The 1947 Indian Independence Act (1947 c. 30 (10 & 11. Geo. 6.)) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received the Royal Assent on 18 July 1947 and thus India and Pakistan, comprising West (modern day Pakistan) and East (modern day Bangladesh) regions, came into being on 15 August.
Earlier, Prime Minister of England, Attlee wrote to Mountbatten on 18 March 1947: “It is, of course, important that the Indian States should adjust their relations with the authorities to whom it is intended to hand over power in British India; but as was explicitly stated by the Cabinet Mission His Majesty’s Government do not intend to hand over their powers and obligations under paramountcy to any successor Government. It is not intended to bring paramountcy as a system to a conclusion earlier than the date of the final transfer of power, but you are authorised, at such time as you think appropriate, to enter into negotiations with individual States for adjusting their relations with the Crown. The princely states would be free from orders and treaties of British Rule in India. They can either join the two dominions or stay separate“
One of the key aspects of the Act was:
termination of British suzerainty over the princely states, with effect from 15 August 1947, and recognised the right of states to remain independent or accede to either dominion.
Section 7 (1) (b): “the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses, and with it, all treaties and agreements in force at the date of the passing of this Act between His Majesty and the rulers of Indian States, all functions exercisable by His Majesty at that date with respect to Indian States, all obligations of His Majesty existing at that date towards Indian States or the rulers thereof, and all powers, rights, authority or jurisdiction exercisable by His Majesty at that date in or in relation to Indian States by treaty, grant, usage, sufferance or otherwise.”
Key Points to note are:
- Very few of the Princely States actually aceded to the Republic of India.
- Even those that aceded, did so to a Hindu India. Not a secular India.
- The Independence act was an act of the UK Parliment. It has nothing to do with the people of India under British Rule – leave alone the Princely States
- The subsequent constuituent assembly was never voted into existence by Indians and hence has no legal validity.
- As such the declaration of India as a secular state – which Indira Gandhi did in 1975 is completely illegal.
All these imply that the Hindu Kingdoms – and most of them as “Samasthanas” or religious kingdoms were never a part of the Indian Republic. They have been wrongly assumed to be aceded. But most of them did not acede. And the few that did, did so with the understanding that they were becoming a part of a Hindu Nation. And in all these, the people never had a say.
It is high time the Hindu Kingdoms declare their autonomy and rally for their inherent rights – rights which were never lost to them, but with layers of smokes and mirrors appears to have been stolen from them.