Politics of Separatism-I - UPSC PDF Download

 Politics of Separatism

Separatism may be defined as an instance of political disintegration wherein political actors in one or more sub-systems withdraw their loyalties, expectations and political activities from a jurisdictional centre and focus them on a centre of their own.  

Separatism in India

•  Separatism leads to the growth of ethnic identities, which are regarded as divisive and detrimental to national integration. 
• The separatist forces of India from different parts of the country made demands either in the form of a demand for a separate state within the Indian Union (e.g. Jharkhand) or in the form of a demand for a sovereign state outside the Indian Union (e.g. the demand Khalistan). 
• Separatism requires a cohesive minority group that dominates a well-defined geographical area and possesses a strong sense of grievance against the central government.
• The separatist claim is accompanied by intense feelings of rage, anger, hurt, and humiliation which often fuels the flames of revolts and revolutions. 
• Many popular separatist movements have occurred in India, which include Naxal-Maoist insurgency, the Khalistan movement, Assam separatist movements, Karbi Separatism and so on. 

Types of Separatism in India

Separatism may be of various types. In the Indian scenario, five different types of separatism have been identified, namely, 

• Linguistic-cultural separatism, 
• Regional separatism based on economic grievances, 
• Regional separatism based on political grievances, 
• Aboriginal separatism, 
• Sons of the soil separatism.

In general, there are two types of separatism, such as external separatism and internal separatism. 

Separatism and Secessionism

• Both the terms refer to a severance of ties or termination of contractual relations. 
• Separatism may be expressed in demands for provincial or states’ rights or increased local autonomy in certain spheres of decision-making. 
• Secessionism is a narrower, more specific term referring to a demand for formal withdrawal from a central political authority by a member unit on the basis of a claim to independent, sovereign status. 
• Understanding separatism and secessionism in terms of political integration/disintegration theory not only facilitates analysis of alienation, but also clarifies the process whereby the jurisdictional centre attempts to resist separatism and maintain or enhance the integrity of the state. 

Global Scenario of Separatism 

• Separatism often triggers serious rifts between the world’s major powers. 
• International law on separatism is ambiguous, leading to an inconsistent and non-uniform global reaction to separatist movements.
• The United Nations has no specific unit looking at separatism as a phenomenon. 
• Instead, it usually waits for a conflict to break out and then considers sending a peacekeeping mission to restore law and order.
• Over-centralization of decision-making triggers separatism. 
• In Asia, ASEAN has no clearly defined policy on separatism, leaving it up to national governments to decide how to deal with separatist movements. 
• The Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) – set up in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to combat separatism, terrorism and extremism – strongly opposes separatist movements like that of China’s Uyghurs. 
• Separatism can provoke violent conflict, especially when countries divide along ethnic lines. 

Formation of All India Muslim League (1906)

The All India Muslim League (also known as the Muslim League) was a political party founded in British India in 1906. Its strong advocacy, beginning in 1930, for the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation-state, Pakistan, resulted in the British Empire partitioning India in 1947. The party arose from the need for political representation of Muslims in British India, particularly in the event of massive Hindu opposition to Bengal's partition in 1905, which was sponsored by the Indian National Congress. During the annual meeting of the All India Muslim Education Conference in Ahsan Manzil in 1906, the Nawab of Dhaka, Khwaja Salimullah, proposed the formation of a political party to protect the interests of Muslims in British India 

All India Muslim League - Background

• Despite the sincere efforts of the Congress's forefathers to attract Muslims to their sessions, the majority of the Islamic leadership, with the exception of a few scholars such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Ameer Ali, who focused more on Islamic education and scientific developments.
• It rejected the notion that India has two distinct communities that should be represented separately in Congress sessions.
• The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885. It was formed with the intention of bringing the thoughts and demands of all Indians, regardless of religion, to the attention of the British government.
• The Indian National Congress was doing well, and because it was working with the British government, it was able to affect many major changes in the structure of the government and its policies.
• Although Congress was successful in many areas, it was unsuccessful in gaining the trust of Indian Muslims.
• The Indian Muslims believed that the Congress was primarily a Hindu organization that could not serve Muslim communities. It sparked the idea of forming a separate political group for Indian Muslims.
• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a philosopher and Muslim reformist, was the first to plant the communal idea that Muslims are a separate nation in the Indian political ethos.
• On December 30, 1906, approximately 3000 delegates attended a conference of the Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dhaka, where the ban on politics was lifted and a motion to form the AIML was moved.
  • Nawab Khwaja Sir Salimullah Bahadur proposed the name, which was seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan.
• The All India Muslim League was India's first Muslim political party.

