Mountbatten Plan | History Notes

 Mountbatten Plan

Mountbatten Plan was announced by Lord Mountbatten, who was India’s last viceroy and proposed an approach in which provinces would be declared independent successor states with the option of joining the constituent assembly or not. The Mountbatten Plan was the final plan for Indian independence and was also known as the ‘3rd June Plan’, ‘Dickie Bird Plan’, or ‘Plan Balkan’.

Here in this article, you will get the full details of the Dickie Bird Plan for the preparation for the Competitive exams.

What is the Mountbatten Plan?

The Mountbatten Plan was proposed by the last Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and was India’s provisional administrative division. The transfer of power from the British authorities was announced on 3rd June 1947 and was to be implemented by Indian leaders on 15 August 1947. India was proposed to be divided into two separate nations: a Muslim-majority Pakistan and a Hindi-majority India.

Mountbatten Plan Date	3rd June 1947
Another name	3rd June Plan Plan Balkan Dickie Bird Plan

Features of Mountbatten Plan

The Mountbatten plan was implemented with the fullest rapidity. Some prominent features of the 3rd June plan are as follows:

• The Indian Constituent Assembly’s constitution will not apply to Muslim-majority provinces.
• Their own Legislative Assemblies will talk about how Punjab and Bengal will be split up and which Constituent Assembly individuals will join.
• Another feature of the Mountbatten Plan is that the question of a separate Constituent Assembly will be decided by the Muslim-majority provinces.
• The ultimate delineation lines will be decided by a Boundary Communism in each province.
• The Sind Legislative Assembly will vote on whether to stay in the current Constituent Assembly or join the next one.
• By the 15th of August 1947, power was to be given to India.

Provisions of Mountbatten Plan

The partition of India was not a new idea that came up after the Mountbatten Plan. The British had been trying to solve the problem of an undivided India since the beginning of their rule in 1858 but had failed to come up with a solution acceptable to all parties involved. Muslims wanted an Islamic state, while Hindus wanted a secular state, be it with special privileges for minorities or without them.

The goal of the Mountbatten plan was to make sure that Hindus and Muslims did not kill each other during the partition. The following are the provisions of the Mountbatten Plan proposed by Lord Mountbatten:

• Lord Mountbatten arrived in India, and British Prime Minister Clement Atlee gave him the job of making sure that the power quickly changed hands.
• In May 1947, Mountbatten presented a scheme in which the provinces would be declared independent successor states and then given the option of joining or not joining the constituent assembly. The “Dickie Bird Plan” was the name given to this strategy.
• The Viceroy devised a strategy known as the 3rd June Plan.
• Separation, independence, sovereignty for both nations, and the right to write their own constitution were all part of the Mountbatten plan.
• Princely states like Jammu and Kashmir could choose whether to join India or Pakistan.

Main Clause of Mountbatten Plan

The partition of India was not only one of the most painful and traumatic events in history but also one with an uncertain outcome. This clause of the Mountbatten Plan ensured that there would be no discrimination based on religion or community during the transition period from British rule to Indian Independence. As per the Lord Mountbatten Plan, India should be split up after a reasonable amount of time has passed and tempers have cooled. It should also happen in a way that doesn’t hurt those who want to stay in Pakistan or Hindustan.

Merits of Mountbatten Plan

Here are a few provisions that show why the Mountbatten Plan was a success:

• It gave India its independence, established Pakistan, and created the conditions for peace between two countries that were historically at war with each other.
• The transfer of power from British hands to Indian leaders by June 1948.
• The Mountbatten Plan ensured that India would get its independence peacefully at a time when there was already instability in the Indian government.
• It prevented a civil war between Hindus and Muslims in India.

Analysis of the Mountbatten Plan

The Mountbatten Plan was a masterpiece of strategic deception. The following points present a detailed analysis of the Dickie bird plan of Lord Mountbatten:

• It helped India to win freedom from Britain and Pakistan to gain independence from India.
• The British had to get their troops out of India and Pakistan as soon as possible and give power to Indian leaders.
• The Mountbatten Plan allowed for a population exchange between the two new dominions, allowing Hindus to move from Pakistan to India and Muslims to move from India to Pakistan.
• The exchange of the population reduced tension between the two new states and made it easier for them to live peacefully with each other afterwards.
• Enabled Britain to withdraw its army from the subcontinent without any violence.