What was the Mountbatten Plan?
Answers
What was the Mountbatten Plan?
The Mountbatten Plan was an agreement between Lord Mountbatten and Indian National Congress, Muslim League and Sikh community.
Answer: The Mountbatten Plan proposes the partition of India and the speedy transfer of responsibility, initially in the form of Dominion Status, to Indian Governments for the sections of a divided India.
Explanation:
Formally, the Plan does not lay down the partition of India, but provides machinery for the areas affected by the Pakistan demand to choose, either through their Legislative Assembly representatives or through referendum, between a single Constituent Assembly in accordance with the Cabinet Mission Plan, or a separate Constituent Assembly for a separate State. This involves division of the Punjab and Bengal so that the Muslim-majority areas and non-Muslim majority areas can decide separately. In practice, on the basis of existing representation, this means partition, including almost certainly the partition of the Punjab and Bengal.
The position of the Princes’ States is left unchanged: that is, with the ending of paramountcy they can join either grouping or proclaim their independence and establish their separate relations with Britain.
Legislation is to be hurried through Parliament to establish the new Dominion Government or Governments.
If the Plan goes through, the result will establish the following States or State areas in India:
(1) North West Pakistan, covering Western Punjab, Sind, and possibly the North West Frontier and Baluchistan, with a population of 25 millions (18 million Moslems);
(2) Note East Pakistan, covering Eastern Bengal and the Sylhet district of Assam, with a population of 44 millions (31 million Moslems). These two areas, divided by a thousand miles, would constitute the Pakistan State or Federation, with a population of 70 millions
(3) The Indian Union or Hindustan, covering the rest of British India, with a population of 225 millions.
(4) The Princes’ States, covering two-fifths of the area of India with a population of 93 millions or one quarter, would join one or other federation, or possibly, in the case of one or two larger States, such as Hyderabad and Travancore, according to their present declared intentions, proclaim their separate independence.
Assuming that the Princes’ States all finally decide to link up with one or other grouping, then on a very rough estimate Pakistan would represent about one quarter of India, covering mainly agricultural, feudal and industrially -undeveloped, but strategically important territory; and the Indian Union would represent about three-quarters of India, including the main industrial and commercial regions and urban centres, and the most politically advanced and democratically developed sections of the population and the main forces of the working class.
Relations of Britain with the States to be formed would finally be determined by special treaties. Military, administrative and economic questions are left for future settlement.