3RD JUNE PLAN 1947(Excerpts from My Book) As clear from the table above, the Muslim League selected its team very carefully under the leadership of Liaquat Ali Khan so as to work for party objectives from within the Interim Government. However the Interim Government could not sail smoothly and very soon differences surfaced between the two coalition partners. The gulf between the two political parties was so widened and the post-World War-II situation compelled the British Government to call it a day. During his speech in the British Parliament on February 1947, the Prime Minister of Great Britain announced that His Majesty Government will leave India by June 1948 and power will be transferred to Indians subsequently. The next step was to replace Viceroy Lord Wavell. The reason of his replacement was: “Lord Wavells’s Viceroyalty ended on a question mark and that understates it. There is mystery here which has given rise not merely to gossip but to honest speculation and misgiving. The impression remains that he and the British Government came into fundamental disagreement on policy that they could not see eye to eye over the method, and in particular the timing of the end of British rule”. In a farewell speech broad cast from All India Radio Delhi on 21st March, 1947, Lord Wavell recalled his pleasant memories of stay in India. He assured Indians that his successor Lord Mountbatten would do better as Viceroy. He said: “My successor is known to many of you personally and to all by reputation as a great leader in war and ardent supporter of progress. I can assure you of his goodwill towards India and of his vigor in showing it” Lord Mountbatten arrived at Delhi on 22nd March, 1947 and assumed charge as Viceroy on 24th. He was sent to India to work out a system under which he could transfer power to Indians. Giving a pen picture of Mountbatten’s personality, the authors of British Raj in India wrote: “Mountbatten was a highly gifted person. He was a youthful 46, possessed a fine presence, an intelligent mind, the faculty of quick decision, and the resilience to take setbacks in his strides. He was also a hard and methodical worker and kept himself well- informed by incessant discussions with interested parties and his own advisors. At the same time he was inordinately vain and ambitious and had a burning desire to succeed and project himself in the best possible light” After preliminary discussions with leaders of All India National Congress and Muslim League, the new Viceroy was able to draft partition scheme with the help of his advisers. After three weeks, the first draft of the partition plan was ready which was discussed in a two-day Governors conference opened on 15th April 1947. In the beginning of May 1947, the plan was taken to London by Lord Ismay. It should be noted that V.P Menon was against the Plan and he sketched out his own plan. In the meantime the Viceroy continued discussions and consultations in Simla. The draft plan taken to London was approved by the British cabinet but when it was brought to India and shown to Nehru, he rejected it out rightly. Consequently, Mountbatten asked Menon to draw a new plan. He himself visited London on 18th May along with a new plan and was able to get that approved from the British Government It is worth mentioning that in the whole process of preparation and alteration of the partition plan, Nehru was constantly consulted but Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was completely ignored. The indifferent attitude of Mountbatten towards Muslim League speaks volumes of his intentions which unfolded in the days to come. On return to India, Mountbatten convened a meeting of Indian leaders on 2nd June 1947. The meeting was attended by the All India National Congress leaders Nehru, Patel and Kripalani. From the Muslim League side, Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan and Sardar Nishtar participated while Baldev Singh represented Sikhs in the meeting... The next Day the Viceroy announced the plan which is known as 3rd June Plan. Points of the plan are summarized as follow: (a) The Muslim majority areas that would be unwilling to participate in the existing Constituent Assembly would be allowed to convene similar Assembly for themselves. (b) It was decided that in the event of Muslim majority areas’ decision to convene a separate Legislative Assembly, then Bengal and Punjab provinces were to be partitioned as per the given mechanism. (c) In order to demarcate the boundaries of the two parts of the Punjab and of the Bengal, a Boundary Commission was supposed to be appointed. (d) Keeping in view peculiar situation in NWFP and District Sylhet of Eastern Bengal, it was agreed to hold referendum in those areas Earlier on, the British Premier Mr. Attlee had announced the cessation of British rule over India by June 1948, but on 3rd June, he hinted that the transfer of power may take place at an earlier date. The earlier date was then fixed as 15th August 1947. To legalize the 3rd June Plan, the British parliament passed “The Indian Independence Act” on 18th July, 1947 When it came to the demarcation of boundaries, Jinnah favoured the involvement of United Nations but Nehru did not agree on the plea that it would cause intolerable delay. . Subsequently the Boundary Commissions for Bengal and Punjab were set up which comprised the following members: Province Muslim League nominees Congress nominees Bengal Js. Abu Saleh M. Akram, Js. S.A. Rahman Js. B.K. Mukherji, Js. CC Biswas, Punjab Js. Din Muhammad, Js. Muhammad Munir Js. M.C. Mahajan Js. Teja Sing Sir Cyril Radcliffe was appointed as Chairman of both the commissions. The conduct of the Chairman of Boundary Commission raised many eye brows. Following are some pertinent points: (i) In drawing the boundary lines, the commission was supposed to take into account population and geographical contiguity but an ambiguous mandate i.e. “Other Factors” was also added to the terms of reference. (ii) Radcliffe, who had little knowledge about India, was not enthusiastic in attending various meetings. He presided over only two of the four procedural meetings and did not bother even to attend a single session of the regular public sittings. (iii) The award of Muslim majority tehsils i.e. Ferozpur, Zira, Ajnala, Batala, Gurdaspur Nakodar Julundar and Fazilka to India was unjust. Ironically, Radcliffe had informally conveyed to the Muslim members of the Punjab Boundary commission that three tehsils of Frozpur District (Ferozpur, Zira and Fazilka) were being included in Pakistan but in the final award, they were allotted to India. The percentage of Muslim population in these area was: Name of Tehsil Percentage of Muslims Ferozpur 55.2 Zira 65.2 Fazilka 75.12 Batala 55.06 Gurdaspur 52.1 Nakodar 59.4 Jullunder 51.1 Ajnala 59.4 (iv) Many writers such as Alastair Lamb and Choudhri Muhammad Ali are of the view that these areas were given so as to provide India an easy access to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite all the injustices, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah accepted the award simply because the Muslims of India could not afford any new controversy. In a broad cast speech he said: “The division of India is now finally and irrevocably effected. No doubt, we feel that the carving out of this great independent Muslim state has suffered injustices. We have been squeezed in as much as it was possible and the latest blow that we have received was the award of Boundary Commission. It is an unjust, incomprehensible and even perverse award. It may be wrong, unjust and perverse and it may not be judicial but a political award, but we have agreed to abide by it and it is binding upon us as honourable people we must abide by it. It may be our misfortune, but we must bear up this one more blow with fortitude, courage and hope”. At last, a fifth most populous state of the world came into existence. Lord Mountbatten came to the capital of Pakistan, Karachi on 13th August 1947, and the next day he addressed the first Constituent Assembly. Latter in the night Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah hosted a dinner in his honour in which Jinnah paid rich tribute\s to the British Government for transferring power to the native people. Showering praises on British Government “showed that though Pakistanis were angry with Mountbatten personally for his partiality to the Indians, they retained their admiration for the British people and their political system”. . The next day Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah assumed the charge of first Governor General of the newly born state of Pakistan.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 15:09:16 +0000
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