All India Muslim League - Features

• All India Muslim League, was a political organization that led the movement for the establishment of a separate Muslim nation during the partition of British India (1947).
• The Muslim League was established in 1906 to protect the rights of Indian Muslims.
• Initially encouraged by the British and generally supportive of their rule, the league adopted self-government for India as its goal in 1913.
• For decades, the league and its leaders, most notably Mohammed Ali Jinnah, advocated Hindu-Muslim unity in a united and independent India.
• It wasn't until 1940 that the League of Nations called for the establishment of a separate Muslim state from India's planned independent state.
• Because it feared that an independent India would be dominated by Hindus, the league advocated for a separate nation for India's Muslims.
• Jinnah and the Muslim League led the fight for the partition of British India into separate Hindu and Muslim states, and the league became Pakistan's dominant political party after the country's independence in 1947.

Reasons for the Formation of All India Muslim League

• The All India National Congress was a Hindu-dominated organization. Its interests were always at odds with the Muslims'.
• By 1906, Muslim leaders were convinced that they needed their own political party to speak for the community on all major occasions.
• In terms of education and economic progress, Muslims had lagged far behind Hindus. Only by establishing a separate Muslim organisation that could represent the wishes of the Muslims could educational and economic conditions be improved.
• The Urdu-Hindu controversy began with Hindus' demand that Hindi replace Urdu as the official language in Devanagari Script. Sir Anthony Macdonald, the then-Governor of Uttar Pradesh, removed Urdu from public office.
• The Congress clearly sided with Hindi and supported the anti-Urdu movement, and there was no other political party that supported Urdu. As a result, the need for the formation of a Muslim political party was acutely felt.
• The watershed moment occurred during John Morley's budget speech in the summer of 1906, when he hinted at constitutional reforms.
• Muslims did not have a political platform to demand their fair share at the time. They reiterated their desire for a separate political platform.
• Minto expressed his full support for the Muslim demands. The success of Deputation compelled Muslims to form their own political organization.
• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's belief that Muslims were somehow a separate entity.
• Muslims did not believe that Hindus and Muslims belonged to the same nation. They differed in terms of religion, history, languages, and civilization. It became critical for Muslims to form their own political party.
• Nawab Salimullah Khan proposed the formation of the All India Muslim League, which was seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali, and Moulana Zafar Ali.
• On December 30, 1906, the All India Educational Conference passed the resolution.

All India Muslim League - Objectives

• To protect Muslims' political rights and bring them to the attention of the government and to prevent the spread of prejudice against other Indian communities among Muslims.
• To foster feelings of loyalty to the British government among Indian Muslims, and to dispel any misconceptions about the government's intentions regarding any of its measures.
• Profiting from and advancing the political rights and interests of India's Muslims, as well as respectfully representing their needs and aspirations to the government.
• To prevent any feelings of hostility toward other communities among Indian Muslims, without prejudice to the League's aforementioned objectives.

Hindu Mahasabha

• It was a Hindu nationalist organization that was originally founded in 1915 to counter the Muslim League and the INC.
• In 1910, the leading Hindus of the Allahabad decided to organize an All India Hindu Conference.
• It was first established in Amritsar in the Punjab before 1914, and became active during the 1920s under the leadership of Pandit Mohan Malaviya (1861-1946) and Lala Lajpat Rai (1865- 1928).
• The Hindu Mahasabha established in Punjab campaigned for social reform and for the reconversion of Hindus from Islam. The Hindu Mahasabha established its headquarter at Haridwar and used to organize the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu conference at Haridwar on the occasion of important Hindu fairs.
• Hindu Mahasabha was organized with the aim to s remove the social abuses in the Hindu society. The removal of child marriage, casteism, untouchability etc was the principal concerns of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Communalism in India

What is communalism?

Communalism means a strong attachment to one’s own community, it may be one’s own religion, region or language. It promotes the difference of interests between the communities that may induce disaffection to enmity between the communities.

Communalism in India takes a specific character. In India, it is generally associated with strong and even aggressive attachment to one’s religious identity which induces directed enmity against other religions.

What are the characteristics of Communalism?

• It generates a perception of community-specific interests.
• It preaches the exclusivist approach by arguing the difference of interests between different communities that may be compatible or incompatible.
• Communalism mobilizes one community against another community.
• One community tries to grow and gain a socio-economic advantage at the expense of other communities.
• Extreme communalism often preaches the elimination of other religions indispensable.

