Independence and Partition of India

ICSE Class 10 · History & Civics · Chapter 15

What this chapter covers

India at the end of the Second World War
The Cabinet Mission
Clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan
From the Cabinet Mission to Direct Action
Attlee's statement and the coming of Mountbatten
Clauses of the Mountbatten Plan
Acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan
Carrying out the plan
Clauses of the Indian Independence Act of 1947
Independence and partition, August 1947

Key definitions

Grouping of provinces is the arrangement in the Cabinet Mission Plan under which the provinces of British India were placed in three groups, A, B and C, each of which could have its own executive and legislature for common subjects.

Dominion Status is the position of a self-governing country within the British Commonwealth that controls its own affairs but formally recognises the British monarch as its head.

Paramountcy is the supreme authority that the British Crown claimed over the princely states of India, under which the rulers managed their internal affairs but accepted British control over their defence and foreign relations.

Partition is the division of British India in August 1947 into the two independent states of India and Pakistan, together with the division of the provinces of Punjab and Bengal between them.

Key points

The Cabinet Mission (Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps, A. V. Alexander) came to India in March 1946 and announced its plan on 16 May 1946.
The Cabinet Mission Plan rejected a sovereign Pakistan and proposed an Indian Union of British India and the states, dealing only with foreign affairs, defence and communications.
Residuary powers were to rest with the provinces, which were placed in three groups: A (Hindu-majority provinces), B (Punjab, NWFP, Sind) and C (Bengal, Assam).
A Constituent Assembly of 389 members was to be elected by the provincial assemblies, and an Interim Government of Indian leaders formed at once.
Disagreement over grouping led the League to withdraw its acceptance and call Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946, followed by communal riots.
Attlee announced on 20 February 1947 that Britain would leave by June 1948; Mountbatten replaced Wavell as Viceroy.
The Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947 provided for two dominions, the division of Punjab and Bengal by vote of their assemblies, referendums in the NWFP and Sylhet, a Boundary Commission, the lapse of paramountcy and an early transfer of power.
The Congress, the League and the Sikh leaders accepted the plan; the Congress did so to end communal violence and deadlock and to secure a strong, quickly free India.
The Indian Independence Act received the royal assent on 18 July 1947 and created India and Pakistan from 15 August 1947.
The Act gave each dominion a Governor-General, full law-making power and a Constituent Assembly acting as its legislature; it abolished the Secretary of State for India and ended paramountcy.
Until new constitutions were made, both dominions were governed under the Government of India Act, 1935, as adapted.
Independence came with partition, which uprooted millions of people and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Questions answered

What was the Cabinet Mission? Name its members.

The Cabinet Mission was a delegation of three British Cabinet ministers who came to India in March 1946 to arrange the transfer of power. Its members were Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander.

State any three clauses of the Cabinet Mission Plan regarding the Constituent Assembly.

The Constituent Assembly would be elected by the provincial legislative assemblies; seats would be allotted roughly one for every million people and divided among General, Muslim and Sikh members in proportion to population; and it would have 389 members, of whom 93 would come from the princely states.

Which provinces were placed in Groups B and C under the Cabinet Mission Plan?

Group B: Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province and Sind. Group C: Bengal and Assam.

What was the short-term plan of the Cabinet Mission?

An Interim Government would be formed at once with the support of the major political parties, and all its portfolios would be held by Indian leaders.

Why did the Muslim League withdraw its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan?

Nehru's statement of 10 July 1946 that the Congress would enter the Constituent Assembly free to change the plan made the League fear that grouping would be undone, so it withdrew its acceptance on 29 July 1946 and called for Direct Action.

What was Direct Action Day? What were its results?

Direct Action Day was 16 August 1946, fixed by the Muslim League for demonstrations to achieve Pakistan. It led to large-scale communal killings in Calcutta, which spread to Noakhali, Bihar and other places.

State the provisions of the Mountbatten Plan regarding the North-West Frontier Province and Sylhet.

A referendum would be held in the North-West Frontier Province to decide whether it would join India or Pakistan, and a referendum would be held in the Sylhet district of Assam to decide whether it would join East Bengal.

What did the Mountbatten Plan say about the princely states?

British paramountcy would lapse, and the princely states would be free to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent.

Past board exam questions

ICSE 2026 sample paper · 2 marks

The whole plan may not be perfect but like all plans, its success will depend on the spirit of goodwill with which it is carried out. — Lord Mountbatten Give two reasons for the acceptance of the above plan by the Congress.

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Any two: 1. Partition was seen as the only solution to the communal problem; communal riots had to be stopped. 2. The experience of working with the Muslim League in the Interim Government convinced the Congress that a joint administration was impossible, as the League had joined only to obstruct. 3. The only alternative to partition was a weak Centre; a smaller India with a strong Centre was better than a bigger one with a weak Centre. 4. Any further delay in the transfer of power could lead to civil war; continuation of British rule would be a greater calamity. 5. Partition would rid the Constitution of separate electorates and other undemocratic provisions.

ICSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: India's last Viceroy released a plan on the country's independence from the British on June 3, 1947. The plan came to be celebrated as the 'last plan for independence'. He was appointed Viceroy to India to speed up the process of transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister Clement Atlee. Identify the Viceroy. Mention any two terms of his plan with reference to the Princely States.

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The Viceroy was Lord Mountbatten (the plan is the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947). Terms regarding the Princely States: 1. British paramountcy over the Princely States would lapse. 2. The Princely States would be free to join either India or Pakistan (or remain independent); they were not to be partitioned.

ICSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: India's last Viceroy released a plan on the country's independence from the British on June 3, 1947. The plan came to be celebrated as the 'last plan for independence'. He was appointed Viceroy to India to speed up the process of transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister Clement Atlee. Mention any three reasons given by the Congress to justify the acceptance of the plan.

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1. To end the communal riots and bloodshed that had spread across the country. 2. The Muslim League's obstructive attitude in the Interim Government had made joint working impossible. 3. To avoid further delay in the transfer of power – partition was accepted as the price for early independence and a strong central government for the rest of India. (Also: to prevent the country from breaking into many small states.)

ICSE 2026 board paper · 4 marks

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: India's last Viceroy released a plan on the country's independence from the British on June 3, 1947. The plan came to be celebrated as the 'last plan for independence'. He was appointed Viceroy to India to speed up the process of transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister Clement Atlee. Mention any four provisions of the Indian Independence Act of 1947.

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1. Two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, would be created from 15 August 1947. 2. British paramountcy over the Princely States would lapse; they were free to join either dominion. 3. Each dominion would have a Governor-General appointed by the British Crown, and the office of the Secretary of State for India would be abolished. 4. The Constituent Assembly of each dominion would act as its legislature and frame its constitution; until then each would be governed by the Government of India Act, 1935. (Also: the British Government would have no responsibility for the government of either dominion after 15 August 1947.)

ICSE 2025 compartment paper · 1 mark

Read the statements given below and select the option that shows the correct relationship between (A) and (R). Assertion (A): The Congress accepted the Mountbatten Plan. Reason (R): The only alternate to Partition was a Federation with a weak centre.

(A) is true and (R) is false.
(R) is false but (A) is true.
Both (A) and (R) are independent of each other.
(R) is the reason for (A).

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(R) is the reason for (A).

ICSE 2025 sample paper · 2 marks

Give two reasons for the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan by the Congress.

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Any two: 1. Partition was seen as the only solution to the communal problem; communal riots had to be stopped. 2. The experience of working with the Muslim League in the Interim Government convinced the Congress that a joint administration was impossible, as the League joined the government only to obstruct. 3. The only alternative to partition was a weak Centre; a smaller India with a strong Centre was better than a bigger one with a weak Centre. 4. Any further delay in the transfer of power could lead to civil war; continued British rule would be a greater calamity. 5. Partition would rid the Constitution of separate electorates and other undemocratic provisions.

ICSE 2024 board paper · 3 marks

Look at the picture given and answer the following questions: Picture (newspaper front page): The Times of India, Bombay, Wednesday, June 4, 1947. Main headline: "WAY OUT OF INDIAN DEADLOCK". Other headlines: "BRITAIN'S PLAN FOR SMOOTH TRANSFER OF POWER"; "Immediate Dominion Status Granted"; "PEOPLE ASKED TO DECIDE PARTITION QUESTION"; "Present Constituent Assembly Not Disturbed"; "Mr. Churchill's Support"; "Only Practical Method" – Premier's View – Plan Commended To Commons; "UNIFIED INDIA BEST SOLUTION" – Viceroy's Appeal; "THERE IS INDIAN CONSCIOUSNESS"; "MR. NEHRU COMMENDS PLAN TO NATION"; "Mr. Jinnah Hopeful Of League's Acceptance"; "SARDAR BALDEV SINGH CALLS IT 'SETTLEMENT'". The page carries a photograph of the Viceroy in naval uniform. Name the Viceroy who announced the plan for smooth transfer of power. Mention any two clauses of his plan with reference to the Princely States.

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The Viceroy was Lord Mountbatten (Mountbatten Plan, 3 June 1947). Clauses regarding the Princely States: 1. British paramountcy over the Princely States would lapse on the transfer of power. 2. The Princely States would be free to join either India or Pakistan (or remain independent), keeping in view their geographical position and the wishes of their people.

ICSE 2024 board paper · 3 marks

Look at the picture given and answer the following questions: Picture (newspaper front page): The Times of India, Bombay, Wednesday, June 4, 1947. Main headline: "WAY OUT OF INDIAN DEADLOCK". Other headlines: "BRITAIN'S PLAN FOR SMOOTH TRANSFER OF POWER"; "Immediate Dominion Status Granted"; "PEOPLE ASKED TO DECIDE PARTITION QUESTION"; "Present Constituent Assembly Not Disturbed"; "Mr. Churchill's Support"; "Only Practical Method" – Premier's View – Plan Commended To Commons; "UNIFIED INDIA BEST SOLUTION" – Viceroy's Appeal; "THERE IS INDIAN CONSCIOUSNESS"; "MR. NEHRU COMMENDS PLAN TO NATION"; "Mr. Jinnah Hopeful Of League's Acceptance"; "SARDAR BALDEV SINGH CALLS IT 'SETTLEMENT'". The page carries a photograph of the Viceroy in naval uniform. Mention any three reasons for the acceptance of his plan by the Congress.

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Any three: 1. The communal riots that followed the Direct Action Day had caused great bloodshed; partition seemed the only way to end the violence. 2. The experience of the Interim Government showed that the Muslim League would obstruct every step, making joint working impossible. 3. Delay could lead to the Balkanisation of India, as the Princely States might break away; an early transfer of power was necessary. 4. The plan promised a quick transfer of power and the Congress hoped a smaller but strong, united India would be better than a weak federation.