UPSC Prelims 2000 Q15: Modern History – Transfer Of Power & Partition (1945 - 1947)
The Balkan Plan for fragmentation of India was the brain - child of
- (a) W. Churchill
- (b) M. A. Jinnah
- (c) Lord Mountbatten
- (d) V. P. Menon
Answer: (c) Lord Mountbatten
Explanation
Author of the Balkan Plan for India
| Person | Role in 1947 |
|---|---|
| Lord Mountbatten | Plan Balkan (May 1947) — power to pass to the provinces separately |
| V. P. Menon | Drafted the dominion-status plan that became the 3 June Plan |
| M. A. Jinnah | Demanded Pakistan |
| Winston Churchill | Opposition leader in Britain; not involved in drafting |
In May 1947 Lord Mountbatten's staff drew up a plan, nicknamed Plan Balkan, under which power would be transferred to each province separately, leaving them to join India, Pakistan or stay apart.
When Nehru saw it at Simla he rejected it, warning that it would break India into many pieces like the Balkans.
Mountbatten then turned to V. P. Menon's plan of two dominions, announced as the 3 June Plan.
Answer: (c) Lord Mountbatten.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Churchill was not part of drafting the 1947 transfer plans.
- (b) Incorrect. Jinnah wanted Pakistan, not a plan of independent provinces.
- (c) CORRECT. Plan Balkan was drawn up under Mountbatten.
- (d) Incorrect. V. P. Menon drafted the two-dominion plan that replaced Plan Balkan.
Key point
3 June 1947 (Mountbatten Plan) → Indian Independence Act, 18 July 1947 → freedom on 15 August 1947.
Remember
Plan Balkan: Mountbatten, May 1947, rejected by Nehru.
Common mistakes
- Choosing V. P. Menon, who wrote the plan that replaced it.
- Choosing Jinnah because the plan would have divided India.
- Mixing up Plan Balkan with the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946).
Exam tip
Balkan = many small states; Nehru's veto ended it.
Sources
- Bipan Chandra and others — India's Struggle for Independence, chapter 'Freedom and Partition'
- V. P. Menon — The Transfer of Power in India (1957), chapter on the May 1947 plan