What act created the independent dominions of India and Pakistan in 1947 and partitioned British India?

• A. Indian Independence Act 1947
• B. Government of India Act 1935
• C. Partition of British India Act 1940
• D. India Act 1946

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how decolonization and the creation of new states were legally enacted. The act that ended British rule in India and led to the creation of two independent dominions—India and Pakistan—in 1947 was the Indian Independence Act 1947. This legislation granted full independence to both dominions, partitioned British India into two separate states, and set up the framework for their self-governing constitutions and governments. It also ended the British Crown’s direct governance over the Indian subcontinent and reorganized the transfer of powers to the new administrations, while allowing the princely states to accede to either dominion.

By contrast, the Government of India Act 1935 expanded provincial self-government but remained part of the imperial structure rather than creating independent dominions. The 1946 measures were designed to facilitate power transfer and outline a transition, not to establish the two dominions. There is no separate act known as a Partition of British India Act in 1940.