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Pak Studies History IGCSEPDF 99
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The Act received Royal Assent on 18 July 1947 and came into effect on 15
August 1947.
Itlegally divided British India into two sovereign states:
The Dominion of India
The Dominion of Pakistan (comprising East and West Pakistan).
Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer unfamiliar with Indian conditions, was
appointed to chair the Boundary Commission.
The commission had four members — two nominated by the Muslim
League and two by the Indian National Congress — to represent both
communities.
Its task was to demarcate the boundaries of Punjab and Bengal, two
provinces with mixed populations, based on religious majorities and other
factors such as administrative convenience and economic resources.
The Radcliffe Award was announced on 16 August 1947, two days after
independence.
Despite Muslim majorities, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, and parts of Calcutta
were given to India, while Pakistan received the western portion of Punjab
and eastern Bengal.
The decision was highly controversial and led to widespread violence,
mass migrations, and loss of life on both sides of the new border.
The Indian Independence Act of 1947 was a law passed by the British
Parliament that officially ended British rule in India and created two independent
dominions — India and Pakistan.
Each dominion was given the right to frame its own constitution and
govern itself independently.
The British Government’s authority over India was completely
terminated.
The position of the British Viceroy was replaced by
Governor-Generals in both dominions — Lord Mountbatten for India
and Muhammad Ali Jinnah for Pakistan.
Provisions were made for the division of the Indian Army, civil
services, assets, and finances between the two new states.
The Princely States were given the option to join either India or Pakistan,
or in some cases, remain independent.