At the end of 16 August 1947
The Indian portion became West Bengal. Partition’s final boundary award was not public until 17 August. [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
Partition divided the former British province between India and Pakistan. The displayed source polygon is clipped to a later Indian outline and must not be read as the whole 1947 province. [1]
The documented sequence distinguishes these events: 15 August 1947 — indian Dominion established. [1]
West Bengal, and a frontier not yet publicly announced
The Independence Act divided Bengal into West Bengal in India and East Bengal in Pakistan. This was partition of a British province, not accession by a prince. On 16 August the new Dominions existed, but the final boundary award had not yet been made public; its announcement followed on 17 August. The atlas’s day therefore captures a constitutional change before people had complete public knowledge of the new frontier. [1][3]
The reference polygon is clipped to a later Indian outline and must not be read as the entire former province. A further territorial change came when Cooch Behar, a separately ruled state, passed through central administration in September 1949 and joined West Bengal on 1 January 1950. The creation of West Bengal and the later merger of that neighbouring state used different legal routes. [1][4]
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.
The 16 August frontier cannot be reconstructed from this retrospective boundary layer.
Boundary source: 1941. Source-year boundary (1941); the 16 August 1947 boundary has not been independently verified. The source uses a later Indian external outline and does not cover the whole pre-Partition province. Partition reconciliation is pending. 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
- Partition of British India: contemporary maps, letters and official reports ↗Primary documents with archival teaching commentary · UK National Archives
- 1950 White Paper: Cooch Behar ↗Government account / primary document transcription