal assent on 18 July 1947, and Pakistan came into being on 14 August and India came into being on 15 August. The legislation was formulated by the government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee and the Governor General of India Lord Mountbatten, after representatives of the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the Sikh community came to an agreement with Lord Mountbatten on what has come to be known as the 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan. This plan was the last plan for independence. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Attlee 's announcement 1.2 Future of the Princely States 1.3 3 June Plan 2 Provisions 3 Salient features 4 Partition 5 Princely states 5.1 India 5.2 Pakistan 6 Repeal 7 See also 8 Notes 9 External links Background Attlee 's announcement The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announced on 20 February 1947 that : the British Government would grant full self - government to British India by June 1948 at the latest, The future of the Princely States would be decided after the date of final transfer is decided. Future of the princely States Attlee wrote to Mountbatten on 18 March 1947 : `` It is, of course, important that the Indian States should adjust their relations with the authorities to whom it is intended to hand over power in British India ; but as was explicitly stated by the Cabinet Mission His Majesty 's Government do not intend to hand over their powers and obligations under paramountcy to any successor Government. It is not intended to bring paramountcy as a system to a conclusion earlier than the date of the final transfer of power, but you are authorised, at such time as you think appropriate, to enter into negotiations with individual States for adjusting their relations with the Crown. '' 3 June plan This was also known as the Mountbatten Plan. The British government proposed a plan announced on 3 June 1947 that included these principles : Principle of the Partition of British India was accepted by the British Government Successor governments would be given dominion status Provisions The Act 's most important provisions were : division of British India into the two new and fully sovereign dominions of India and Pakistan, with effect from 15 August 1947 ; partition of the provinces of Bengal and Punjab between the two new countries ; establishment of the office of Governor - General in each of the two new countries, as representatives of the Crown ; conferral of complete legislative authority upon the respective Constituent Assemblies of the two new countries ; termination of British suzerainty over the princely states, with effect from 15 August 1947, and recognised the right of states to remain independent or accede to either dominion abolition of the use of the title `` Emperor of India '' by the British monarch ( this was subsequently executed by King George VI by royal proclamation on 22 June 1948 ). The Act also made provision for the division of joint property, etc. between the two new countries, including in particular the division of the armed forces. Salient features Two new dominion states : Two new dominions were to emerge from the Indian Empire, Pakistan and India. The Dominion of India may be regarded as an expression of the desire for self - government of the all people in India, and the Dominion of Pakistan as the expression of the demand for self - government by the Muslims. Appointed Date : 15 August 1947 was declared as the appointed date for the partition. Territories : Pakistan : East Bengal, West Punjab, Sind, and Chief Commissioner 's Province of Baluchistan. The fate of North West Frontier Province ( now Pakhtunkhwa ) was subject to the result of referendum. Bengal & Assam : The province of Bengal as constituted under the Government of India Act 1935 ceased to exist ; In lieu thereof two new provinces were to be constituted, to be known respectively as East Bengal and West Bengal. The fate of District Sylhet, in the province of Assam, was to be decided in a referendum. Punjab : The province as constituted under the Government of India Act 1935 ceased to exist ; Two new provinces were to be constituted, to be known respectively as West Punjab and East Punjab The boundaries of the new provinces were to be determined, whether before or after the appointed date, by the award of a boundary commission to be appointed by the Governor General. Constitution for the New Dominions : until the time of framing of new constitution, the new dominions and the provinces thereof were to be governed by the Government of India Act 1935. ( Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion. ) The Governors General of the new dominions : For each of the new dominion a new Governor - General was to be appointed by the Crown, subject to the law of the legislature of either of the new dominions. Same person as Governor General of both dominions : if unless and until provision to the contrary was made by a law of the legislature of either of the new dominions, the same person could be the Governor General of both. Powers of Governor General : ( Section - 9 ) The Governor General was empowered to bring this Act in force. Division of territories, powers, duties, rights, assets, liabilities, etc., was the responsibility of Governor General To adopt, amend, Government of India Act 1935, as the Governor - General may consider it necessary. power to introduce any change was until 31 March 1948, after that it was open to the