When was Mountbatten appointed
22 March 1947
How was the appointment of Mountbatten appropriate
He was a military commander in the region
Political stakes
- Britain wanted a peaceful handover under international scrutiny
- Muslims found Mountbatten less sympathetic than Wavell
When did Patel and Nehru persuade the CWC to accept publicly, the demand for Pakistan
March 1947
Why did Congress accept Pakistan
-Decided that even if Pakistan existed it wouldn’t survive economically or politically and would be reabsorbed back into India
What was the April Confrence?
April 1947- Mountbatten convened a confrence of the 11 British provincial governors
Result of the April Confrence
- expressed concerns about the growth of unrest and likelihood of civil war
- increasing numbers of armed groups ‘defending’ the political parties
What did Plan Balkan propose
- All decisions would be freely made at the provincial level
- The provinces would be allowed to decide whether to be autonomous or join to form larger groups; Princely states could decide to be autonomous or join the other British provinces
When was the Simla moment
May 1947
What was the Simla moment
Nehru was shown the Balkan Plan and he rejected it
What did Nehru call Plan Balkan
‘A picture of fragmentation, conflict and disorder’
which would create a multitude of Ulsters all over the continent
What did Mountbatten do in response to the Simla moment
-Asserted a crisis meeting with his advisers
What did the Menon Plan propose? (3)
- India and Pakistan, with Dominion status in the Commonwealth would be created. States would use the existing political structures of the 1935 Act
- Provincial assemblies would decide which state to join
- Bengal and Punjab assemblies also voting on the question of provincial partitions
- Prince would decide whether to join either India or Pakistan