Communalism and India

Communalism in India has a lot in common with other forms of communalism in other parts of the world. The ideas of Fascism, anti-Semitism, etc. All over the World and in India, communalism has always tried to protect interests that are not rooted in reality, something that doesn’t even exist.

History of communal relations in India

• India has been a multireligious society since ancient times. India is an adobe to all the major religions in the world. As Swami Vivekananda said, India has accepted people from different religious backgrounds with an open heart.
• The Vedic and Upanishadic traditions were highly accommodative preaching compatibility and harmony between different religions. The Indian culture has also accepted irreligiosity and atheism along with religious identities.
• Emperor Ashoka preached Secular harmony between different communities and directed them to live in perpetual fraternity.
• The different racial, ethnic communities who came as conquerors are today indifferentiable parts of our syncretic society.
• The Sufi and Bhakti traditions are examples par excellence of the secular intellectualism of the Indian masses.
• In the periods of the sultanate and Mughal rule, many rulers acknowledged the necessity of harmonious relations and promoted a fraternal attitude.
• The ruling emperor Akbar was an exercise in communal harmony. His “Din-e-Ilahi” and “Sulh-i- Kul” promoted brotherhood and give and take of religions for better understanding.
• There were some communal elements within the socio-political friction like the demolition of places of worship which were highlighted by the colonial historians but that had to do more with the political one-upmanship than a religious struggle.
• We have not had the crusades like in the west against the so-called threat to the religion.
• There were some communal rulers like Aurangzeb who brought religious restrictions, imposed Jizya and caused disaffection among other religions.
• Some of the foreign attacks such as attacks by Mahmud Ghazni and others which attacked the places of worship.
• But overall, the social interactions among the masses was of brotherhood and functional interlinkage based on craft and trade.

The problem of communalism is essentially a modern phenomenon that is rooted in modern socio-economic structure created in India by colonial masters. Modern politics based on mass mobilization and public participation.

What are the Stages of communalism?

1. Communal nationalism- since a group or section belongs to a particular religion, their secular and religious interests are the same.
2. Liberal communalism- since two communities have different religious interests, their secular interests also differ.
3. Extreme communalism- Not only secular interests of different religions differ, they are also incompatible and the two communities cannot coexist at all.

What are the reasons for the growth of communalism in India?

Reasons for Growth during the British rule

The British rule in India was the culprit of the exponential growth of communal tendencies. The divide and rule policy and desperate attempt to find local supporters of its rule caused the systematic growth of communalism.

• Communal History Writing

1. The colonial powers propagated a myth of religious history.
2. They portrayed ancient India as a Hindu period and medieval India as a Muslim period with a history of intense struggle on religious lines.
3. The conflict of ruling classes was distorted and exaggerated notions of religious conflicts were put forth.

• Socio-economic development

1. Among Indian masses, the Hindu community was quick to learn western education.
2. This led to emergence of professional and bourgeoisie class early in Hindu community than Muslims.
3. Result was that the few government jobs were captured by the elite Hindus.
4. The economic backwardness and unemployment were exploited by the British to create a wedge between communities which were left competing for limited opportunities.
5. This situation got communalized very quickly.

• Side effects of Socio-economic reform movements

1. The reform movements in both Hindu and Muslim communities were polluted by the revivalist tendencies.
2. The Wahabi movement in Muslims and the Shuddhi movement among Hindus with their revivalist approach emphasizing ancient glories of respective religions enhanced the wedge.

• The militant nationalist movements

1. The militant nationalists tried to mobilize the masses around religious elements. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals by Lokamanya Tilak were misinterpreted as a religious mobilization though the motive was nationalist mobilization.
2. The activities by revolutionaries like a dip in Ganga and worship of Goddesses did not enthuse Muslims.

• The British policy of divide and rule

1. British cunningly played the divide and rule policy by strategically appeasing the first Hindu elite and then the Muslim elite.
2. The government used the Muslim intelligentsia to counter the growing influence of congress.
3. The Partition of Bengal in 1905, encouragement to form and promote Muslim league, the separate electorate of 1909 and the communal award was directed at creating enmity among communities and weakening the freedom struggle.

• Communal reactions by religious communities

1. The communities played into this game and reacted with aggression.
2. Formation of extremist organizations such as Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim league propagating Two nation theory making offensive barbs on religious lines strengthened enmity.