constituent assembly to modify or adopt the same Act. ( Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion. ) Governor - General had full powers to give assent to any law. Legislation for the new dominions : The existing legislative setup was allowed to continue as Constitution making body as well as a legislature. ( Temporary Provisions as to the Government of Each New Dominion. ) The legislature of each dominion was given full powers to make laws for that dominion, including laws having extraterritorial operation. No Act of Parliament of UK passed after the appointed date would be extended to the territories of new dominions. No law and provision of any law made by the legislature of the new dominions shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to the law of England. The Governor - General of each dominion had full powers to give assent in His Majesty 's name to any law of the legislature. ( Configuration of Pakistan 's Constitution Assembly ( CAP I ) : 69 members of the central legislature + 10 immigrant members = 79 ) Consequences of setting up of the new dominions : His Majesty 's Government lost all the responsibility to the new dominions The suzerainty of His Majesty 's Government over the Indian States lapsed. All the treaties or agreements with the Indian States and the tribal areas that were in force at the passing of the Act lapsed. The title of `` Emperor of India '' was dropped from the titles of British Crown. The office of Secretary of State for India was abolished and the provisions of GOI Act 1935 relating to the appointments to the civil service or civil posts under the crown by the secretary of the state ceased to operate Civil servants : Section 10 provided for the continuance of service of the government servants appointed on or before 15 August 1947 under the Governments of new Dominions with full benefits. Armed Forces : Sections 11, 12, & 13 dealt with the future of Indian Armed Forces. A Partition Committee was formed on 7 June 1947, with two representatives from each side and the viceroy in the chair, to decide about the division thereof. As soon as the process of partition was to start it was to be replaced by a Partition Council with a similar structure. First and Second Schedules : First Schedule listed the districts provisionally included in the new province of East Bengal : Chittagong Division : Districts of Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Noakhali & Tipperah. Dacca Division : Districts of Bakarganj, Dacca, Faridpur, & Mymensingh. Presidency Division : Districts of Jessore ( except Bangaon Tehsil ), & Kustia and Meherpur Tehsils ( of Nadia district ) Rajshahi Division : Districts of Bogra, Dinajpur ( except Raiganj & Balurghat Tehsil ), Rajshahi, Rangpur & Nawabganj Tehsil ( of Malda district ). Second Schedule listed the districts provisionally included in the new province of West Punjab : Lahore Division : Districts of Gujranwala, Lahore ( Except Patti Tehsil ), Sheikhupura, Sialkot & Shakargarh Tehsil ( of Gurdaspur district ). Rawalpindi Division : Districts of Attock, Gujrat, Jehlum, Rawalpindi & Shahpur. Multan Division : Districts of Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Lyallpur, Montgomery, Multan & Muzaffargarh Partition Main articles : Partition of India and Radcliffe Line There was much violence, and many Muslims from what would become India fled to Pakistan ; and Hindus and Sikhs from what would become Pakistan fled to India. Many people left behind all their possessions and property to avoid the violence and flee to their new country. Princely States Main articles : Princely states of Pakistan and Princely states of India On 4 June 1947 Mountbatten held a press conference in which he addressed the question of the princely states, of which there were over 570. The treaty relations between Britain and the Indian States would come to an end, and on 15 August 1947 the suzerainty of the British Crown was to lapse. They would be free to accede to one or the other of the new dominions or to remain independent. India Further information : Princely states of India and Political integration of India Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy, was asked by the Indian leaders to continue as the Governor - General of India. Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the Home Minister. Over 560 princely states acceded to India by 15 August. The exceptions were Junagadh, Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir. The state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was contiguous to both India and Pakistan but, its Hindu ruler chose to remain initially independent. Following a Pakistani tribal invasion, he acceded to India on 26 October 1947, and the state became a dispute between India and Pakistan. The state of Junagadh initially acceded to Pakistan but faced a revolt from its Hindu population. Following a breakdown of law and order, its Dewan requested India to take over the administration on 8 November 1947. India conducted a referendum in the state on 20 February 1948, in which the people voted overwhelmingly to join India. The state of Hyderabad, with majority Hindu population but Muslim ruler, faced an intense turmoil and sectarian violence. India invaded the state on 13 September 1948, following which the ruler of the state signed the Instrument of Accession, joining India. Pakistan Further information : Princely states of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the Governor - General of