This section is about a part of the freedom struggle that students sometimes find slippery: the princely states. These were not directly ruled by the British but by hereditary rulers (maharajas, nawabs, rajas) under British paramountcy. At independence they covered roughly one-third of the land and one-fourth of the population of British India — so…
This final section represents the psychological and moral climax of India’s freedom struggle — the moment when independence arrived hand-in-hand with Partition, and a movement built on unity had to accept division as a tragic necessity. Independence with Partition – The Great Paradox of 1947 When India became free on 15 August 1947, it was…
This is the final and climactic phase of India’s journey to freedom, where all the political decisions of the preceding years crystallized into legal and geographical reality. In this part, we move from the Boundary Commission — which physically divided the land — to the Indian Independence Act of 1947 — which legally ended British…
This is perhaps the most decisive phase of India’s freedom story, when the British, realizing that unity had become impossible, planned their own exit through Partition. The Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947) — though often portrayed as a quick administrative measure — was actually the culmination of years of political deadlock, communal tension, and imperial…
This section takes us from the Interim Government towards the final announcement of British withdrawal.It covers two key moments: the Meerut Session of the Congress (1946) and Clement Attlee’s Announcement (1947) — both symbolizing that the countdown to independence had truly begun. Meerut Congress Session (1946): The Last Congress Before Independence Background – Maulana Abul…
(September 2, 1946 – August 15, 1947) The Context – The Cabinet Mission’s Idea After World War II, Britain was determined to transfer power to Indian hands — but how to do it peacefully remained the big question.The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) had proposed two things: Both the Congress and the Muslim League disagreed with…
⚙️ Background: When Politics Turned into Communal Warfare By mid-1946, the Cabinet Mission Plan—Britain’s last major attempt to keep India united—had failed. The Congress and the Muslim League could not agree on how to share power. At this point, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, frustrated and realizing that constitutional methods were not delivering Pakistan, called for “Direct…
Introduction: Partition and Independence — The Final Act of India’s Freedom Struggle When we think of India’s freedom, it is tempting to imagine 15 August 1947 as a moment of pure triumph — the midnight hour when an ancient civilization reawakened to freedom. But that dawn was not entirely radiant. It was streaked with fire,…
Why the Cabinet Mission was sent? After WWII the British Labour government (which had sympathy for Indian self-rule) decided that peaceful withdrawal was necessary and inevitable.On 22 January 1946 the British Cabinet decided to send a mission; Clement Attlee announced it on 19 Feb 1946. A three-member team (Sir Pethick Lawrence — chair, Stafford Cripps,…
Now we come to the Elections of 1945–46, which served as the political mirror of India’s mood at the twilight of British rule.These elections are crucial because they revealed, in the clearest numerical form, how India had become deeply polarized — with the Congress emerging as the voice of united Indian nationalism, and the Muslim…
