We all know about the Radcliffe Line and the Partition of India. However, just a few months before the partition, there was a real danger of total Balkanization of British India. Let us dive into some history of events leading to the Partition and formation of India's external boundaries.
In April 1947, the future of India and Pakistan was uncertain. Viceroy Lord Mountbatten had proposed a "Plan Balkan". According to this "if Partition was to occur, it was the responsibility of the Indians themselves. The provinces [Pink regions in map]... would have the right to determine their own future, while Bengal and Punjab were to be partitioned [ Boundary commission- later Radcliffe line], primarily for voting purposes. Only Sylhet (as a predominantly Muslim district) [just north of Tripura] in Assam would join a Muslim province, created by partitioning Bengal" (Narayani Basu, 2020).
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