Pakistan, and Liaquat Ali Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Between October 1947 and March 1948 the rulers of several Muslim - majority states signed an Instrument of Accession to join Pakistan. These included Amb, Bahawalpur, Chitral, Dir, Kalat, Khairpur, Kharan, Las Bela, Makran, and Swat. Repeal The Indian Independence Act was subsequently repealed in Article 395 of the Constitution of India and in Article 221 of the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, both constitutions being intended to bring about greater independence for the new states. Although, under British law, the new constitutions did not have the legal authority to repeal the Act, the repeal was intended to establish them as independent legal systems based only on home - grown legislation. The Act has not been repealed in the United Kingdom, where it still has effect, although some sections of it have been repealed. See also Indian independence movement Pakistan Movement Political integration of India Notes Jump up ^ Hoshiar Singh, Pankaj Singh ; Singh Hoshiar. Indian Administration. Pearson Education India. p. 10. ISBN 978 - 81 - 317 - 6119 - 9. Retrieved 2 January 2013. Jump up ^ represented by Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Acharya Kripalani Jump up ^ represented by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan, and Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar Jump up ^ represented by Sardar Baldev Singh Jump up ^ Ghose, Sankar ( 1993 ). Jawaharlal Nehru : a biography ( 1. publ. ed. ). New Delhi ( u.a. ) : Allied Publ. p. 151. ISBN 9788170233695. Jump up ^ Extract of Clement Attlee 's minute to the Secretary of State for India ( Viscount Mountbatten of Burma ), 18 March 1947 at British Library, accessed 27 December 2017 Jump up ^ See Section 7 ( 1 ) ( b ) : `` the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses, and with it, all treaties and agreements in force at the date of the passing of this Act between His Majesty and the rulers of Indian States, all functions exercisable by His Majesty at that date with respect to Indian States, all obligations of His Majesty existing at that date towards Indian States or the rulers thereof, and all powers, rights, authority or jurisdiction exercisable by His Majesty at that date in or in relation to Indian States by treaty, grant, usage, sufferance or otherwise. '' Jump up ^ `` Salient features of the act '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 9 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` The history of partition ''. Retrieved 9 February 2013. Jump up ^ R.P. Bhargava ( 1992 ) The Chamber of Princes, p. 313 Jump up ^ Indian Independence Act 1947. Opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved on 12 July 2013. Jump up ^ Stein, Burton ; Arnold, David ( 2010 ), A History of India, John Wiley & Sons, p. 359, ISBN 978 - 1 - 4051 - 9509 - 6, retrieved 27 July 2012 Jump up ^ Behera, Navnita Chadha ( 2007 ), Demystifying Kashmir, Pearson Education India, pp. 12 -- 13, ISBN 8131708462 Jump up ^ Z.H. Zaidi, ed., Jinnah Papers : The states : Historical and Policy Perspectives and Accession to Pakistan, vol. VIII ( Quaid - i - Azam Papers Project, Government of Pakistan, 2003 ), p. 113 Jump up ^ `` Dominion of Pakistan ''. Retrieved 9 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` Article 221 : The Government of India Act, 1935, and the Indian Independence Act, 1947, together with all enactments amending or supplementing those Acts, are hereby repealed : Provided that the repeal of the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, applicable for the purposes of Article 230 shall not take effect until the first day of April, 1957. '' Jump up ^ `` India 's benign constitutional revolution ''. Retrieved 20 October 2015. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : Indian Independence Act 1947 Indian Independence Bill, 1947 `` Indian Independence Act 1947 ( c. 30 ) '' ( PDF ). Original Statute from The UK Statute Law Database. Office of Public Sector Information, National Archives, UK. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 30. `` Indian Independence Act 1947 ( c. 30 ) ''. Revised Statute from The UK Statute Law Database. Office of Public Sector Information, National Archives, UK. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 02. Indian Independence Movement History Colonisation Porto Grande de Bengala Dutch Bengal East India Company British Raj French India Portuguese India Battle of Plassey Battle of Buxar Anglo - Mysore Wars First Second Third Fourth Anglo - Maratha Wars First Second Third Polygar Wars Vellore Mutiny First Anglo - Sikh War Second Anglo - Sikh War Sannyasi Rebellion Rebellion of 1857 Radcliffe Line more Philosophies and ideologies Ambedkarism Gandhism Hindu nationalism Indian nationalism Khilafat Movement Muslim nationalism in South Asia Satyagraha Socialism Swadeshi movement Swaraj Events and movements Partition of Bengal ( 1905 ) Partition of Bengal ( 1947 ) Revolutionaries Direct Action Day Delhi - Lahore Conspiracy The Indian Sociologist Singapore Mutiny Hindu -- German Conspiracy Champaran Satyagraha Kheda Satyagraha Rowlatt Committee Rowlatt Bills Jallianwala Bagh massacre Noakhali riots Non-Cooperation Movement Christmas Day Plot Coolie - Begar Movement Chauri Chaura incident, 1922 Kakori conspiracy Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre Flag Satyagraha Bardoli 1928 Protests Nehru Report Fourteen Points of Jinnah Purna Swaraj Salt March Dharasana Satyagraha Vedaranyam March Chittagong armoury raid Gandhi -- Irwin Pact Round table conferences Act of 1935 Aundh Experiment Indian Legion Cripps Mission Quit India Bombay Mutiny Coup d'état of Yanaon Provisional Government of India Independence Day Praja Mandala movement Organisations All India Kisan Sabha All - India Muslim League Anushilan Samiti Arya Samaj Azad Hind Berlin Committee Ghadar Party Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Indian National Congress India House Indian Home Rule movement Indian Independence League Indian National Army Jugantar Khaksar Tehrik Khudai Khidmatgar Swaraj Party more Social reformers A. 