Partition of India and Independence

According to which one of the following plans/reports, the decision with regard to the partition of Punjab and Bengal was to be taken on the basis of voting of the Members of the respective Legislative Assemblies ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Nehru report” option2=”Cripps mission plan” option3=”Beveridge report” option4=”Mountbatten plan” correct=”option4″]

The decision regarding the partition of Punjab and Bengal was taken on the basis of voting of the Members of the respective Legislative Assemblies according to the Mountbatten Plan.

The Mountbatten Plan, officially known as the June 3rd Plan, outlined the process for the partition of British India and the transfer of power to independent India and Pakistan.

The Mountbatten Plan proposed that the provincial legislative assemblies of Punjab and Bengal would meet in two groups, one representing the Muslim-majority districts and the other the rest of the province. Each group would vote separately on whether the province should be partitioned. A simple majority in either group for partition would result in the division of the province. This mechanism was specifically laid out in the Mountbatten Plan to determine the boundaries of the new dominions.

Which one of the following is not a characteristic feature of the Indian Independence Act, 1947?

[amp_mcq option1=”The Dominion of India got the residuary territory of India, excluding the provinces of Sind, Baluchistan, West Punjab, East Bengal and NWFP.” option2=”The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.” option3=”The Act proposed to set up two independent Dominions.” option4=”The Constituent Assembly of each Dominion was to have unlimited power to frame and adopt any Constitution.” correct=”option2″]

The correct answer is B) The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.

Statement B is incorrect. The Indian Independence Act, 1947, did not lay down the Constitution for either India or Pakistan. Instead, it granted the respective Constituent Assemblies of the two Dominions full power to frame and adopt any Constitution they deemed fit. The Act merely provided the legal framework for the transfer of power and the creation of the Dominions.

A) is correct. The Act partitioned British India, designating the specified provinces (Sind, Baluchistan, West Punjab, East Bengal, NWFP, and parts of Assam) to Pakistan, and the rest constituting the Dominion of India.
C) is correct. The Act provided for the creation of two independent Dominions: India and Pakistan.
D) is correct. Section 8 of the Act explicitly stated that the Constituent Assembly of each Dominion was to have unlimited power to frame and adopt any Constitution and to repeal any existing British law, including the Independence Act itself.

Which of the following statements about India’s Independence is/are correct?

• 1. The formal transfer of power on 15th August, 1947 heralding India’s Independence was announced by Lord Mountbatten.
• 2. Mahatma Gandhi was not present at the festivities in the capital on 15th August, 1947.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option3″]

The correct answer is C) Both 1 and 2.

– Statement 1: Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, presided over the transfer of power ceremony on August 15, 1947. He administered the oath of office to Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India and read out messages including that from the King. The formal transfer of power involved these events announced and overseen by Mountbatten. This statement is correct.
– Statement 2: Mahatma Gandhi was not present in Delhi for the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, 1947. He was in Calcutta (now Kolkata) at that time, engaged in efforts to control communal violence. This statement is correct.

While the capital was celebrating independence, Gandhi was fasting and praying in Calcutta, trying to bring peace between Hindus and Muslims in the wake of Partition-related violence.

Which one of the following was the mandate of the Dhar Commission (1948) ?

[amp_mcq option1=”To study the classification of States” option2=”To recommend whether the States can be re-organized on linguistic basis” option3=”To study the Centre-State relations” option4=”To examine whether Madras city can be transferred to Andhra” correct=”option2″]

The mandate of the Dhar Commission (1948) was primarily to recommend whether the States can be re-organized on a linguistic basis.

The Linguistic Provinces Commission, headed by S.K. Dhar (hence known as the Dhar Commission), was appointed by the Constituent Assembly in June 1948. Its purpose was to examine the feasibility of reorganizing the states of India on linguistic lines. The Commission, however, recommended against linguistic reorganization and favoured reorganization on the basis of administrative convenience.

The recommendations of the Dhar Commission led to popular discontent, particularly in South India. This prompted the Congress to appoint another committee, the JVP Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya), which also opposed linguistic reorganization initially but later accepted it after the fast unto death by Potti Sriramulu for a separate Andhra state. This ultimately led to the formation of Andhra state in 1953 and the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.

Which one of the following statements concerning the Freedom and Partition of India is NOT correct ?

[amp_mcq option1=”In February 1947, British Prime Minister Attlee announced that the British were not going to transfer power to Indians, come what may” option2=”Lord Wavell advocated total withdrawal of the British from India by 31 March, 1948″ option3=”It was Lord Mountbatten who speeded up the process of transfer of power” option4=”The Plan Balkan was abandoned on account of Nehru’s opposition to it” correct=”option1″]

The statement that British Prime Minister Attlee announced that the British were not going to transfer power to Indians is incorrect.

In February 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that the British government would grant full self-governance to British India by 30 June 1948, including the transfer of power. This announcement was significant as it set a definite deadline for British withdrawal.

Lord Wavell, the Viceroy before Mountbatten, had indeed proposed plans for British withdrawal. Lord Mountbatten, who succeeded Wavell, advanced the date of independence and partition to August 1947. The ‘Plan Balkan’ (also known as the Dickie Bird Plan) was Lord Mountbatten’s initial proposal to grant provinces the option to become independent successor states, which was abandoned after Nehru’s strong opposition.

Consider the following territories which became part of India after 15th August, 1947 :

• 1. Goa, Daman and Diu
• 2. Pondicherry
• 3. Sikkim
• 4. Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Which of the following is the correct chronological order (beginning with the earliest) of their becoming part of India?

[amp_mcq option1=”1-2-3-4″ option2=”3-1-4-2″ option3=”4-1-2-3″ option4=”2-1-4-3″ correct=”option3″]

The correct chronological order of these territories becoming part of India is determined by their dates of integration or liberation from foreign rule/protectorate status and subsequent incorporation into the Indian Union.

The dates are: Dadra and Nagar Haveli (liberated 1954, became UT 1961), Pondicherry (de facto transfer 1954, became UT 1962), Goa, Daman and Diu (liberated 1961, became UT 1962, Goa became state 1987), Sikkim (protectorate 1947, associate state 1974, full state 1975). Considering the earliest date of becoming part of India in some form after 1947: Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1954 – Liberation in July/Aug), Pondicherry (1954 – De facto transfer in Nov), Goa, Daman and Diu (1961 – Liberation in Dec), Sikkim (1975 – Full statehood).

While Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry both became part of India in 1954 in a de facto sense, the liberation of D&NH occurred slightly earlier in the year than the de facto transfer of Pondicherry. Formal legal integration as Union Territories happened later for all three former colonial territories (D&NH, Goa, Pondicherry) in the early 1960s.