The 3rd June Plan, 1947

Background

• The Cabinet Mission Plan (May 1946) collapsed over the grouping clause, Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) triggered communal violence, and the interim government of Congress and the League could not work together.
• On 20 February 1947, Prime Minister Attlee announced that Britain would transfer power by June 1948 and appointed Lord Mountbatten as the last Viceroy. He arrived on 22 March 1947.
• Violence in the Punjab and Bengal, and Congress’s own demand (March 1947) that the Punjab be divided if India was, made partition the only practical course.
• Mountbatten’s first draft plan, which handed power to the provinces, was rejected by Nehru. A revised plan drawn up with V. P. Menon was approved in London and accepted by the leaders.
• It was announced on 3 June 1947 in broadcasts on All India Radio by Mountbatten, Nehru, Jinnah and Baldev Singh.

Major features of the plan

1. Partition of India into two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, each with its own Constituent Assembly.
2. Punjab and Bengal: the Legislative Assemblies would meet in two groups, one for Muslim-majority districts and one for the rest. If either group voted for partition, the province would be divided.
3. Sindh: the Legislative Assembly would decide whether to join the existing or a new Constituent Assembly.
4. NWFP: a referendum would decide whether it joined India or Pakistan.
5. Baluchistan: the decision would be made by representatives (the Shahi Jirga and non-official members of the Quetta Municipality).
6. Sylhet (Assam): a referendum would decide whether it joined East Bengal.
7. Boundary Commissions would demarcate the boundaries of the Punjab and Bengal on the basis of contiguous Muslim and non-Muslim majority areas, taking “other factors” into account.
8. Princely states: British paramountcy would lapse, and each state was free to accede to either dominion or, in principle, remain independent.
9. Dominion status was to be granted at once, with the right to leave the Commonwealth. The date of transfer was advanced from June 1948 to 15 August 1947 (announced at the press conference on 4 June).

Reactions

• Congress accepted the plan, since it ruled out the Cabinet Mission’s loose federation and gave a strong centre in the rest of India.
• The Muslim League accepted it. The League Council approved it on 9-10 June and left the details to Jinnah. Jinnah called the Pakistan on offer “truncated and moth-eaten” but accepted it as a compromise, in the interests of a quick settlement.
• The Sikhs were unhappy at the division of the Punjab, though Baldev Singh accepted the plan.
• The Khudai Khidmatgars in the NWFP objected to a referendum offering only a choice between India and Pakistan.

Implementation

Provincial decisions (June-July 1947)

• Bengal (20 June): the joint session voted against partition, but the separate groups voted to divide. West Bengal joined India and East Bengal joined Pakistan.
• Punjab (23 June): the Muslim-majority group voted against partition and the other group for it, so the province was divided into West Punjab and East Punjab.
• Sindh (26 June): the Assembly voted to join Pakistan.
• Baluchistan (29 June): the Shahi Jirga and Quetta Municipality members voted for Pakistan.
• NWFP (6-17 July): in the referendum, a large majority voted for Pakistan. Congress and the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted it, and the turnout was about half the electorate.
• Sylhet (6-7 July): the referendum favoured joining East Bengal, and Sylhet became part of East Pakistan, apart from some areas given to India.

Legal and administrative steps

• Indian Independence Act (royal assent 18 July 1947): created the two dominions from 15 August 1947 (14 August for Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly session at Karachi), ended British paramountcy and allowed each dominion to frame its constitution, with the Government of India Act 1935 as a temporary framework.
• Partition Council and expert committees divided assets, liabilities, the armed forces and the civil services. Pakistan received about 17.5 per cent of the financial assets, though India withheld part of the cash balance for some time.
• Radcliffe Boundary Commissions: Sir Cyril Radcliffe chaired both commissions for the Punjab and Bengal, each with four members. The two sides could not agree, so Radcliffe made the final award. It was announced on 17 August 1947, after independence.
• Disputes over the award: Gurdaspur, Ferozepur and Zira, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts were among the areas that Pakistan considered unfair, and the Gurdaspur decision gave India a land route to Kashmir.
• Pakistan’s birth: Mountbatten addressed the Constituent Assembly in Karachi on 13-14 August, and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah took the oath as the first Governor-General of Pakistan on 15 August 1947 (Pakistan observes independence on 14 August).
• Princely states: most of them acceded before 15 August. Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir became disputes, with Kashmir remaining unresolved.

Consequences

• Large-scale communal violence and mass migration followed in the Punjab and Bengal, with millions displaced. Estimates of the dead differ widely.
• The Punjab Boundary Force failed to keep order and was dissolved at the end of August 1947.
• Pakistan began with refugee, financial and administrative difficulties.

Summary of decisions

Significance

Quick revision

• Date: announced 3 June 1947; power transferred 14-15 August 1947.
• Key people: Mountbatten, V. P. Menon, Nehru, Jinnah, Baldev Singh, Radcliffe.
• Methods: assemblies for the Punjab, Bengal and Sindh; referendums in the NWFP and Sylhet; Shahi Jirga in Baluchistan.
• Remember: princely states, boundary commissions, Indian Independence Act (18 July 1947), Radcliffe Award (17 August 1947).