The British government declared independence for India in February 1947. But no decision could be taken on the outline of independence.
3 June is a date that changed both the history and geography of India. On 3 June 1947, the announcement of dividing India into two parts was made. The last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten presented the blueprint of the partition of India and announced that after the partition a separate country named Pakistan would be formed. His plan is also known as 'Mountbatten Plan' or '3 June Plan'.
Why was the Mountbatten Plan needed?
The British government announced to grant independence to India in February 1947 itself. But no decision could be taken on what would be the outline of independence. Finally, the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten was given the responsibility of deciding everything. At that time, riots were taking place in many parts of the country, the Muslim League was adamant on the demand for a separate country and Gandhi's health was deteriorating.
What happened on June 3?
Mountbatten prepared a plan after several rounds of discussions with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel as well as Congress leaders and Muslim League leaders like Jinnah. On June 2, 1947, Mountbatten discussed the plan in detail with the prominent leaders of India. On June 3, 1947, Mountbatten reached All India Radio along with Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Sikh community representative Baldev Singh and gave detailed information about his plan there.
What was in the Mountbatten Plan?
According to the Mountbatten Plan, after dividing India into two parts, a new country named Pakistan was to be formed. A new Constituent Assembly was to be formed for Pakistan. The most important provision was to give Dominion status to India and Pakistan, the date of which was fixed as 15 August 1947. In this plan, the princely states were given the freedom to stay in India or join Pakistan if they wanted. The decision was left to them.
One of the most important parts of this plan was the division of the army. Along with this, the areas of division were also broadly decided. Along with this, the legislative rights of both the countries and the powers of the Governor General were also defined.
How was the army divided?
After the announcement of the Mountbatten Plan, in early July, every officer of the Indian Army was given a form. In it, every officer was asked to tell whether he would like to serve in the Indian Army or join the Pakistani Army. Similarly, at the time of partition, it was decided that 80 percent of India's movable assets would go to India and 20 percent would go to Pakistan.
Around 125 million people were displaced
during the partition. According to a BBC report, around 10 lakh people were killed in the violence that took place after the partition. Thousands of women were kidnapped. They were raped and assaulted. It has been more than 75 years since the partition, but the wounds have not healed till date.
PC:News18