• The non-role of congress

1. The INC was always extra cautious when it came to minority reaction.
2. In 1889, the congress decided not to take up any issue that hurt minority sentiments.
3. The Lucknow Pact of 1916 proved very harmful in the long run.
4. The congress was successful in building up sufficient national consciousness to exert pressure on the British but it failed largely to integrate Muslims into the nation.
5. This was most evident in the 1946 elections when the Muslim League won almost all the seats reserved for the Muslims.

Post-Independence reasons of communalism

• Legacy of Partition

1. The partition of India on religious lines only strengthened the enmity.
2. The bloodshed during partition is imprinted in the minds of those who suffered.
3. Initial years were very difficult as there were majoritarian reactions like mobilization against the Hindu code bill.

• Deep penetration of communalism

1. There were large scale riots after independence in various parts.
2. Communal tensions over places of worship, conversions remained active in one or other parts of the country
3. In the 1960s – A series of riots broke out particularly in the eastern part of India – Rourkela, Jamshedpur and Ranchi – in 1964, 1965 and 1967, in places where Hindu refugees from the then East Pakistan were being settled.

• Politicization of religion

1. the communal mobilization was done by the political parties to manipulate the first past the post system of elections.
2. The multiparty democratic system also led to the formation of religion-based political parties who espouse religious interests.

• Economic causes

1. The economic condition of the minority communities did not change even after independence.
2. The Sachar committee report highlighted the relative deprivation of the minority religions in health, education, income and standard of living.
3. This created a perception of the majority bias of the establishment.
4. These facts were exploited by selfish sections for political gains.

• Media sensationalism

1. The insensitivity showed by the media in reporting communal clashes only increased the tensions.
2. The social media has become the echo chamber of communal hatred.

• Weak enforcement of secularism

1. The inaction or appeasement action during Shah Bano, Babri Masjid, Kashmiri Pandit exodus dealt serious blows to the credibility of the establishment to uphold secularism.
2. This created perceptions of appeasement in both Hindu and Muslim communities.

• The rising tide of communalism

1. The youth is increasingly falling prey to the communal brainwashing.
2. The radical Islamic groups such as ISIS engage in the brainwashing of the youth.
3. This creates counter-reaction in the Hindu community which can be seen in increasing cases of cow vigilantism and mob lynching.

Some Episodes of communal violence

1. Anti-Sikh riots (1984)
2. Issue of Kashmiri Hindu pundits (1989)
3. Babri Masjid incident (1992) and riots after the incident.
4. Godhra Riots (2002)
5. Assam violence (2012)
6. Muzaffarnagar Riots (2013)
7. Beef consumption and ensuing deaths
8. The protests against CAA and NRC are becoming more and more communal and there is large scale violence going on in Delhi.

What are the effects of communalism?

• Harmful to Social Fabric

1. Communalism blows a dent to social harmony and brotherhood.
2. The poisonous ideology of communalism takes a toll on rationalism and scientific temper.
3. It creates a perpetual cycle of distrust, enmity, and violence.
4. The integration of a nation is impossible in an environment of communal harmony

• Economic fallout

1. Communalism puts breaks into the development trajectory.
2. The Jammu and Kashmir is a classic example of a region marred in communal tensions and not achieving its tremendous potential for growth.
3. The development of a country can only happen in a harmonious environment where the human resource is engaged in productive activities.
4. A communally charged country is not a good investment destination.

• A threat to internal security

1. There is always a chance of a riot and violence in some pockets of the country.
2. The vulnerable youth is falling prey to external interests and its brainwashing activities. There are Home ministry reports of around 100 youngsters joining ISIS
3. The communal tension in border areas can lead to illegal infiltration and threaten peace and national security.

• Democracy

1. The biggest casualty of communalism is democracy.
2. The voters charged with communal feelings will not make the right decisions through ballot boxes.
3. There is a loss of credibility of democracy when the electoral process Is hostage to the communal politics.

What is being done?

• Constitutional provision

1. Constitution declares India a secular democracy.
2. The Fundamental rights of equality, non-discrimination, religious freedom are justiciable provisions.
3. It puts a fundamental duty on every citizen to promote harmony and brotherhood for the integrity of the nation.

• Electoral laws

1. The Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951 prohibits communal canvassing. The Abhiram Singh judgment has declared communal canvassing an electoral offence.
2. The model code of conduct is an effective way to curb communalism during elections.
3. Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 prohibits a candidate from making sympathetic appeal based on religion. Such a candidate is liable for disqualification.

