1. A2 Historical enquiry: India and the British Empire, 1757-1947

2. 1945-7: handover and partition L.O. To know why India was partitioned and the effect that violence had on Britain’s withdrawal from India

3. What happened - 1945? 1944-5 – Wavell finally persuaded Churchill that negotiations should start before war ended Simla Conference April 1945 failed - impasse July 1945 – Labour government elected August 1945 – President Truman demanded repayment of lend-lease Labour decided to transfer power to a united independent India within the new Commonwealth

4. What happened 1946? Cabinet mission proposed two new constitutions – a) loose federation b) two state – neither was accepted Communal violence increased Britain made secret plans to withdraw its civilians Interim government elected and finally formed Constituent assembly convened – Dec 1946 – but it did not make the final decision

5. What happened 1947? Wavell was dismissed and replaced with Lord Louis Mountbatten – king’s cousin – prestigious choice Objective – “a unitary government for British India and the princely states, if possible within the British Commonwealth” Finally devised the Menon Plan (after its writer) – each of 11 provincial assemblies could chose whether to join India or Pakistan; Bengal and Punjab could vote for or against internal partition; princes could join India or Pakistan or remain autonomous 14/5 August 1947 – independence of India and Pakistan

6. What happened 1948? Mountbatten remained viceroy of India to oversee handover Partition accompanied by 1m? deaths and millions of refugees Argument over division of assets Assassination of Gandhi; death of Jinnah Mountbatten has been criticised for undue haste (boundaries; Sikhs); favouritism of Congress (in way boundaries and assets were divided) But could he have controlled the situation?

7. Copland’s analysis Read the handout (p.70-5) and use the information to answer questions 1-10 on your sheet Summary question: Did the Hindu-Muslim split help or hinder the Nationalist cause? How? How does Pakistan evolve from an idea that people didn’t really want to countenance to a reality? Electorate force Muslim League leaders into it becoming Pakistan

8. homework Read the article by Bates ‘The Hidden Story of Partition and its Legacies’ Consider how far Britain is to blame for what happened in India after the handover

9. Rosemary Rees textbook chapter on partition – wraps things up. Give to them to analyse