The Dominion of India (Hindi: à¤à¤¾à¤°à¤¤ अधिराजà¥à¤¯, BhÄrata AdhirÄjya) was a predecessor to modern-day India and an independent state that existed between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. It was transformed into the Republic of India by the promulgation of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.
George VI was made King of India (the head of state) and was represented by the Governor-General of India. However, the governor-general was not designated viceroy, as had been customary under the British Raj. Two governors-general held office in India during the Dominion period (after the office of Viceroy was abolished by the Indian Independence Act 1947): the Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1947â€"48) and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1948â€"50). Jawaharlal Nehru held office as prime minister formerly as Secretary for State (the head of government) of the Union of India throughout this period.
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Partition of India
The Partition of British India led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan (which later split into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh) and the Dominion of India (later Republic of India) on 15 August 1947.
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, drafted by a committee headed by B. R. Ambedkar, on 26 November 1949. India (with the addition of Sikkim) became a federal, democratic republic after its constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India.
Monarchy
The monarchy of India was a system in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of India from 1947 to 1950. India shared the same person as its sovereign as the United Kingdom and the other Dominions in the British Commonwealth of Nations. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly carried out by the governor-general. The royal succession was governed by the Act of Settlement 1701.
On 22 June 1948, King George VI abandoned the title King-Emperor and Queen Elizabeth Queen-Empress.
The monarchy was abolished on 26 January 1950, when India became a republic within the Commonwealth, the first Commonwealth country to do so.
List of Indian monarchs
See also
- History of the Republic of India
- Indian independence movement