• The National Integration council

1. It is an extra-constitutional body chaired by the Prime Minister.
2. The NIC was constituted to combat the evils of communalism, casteism, regionalism, and linguism.
3. Sixteen meetings of NIC have been held until now.

• Ranganath Mishra Commission

It was constituted to suggest practical measures for the upliftment of the socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities.

Mountbatten Plan (June 1947)

In June 1947, Lord Mountbatten (India's last viceroy) proposed a plan in which provinces would be declared independent successor states with the authority to choose whether or not to join the constituent assembly. Long before Mountbatten arrived in India, the freedom-with-partition formula was becoming widely accepted. One major innovation (actually proposed by V.P. Menon) was the immediate transfer of power based on the grant of dominion status (with a right of secession), eliminating the need to wait for a constituent assembly agreement on a new political structure 

Mountbatten Plan - Background

• Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the last Viceroy and was tasked by then-British Prime Minister Clement Atlee with ensuring a smooth transfer of power.
• Mountbatten proposed in May 1947 that the provinces be declared independent successor states and then given the option of joining or not joining the constituent assembly. The 'Dickie Bird Plan' was the name given to this strategy.
• When informed of the plan, Jawaharlal Nehru (born November 14, 1889) vehemently opposed it, claiming that it would lead to the country's Balkanization. As a result, this plan was also known as Plan Balkan.
• The viceroy then devised another plan known as the June 3 Plan. This was the final strategy for Indian independence. The Mountbatten Plan is another name for it.
• The principles of partition, autonomy, sovereignty for both nations, and the right to write their own constitution were all included in the June 3 Plan.
• Above all, princely states such as Jammu and Kashmir were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan. The consequences of these decisions would have long-term consequences for the new nations.
• Both Congress and the Muslim League agreed to this plan. Congress had also acknowledged the partition's inevitability by that point.
• The Indian Independence Act 1947, which was passed in the British Parliament and received royal assent on July 18, 1947, put this plan into action.

Mountbatten Plan - Provisions

• British India was to be divided into two countries: India and Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly's draft constitution would not apply to Muslim-majority areas (as these would become Pakistan). These provinces would decide on the issue of a separate constituent assembly for Muslim-majority areas.
• The legislative assemblies of Bengal and Punjab met and voted for partition in accordance with the plan. As a result, it was decided that these two provinces would be divided along religious lines.
• Sind's legislative assembly would decide whether or not to join the Indian constituent assembly. It made the decision to travel to Pakistan.
• The NWFP (North-Western Frontier Province) was to hold a referendum to decide which dominion to join. While Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan boycotted and rejected the referendum, the NWFP decided to join Pakistan.
• Since the Congress had conceded a unified India, all of their other demands would be met, namely:
  • independence for princely states was ruled out—they would join either India or Pakistan;
  • independence for Bengal was ruled out;
  • accession of Hyderabad to Pakistan was ruled out (Mountbatten supported the Congress on this);
  • freedom would be granted on August 15, 1947; and
  • a boundary commission would be established if partition was to be effected.
• The Boundary Commission, chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, was established to fix the international boundaries between the two countries. The commission was tasked with dividing Bengal and Punjab into two new countries.
• The princely states were given the option of remaining independent or acceding to either India or Pakistan. The British sovereignty over these kingdoms ended.
• The British monarch would no longer address himself as "Emperor of India."
• Following the creation of the dominions, the British Parliament was unable to enact any legislation in the territories of the new dominions.
• Until the new constitutions were established, the Governor-General would assent to any law passed in His Majesty's name by the constituent assemblies of the dominions.
• The Governor-General was elevated to the status of the constitutional head.

Response to Mountbatten Plan

• The dominions of Pakistan and India were established at midnight on the 14th and 15th of August,1947, respectively.
• Lord Mountbatten was appointed as the first Governor-General of independent India, and M.A. Jinnah was appointed as the first Governor-General of Pakistan.
• Acceptance of partition was merely the culmination of a series of incremental concessions to the League's advocacy of a separate Muslim state.

Conclusion

The League's demand was met to the extent that Pakistan would be formed, and the Congress' position on unity was taken into account in order to keep Pakistan as small as possible. Mountbatten's plan was to divide India while maintaining maximum unity. The peaceful transfer of power was attempted, but the horror of partition remains, which could have been avoided. India recently declared August 14 to be Partition Horror Remembrance Day.

Independence Act 1947

The Indian Independence Act, based on the Mountbatten Plan, was passed by the British Parliament on July 5, 1947, and received royal assent on July 18, 1947. The Act went into effect on August 15, 1947. This act divided British India into two new sovereign republics, India and Pakistan. 

