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The Union of India sometimes known as the Dominion of India, was an independent state that existed between 15 August, 1947 and 26 January, 1950.

When British rule in India
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
 ended in 1947, two dominion
Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomy polity that were nominally under United Kingdom sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations, from the late 19th century....
s were created to succeed it: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan
Dominion of Pakistan

The Dominion of Pakistan was a federal entity that was established in 1947 as a result of the Partition of India into two sovereign dominions: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan....
. Created by the Indian Independence Act 1947
Indian Independence Act 1947

The Indian Independence Act 1947 was the statute enacted by the British Parliament promulgating the partition of India and the independence of the dominions of Dominion of Pakistan and Dominion of India....
 which was enacted by the British parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, these states existed until the promulgation of their individual constitutions. In the case of India, this occurred on 26 January, 1950; the Republic of India came into existence on that date.

During the dominion phase, the British monarch remained head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 of both countries, and was represented in each by a governor-general
Governor-General

The term governor general or governor-general refers to a Viceroy representative of a Monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription....
.






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The Union of India sometimes known as the Dominion of India, was an independent state that existed between 15 August, 1947 and 26 January, 1950.

When British rule in India
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
 ended in 1947, two dominion
Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomy polity that were nominally under United Kingdom sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations, from the late 19th century....
s were created to succeed it: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan
Dominion of Pakistan

The Dominion of Pakistan was a federal entity that was established in 1947 as a result of the Partition of India into two sovereign dominions: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan....
. Created by the Indian Independence Act 1947
Indian Independence Act 1947

The Indian Independence Act 1947 was the statute enacted by the British Parliament promulgating the partition of India and the independence of the dominions of Dominion of Pakistan and Dominion of India....
 which was enacted by the British parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, these states existed until the promulgation of their individual constitutions. In the case of India, this occurred on 26 January, 1950; the Republic of India came into existence on that date.

During the dominion phase, the British monarch remained head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 of both countries, and was represented in each by a governor-general
Governor-General

The term governor general or governor-general refers to a Viceroy representative of a Monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription....
. However, these governors-general were not also designated "Viceroys" as had been customary under the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
. Two governors-general held office in India during the dominion period:
  1. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
    Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma

    Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Order of the Star of India, Order of the Indian Empire, Royal Victorian Order, Distinguished Service Order, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council was a United Kingdom a...
     (1947–48
    1948

    Year 1948 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar....
    )
  2. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
    C. Rajagopalachari

    Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari , affectionately called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, politician, writer, statesman and leader of the Indian National Congress who served as the last Governor-General of India....
     (1948–50
    1950

    Year 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It is also the index year, or year 0, that scientists use for before present figures....
    )


Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru The son of the wealthy Indian barrister and politician Motilal Nehru, Nehru became a leader of the left-wing of the Indian National Congress at a remarkably young age....
 held office as prime minister
Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of Cabinet in the Executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician....
 (and head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
) of the Union of India during this period.

Partition of India

As the British granted independence to their dominions in India in mid-August 1947, the two nations joined the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
 as self-governing dominions. The partition left Punjab
Punjab region

Punjab , also Panjab , is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. The "Five Rivers" are Beas River, Ravi River, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum River; all these are tributaries of the Indus river, Jhelum being the biggest one....
 and Bengal
Bengal

Bengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent sovereign nation of the Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Oris...
, two of the biggest provinces, divided between India and Pakistan. In the early days of independence, more than two million people migrated across the new border and more than one hundred thousand died in a spate of communal violence. The partition also resulted in tensions over Kashmir
Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" referred only to the valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range; since then, it has been used for a larger area that today includes the Indian administerd state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir...
 leading to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan over the region of Kashmir from 1947 to 1948....
.

See also

  • Government of India
    Government of India

    The Government of India , officially referred to as the Union Government, and also as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of States and territories of India, collectively called the Republic of India....
  • Governor-General of India
    Governor-General of India

    The Governor-General of India was the head of the British Raj in India, and later, after Indian Independence Act 1947, the representative of the List of Indian monarchs#Kings of India and Pakistan....
  • Indian Independence Movement
    Indian independence movement

    The term Indian independence movement incorporates various national and regional campaigns, agitations and efforts of both Nonviolent and Revolutionary movement for Indian independence philosophy....
  • British India