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Question 107 of 137 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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The Boundary Commissions of 1947, which drew the boundaries between India and Pakistan in Punjab and Bengal, were headed by:

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Answer: Option C — Sir Cyril Radcliffe

Detailed Solution

The two Boundary Commissions of 1947, for Punjab and Bengal, were headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer; the boundary line he drew is known as the "Radcliffe Line".

Background:

  • The Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947) provided for the partition of British India into two dominions, India and Pakistan.
  • The provinces of Punjab and Bengal, which had both Hindu-majority and Muslim-majority areas, were to be divided.
  • The Indian Independence Act (July 1947) provided for the transfer of power on 15 August 1947.

The Boundary Commissions:

  • Two Boundary Commissions were set up, one for Punjab and one for Bengal (including the Sylhet district of Assam).
  • Each commission had four members, two nominated by the Congress and two by the Muslim League, with Radcliffe as the chairman of both.
  • The members were divided, so the final decisions were made by Radcliffe.

About Cyril Radcliffe:

  • He was a British lawyer, who had never been to India before.
  • He arrived in India on 8 July 1947, and was given only about five weeks to draw the boundaries.
  • He used out-of-date maps and census figures, and did not have time to visit the areas.

The award:

  • The Radcliffe Award was completed by 12 August 1947, but was made public only on 17 August 1947, two days after Independence.
  • The boundary divided villages, farms, rivers and railway lines, and caused great hardship.
  • Many people did not know which country they belonged to until after Independence.

Results:

  • The partition led to one of the largest migrations in human history; millions of people crossed the new borders.
  • Terrible communal violence broke out, especially in Punjab, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

The Radcliffe Line today:

It forms the border between India and Pakistan in Punjab, and between India and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Mountbatten was the last Viceroy; Cripps and Wavell were not the heads of the Boundary Commissions.

Quick tip

Remember: Boundary Commissions (1947) = Sir Cyril Radcliffe ("Radcliffe Line"); award announced on 17 August 1947.

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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