Independence Act 1947 - Background

• The legislation was developed by Clement Attlee's Labour Government. It was entirely based on the Mountbatten Plan, also known as the 3rd June Plan, which was established after the leaders of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League agreed to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten's recommendations.
• On February 20, 1947, the British Prime Minister said that British India would be granted self-government by June 1948 at the latest.
• The British government suggested a proposal that was implemented on June 3, 1947.
• The Independence Act was the implementation of the Mountbatten Plan.
• The Act declared India and Pakistan independent on August 15, 1947, with effect from that date.
• The Boundary Commission drew the new boundaries of the dominions. The suzerainty of the British over the princely kingdoms came to an end.
• These countries were asked to decide whether to join both India and Pakistan or remain independent.
• Over 560 states made it clear that they want to join India.
• Until the new dominions' constitutions become operative, the heads of state will be the respective Governor-Generals, who will be able to continue to assent to laws passed in the name of the monarch through the Constituent Assemblies.
• The Royal Assent was given to this Act on July 18, 1947, and it went into effect.

Independence Act 1947 - Provisions

• On the fifteenth of August, 1947, the British authority left India.
• On this day, India separated into two sovereign provinces, India and Pakistan, and each of these states became sovereign.
• The powers that the British government in India used to have were to be transferred to each of those states.
• A border commission led by Mr. Redcliff partitioned Punjab and Bengal and determined its boundaries.
• The Secretary of State for India's office will be abolished.
• Every territory was to have a Governor-General, who would be appointed by the Queen of England at the Dominion government's request. He was not to act on his judgment or discretion, but rather as the state's constitutional head of state.
• The regulations must be enacted by a sovereign legislature in each Domain. There would be no automatic application of any legislation approved by the British Parliament to India.
• Both countries will have a Constituent Assembly that will serve as a legislative body.
• Until a Constituent Assembly in any dominion formulates a Constitution, it will function as closely as practicable with the 1935 Act.
• Provincial governors will serve as the provinces' constitutional heads.
• The practice of reserving Secretary of State positions should be abandoned. After the handover of authority to both dominions, government employees who desire to quit must do so.
• On August 15, 1947, British rule over India's states and tribal regions came to an end. In this arrangement, power will be passed to states rather than dominions, and states will be free to choose whether to participate in India or Pakistan.
• The UK government's engagement with India will now be managed through the Office of Commonwealth Affairs.
• The title of King and Emperor of India was surrendered by the King of England.
• East Bengal, West Pakistan, Sindh, and British Baluchistan are all Pakistani provinces.
• If the NWFP votes to join Pakistan in a referendum, this territory will join Pakistan as well.

Independence Act 1947 - Impact

• The enactment of the Indian Independence Act of 1947 was a watershed moment in the country's constitutional history.
• It was "the climax of a protracted chain of events," as Attlee described it, "the accomplishment of the British mission" in India.
• In the House of Lords, Lord Samuel described the Law as "a peace treaty without war."
• The Act's passage was applauded by Indian politicians as well. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, for example, stated that "the time of British dominance over India ends today," and that "our relationship with the United Kingdom will continue to be built on equality, kindness, and mutual understanding."
• The law represented the start of a new period of freedom in India, but it did not satisfy a vast number of people and politicians.
• As Maulana Abul Kalam Azad put it, "August 14 for Muslims in Pakistan is a day of grief for Hindus and Sikhs."
• Despite these flaws, it cannot be denied that the Indian Independence Act of 1947 signified the end of British control in India and the start of a free India.

Repeal of the Act

• Both provinces were given the authority to revoke any act of parliament that affected them, including the Indian Independence Act.
• By adopting their respective constitutions, India and Pakistan later abrogated the 1947 Independence Act.
• The Indian Independence Act of 1947 was effectively repealed by Section 395 of the Indian Constitution and Section 221 of the Pakistan Constitution of 1956.
• The position of dominion was dissolved with the passage of the Indian Constitution, and India became a republic.
• The British Parliament, however, has failed to contribute to the repeal of the 1947 Indian Independence Act.
• Even though the new constitution lacks the legal authority to repeal legislation, this is done to break the chain of law and establish the constitution as an independent legal system.

Conclusion

The enactment of the Indian Independence Act of 1947 was a watershed moment in the country's constitutional history. The law signaled the start of a new period of freedom in India, although many Indians were dissatisfied with it. Despite these flaws, there can be no doubt that the Act brought an end to British rule in India