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Krishna Menon Vallabhbhai Patel Vanchinathan Veeran Sundaralingam Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Virendranath Chattopadhyaya Yashwantrao Holkar Yogendra Shukla more British leaders Wavell Canning Cornwallis Irwin Chelmsford Curzon Ripon Minto Dalhousie Bentinck Mountbatten Wellesley Lytton Clive Outram Cripps Linlithgow Hastings Independence Cabinet Mission Annexation of French colonies in India Constitution Republic of India Indian annexation of Goa Indian Independence Act Partition of India Political integration Simla Conference Pakistan Movement History of Pakistan ( timeline : 1947 -- present ) History East India Company Indian Rebellion of 1857 Aligarh Movement Urdu movement Partition of Bengal Lucknow Pact Khilafat Movement Shuddhi Movement Nehru Report Fourteen Points of Jinnah Allahabad Address Now or Never pamphlet World War II Two nation theory Round Table Conferences Lahore Resolution Direct Action Day Muslim nationalism in South Asia Cabinet Mission Indian Independence Act Partition of India Radcliffe Line Durand Line Pakistan Osmanistan Enlightened Moderation Objectives Resolution Independence Republic Day Kashmir conflict National symbols Constitution of Pakistan British heritage Organisations Muslim League Punjab Branch Bengal Branch Unionist Student Federations Khaksars Renaissance Society Philosophical Congress Dawn Daily War Leaders Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Aga Khan III Nawab Salimullah Syed Ameer Ali Muhammad Ali Jouhar Maulana Shaukat Ali Allama Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Ali Jinnah Fatima Jinnah Liaquat Ali Khan Mian Muhammad Shafi Nawab Waqar - ul - Mulk Kamboh Mohsin - ul - Mulk Bahadur Yar Jung Baba - e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Abdur Rab Nishtar Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Choudhary Rahmat Ali A.K. Fazlul Huq G.M. Syed Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Ghulam Bhik Nairang Hasrat Mohani Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Jogendra Nath Mandal K.H. Khurshid Khawaja Nazimuddin Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Qazi Muhammad Essa Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Sikandar Hayat Khan Maulana Zafar Ali Khan more Activists Hameed Nizami Abdullah Haroon Yusuf Haroon Altaf Husain ( journalist ) Adamjee Haji Dawood Mufti Muhammad Shafi Maulana Ahmed Ali Lahori Malik Barkat Ali Yusuf Khattak Mian Iftikharuddin Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Shaukat Hayat Khan Muhammad Asad Ziauddin Ahmad A.B.A. Haleem Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr Hakeem Mohammad Saeed Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan Fida Mohammad Khan Sheikh Sir Abdul Qadir Professor M.M. Sharif J.A. Rahim of PPP Z.A. Suleri G. Allana Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi more Literature Idea of Pakistan Jinnah : India, Partition, Independence Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan A Short History of Pakistan Pakistan : A Personal History The Myth of Independence Pakistan : A Hard Country Now or Never ; Are We to Live or Perish Forever ? Causes of Indian Mutiny of 1857 Architecture Minar - e-Pakistan Bab - e-Pakistan The Monument Mazar - e-Quaid Ziarat Residency Iqbal 's Tomb Wazir Mansion National Library Deena Public Hall Bab - e-Khyber Jinnah Terminal In Memory Youm - e-Pakistan ( 23 March ) Youm - e-Dastur ( 10 April ) Youm - e-Takbir ( 28 May ) Youm - e-Azadi ( 14 August ) Youm - e-Difah ( 6 September ) Youm - e-Tasees ( 24 October ) Youm - e-Iqbal ( 9 November ) Youm - e-Viladat ( 25 December ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_Independence_Act_1947&oldid=845885227 '' Categories : 1947 in India 1947 in Pakistan 1947 in law Legislation in British India Independence acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom Partition of India United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1947 1947 in international relations India -- United Kingdom relations Pakistan -- United Kingdom relations Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning India India and the Commonwealth of Nations Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Nations July 1947 events Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from January 2016 Use British English from September 2017 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca বাংলা Беларуская Čeština Deutsch Français हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული മലയാളം मराठी Русский Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు Українська اردو 9 more Edit links This page was last edited on 14 June 2018, at 19 : 58. 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Question: who was the prime minister of britain at the time india s independence
Answer: Prime Minister Clement Attlee