Indian Independence Act, 1947

One Act of the British Parliament ended nearly two centuries of Crown rule in a single stroke. This article covers the Indian Independence Act, 1947 — what it actually did, not just the date everyone remembers.

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ModHist0085 · Modern Indian History

Indian Independence Act, 1947

One Act ended nearly two centuries of Crown rule in a single stroke

5 Jul 1947

Passed by the British Parliament

Built on the Mountbatten Plan, setting up two new dominions.

18 Jul 1947

Receives royal assent

Formally becomes law, four weeks before it takes effect.

15 Aug 1947

India and Pakistan become dominions

The Viceroy’s office ends; each dominion gets its own Governor-General instead.

15 Aug 1947

British paramountcy ends

Every princely state’s treaty with the Crown lapses at once, leaving each free to accede or stay independent.

Independent Overnight, Unclaimed

Ending paramountcy made every princely state independent overnight, not automatically part of either dominion. A handful — Hyderabad, Junagadh, Kashmir — became the flashpoints that followed.

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From Empire to Two Dominions Need to Know

• The Indian Independence Act, 1947 was passed by the British Parliament on 5 July 1947. It received royal assent on 18 July, and came into effect on 15 August 1947.
• The Act created two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. Both remained within the British Commonwealth at first.
• It was based on the Mountbatten Plan, also called the 3 June Plan. Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, had prepared it.
• The Act partitioned Bengal and Punjab. Each was split into two — West and East Bengal, and West and East Punjab.
• Partition followed the Two-Nation Theory. This was the idea that Hindus and Muslims formed two separate nations, not one.

Dismantling the Raj’s Machinery Good to Know

• The Act abolished the office of Viceroy. Each new dominion instead got its own Governor-General — Mountbatten stayed on for India, while Jinnah became Pakistan’s.
• It ended British paramountcy over the princely states. From 15 August 1947, all treaties between them and the British Crown lapsed. Each state could then accede to India, accede to Pakistan, or stay independent.
• The Act did not scrap the old Government of India Act, 1935 right away. It stayed in force, as amended, as each dominion’s interim constitution until a permanent one was adopted.
• Dominion status was temporary. It lasted only until each country adopted its own constitution — India in 1950, Pakistan in 1956.
• The Act gave the Constituent Assemblies of both dominions full law-making authority. This lasted until each finished framing its own constitution.
• No future UK law would automatically apply to India or Pakistan after independence. Only each dominion’s own legislature could now make law for it.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On which date did the Indian Independence Act, 1947 come into effect?

5 July 1947

18 July 1947

15 August 1947

26 January 1950

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Trade-offs and Aftershocks Great to Know

• Granting dominion status, rather than waiting for a finished constitution, let power transfer happen fast. This was a deliberate trade-off, given the urgency Mountbatten’s own accelerated timeline had created.
• Ending paramountcy technically made every princely state independent overnight — not automatically part of India or Pakistan. Most acceded quickly, but a handful, like Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmir, became the flashpoints that followed.
• The Act let the British Crown give up the title “Emperor of India.” King George VI did that separately, by royal proclamation on 22 June 1948 — nearly a year after independence.
• The India-Pakistan border, drawn by the Radcliffe Line, was actually ready by 12 August 1947. Mountbatten held back its publication until 17 August, two days after both dominions had already come into being.
• For the political plan and partition mechanism that preceded this Act, see ModHist0086 — Mountbatten Plan.