Indian Independence Act, 1947

One Act of the British Parliament ended nearly two centuries of Crown rule. It passed in just two weeks.

This lesson covers what the Indian Independence Act, 1947 actually did, not just the date everyone remembers. It also covers what it left unsettled.

1What did the Act create?

It made two new countries out of one empire.

• The Act came into effect on 15 August 1947.
• It created two independent dominions, India and Pakistan.
• Both stayed within the British Commonwealth at first.
• It was based on the Mountbatten Plan, also called the 3 June Plan. Read about the plan.
• Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy. He prepared the plan.
• The Act followed the Two-Nation Theory, the idea that Hindus and Muslims formed two separate nations.

2How fast did the Bill pass?

Dismantling an empire took less time than most exam syllabi take to read.

• The Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 4 July 1947.
• Commons passed it on 15 July. The House of Lords agreed on 16 July.
• It received royal assent on 18 July. That was 14 days after introduction.
• Lord Listowel, the last Secretary of State for India, took it through the Lords.
• The Act divided Bengal and Punjab. Each was split into a West and an East part.

3What did the Act take apart?

It removed the Raj’s machinery but kept a temporary legal frame.

• The Act abolished the office of Viceroy. Each dominion got its own Governor-General.
• Mountbatten stayed on as Governor-General of India. Jinnah became Governor-General of Pakistan.
• It ended British paramountcy over the princely states. All treaties with the Crown lapsed from 15 August.
• Each state could then accede to India, accede to Pakistan, or stay independent.
• The Government of India Act, 1935 stayed in force, as amended. It became each dominion’s interim constitution. Read about the 1935 Act.
• Dominion status was temporary. India adopted its Constitution in 1950 and Pakistan in 1956.
• Meanwhile, the Constituent Assembly of each dominion had full law-making power.
• No future British law would apply to either dominion unless it agreed.

4What were the trade-offs and aftershocks?

Speed bought a quick handover. It also left loose ends.

• Dominion status let power pass fast, without waiting for a finished constitution.
• That was a trade-off, given Mountbatten’s own accelerated timeline.
• Ending paramountcy made every princely state technically independent overnight. None was automatically part of India or Pakistan.
• Most states acceded quickly. A handful became flashpoints: Hyderabad, Junagadh and Kashmir.
• The Act allowed the Crown to drop the title “Emperor of India”.
• King George VI did this separately, by proclamation on 22 June 1948.

5Why was the border map published two days late?

The line was ready. The delay was deliberate.

• The Radcliffe Line was ready by 12 August 1947.
• Mountbatten held it back until 17 August, two days after both dominions began.
• There was one Boundary Commission for Punjab and one for Bengal.
• Each had five members: Sir Cyril Radcliffe as chairman, two judges nominated by Congress and two by the Muslim League.
• On most major issues the four judges split two against two along communal lines.
• So Radcliffe made the real decisions himself.
• Mountbatten held it back so British officials would not be in charge when violence broke out.
• V.P. Menon also advised that early publication might disrupt the Independence Day celebrations.
• The plan behind this border is covered in ModHist0086 — Mountbatten Plan.

6What was the human cost behind the legal text?

The Act reads like machinery. Its effects were deeply human.

• Partitioning Bengal and Punjab set off one of the largest mass migrations in history.
• Widely cited estimates say 10 to 15 million people crossed the new border in both directions.
• The migration came with widespread communal violence and large-scale loss of life.
• Women faced especially severe violence, including abduction.
• Refugees arriving in India needed urgent resettlement in camps, cities and farmland.
• Punjab and Bengal saw the heaviest displacement and violence.
• For the full story, see IndSoc0023 — Partition’s Human Cost.