At the end of 16 August 1947
Within the Dominion of India from 15 August 1947. [1]
The Indian Independence Act created the two Dominions from 15 August 1947. For the former British provinces, transfer was constitutional rather than a series of princely accessions. Existing administrative machinery continued under new authority while the Dominion’s constitution-making proceeded. India had not yet become the Republic inaugurated on 26 January 1950. [1][2]
The authority behind the territory
The authority recorded for the snapshot is: Provincial government under the Dominion of India; no hereditary princely ruler. [1]
The British Parliament enacted the transfer; Governor-General Mountbatten and the new Dominion and provincial governments implemented it. [1]
How the relationship changed
British rule ended through the Indian Independence Act. The province continued within India; it did not sign a princely Instrument of Accession. [1]
The documented sequence distinguishes these events: 15 August 1947 — indian Dominion established. [1]
A province that became the receiving administration for many states
Bombay was already part of the Dominion on 15 August 1947 through constitutional transfer. The princely territories around and within the wider region remained distinct administrations even where their rulers had acceded. Consequently, the historical province cannot be equated either with all the nearby states or with the modern city sharing its name. [1][3]
Bombay subsequently received the Deccan states in March 1948, the Gujarat group in June, Kolhapur in March 1949 and Baroda in May 1949. Those transfers enlarged the province’s administrative responsibilities in stages. The 1956 reorganisation then combined a further set of territories, including Saurashtra and Kutch, while transferring some districts to Mysore. A single outline or date cannot describe all these versions of Bombay. [4][5][6][7]
The timeline
Dates identify the event recorded. A month or year is left imprecise where the evidence does not supply a day.
- BY THE SNAPSHOT
Indian Dominion established
Timeline evidence: [1] Indian Independence Act 1947, sections 1–3, 7
Evidence & map notes
Snapshot basis. Territory type; consult the dossier for the 1947 constitutional position.
Boundary source: 1941. Source-year boundary (1941); the 16 August 1947 boundary has not been independently verified. This reference is not a verified reconstruction of the boundary on 16 August 1947.
Paragraph citations distinguish published agreements, contemporary accounts, later chronologies and historical scholarship. Regional chapters explain a shared process; they do not establish a separate local negotiation or exact instrument date where none has been verified.
Sources & further reading
The White Paper records the Indian government’s account and reproduced legal instruments. It is not an independent assessment of every claim of consent, coercion or popular opinion.
- Indian Independence Act 1947, sections 1–3, 7 ↗Primary / official source
- 1950 White Paper: Constitutional Relationship with the Centre ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Instrument of Accession ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Deccan States ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Gujarat States ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Baroda ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- States Reorganisation Act, 1956, especially sections 2–12 ↗Primary legislation · India Code