Editing Indian independence movement (section)

==Sovereignty and partition of India==
{{Main|History of the Republic of India|Partition of India|Pakistan movement}}

On 3 June 1947, Viscount [[Louis Mountbatten]], the last British [[Governor-General of India]], announced the partitioning of British India into [[Dominion of India|India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]]. With the speedy passage of the [[Indian Independence Act 1947]], at 11:57 on [[Yom-e-Istiqlal|14 August 1947]] Pakistan was declared a separate nation. Then at 12:02 A.M., on [[Independence Day (India)|15 August 1947]] India became a sovereign and democratic nation. Eventually, 15 August became Independence Day for India marking the end of British India.  Also on 15 August, both Pakistan and India had the right to remain in or remove themselves from the [[British Commonwealth]].

Violent clashes between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims followed. Prime Minister [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru|Jawaharlal Nehru]] and deputy prime minister [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel|Vallabhbhai Patel]] had invited Mountbatten to continue as [[Governor General of India]] during the period of transition. He was replaced in June 1948 by [[Chakravarti Rajagopalachari|Rajagopalachari]]. In May 1947, Nehru declared that any [[princely state]] which refused to join the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] would be treated as an enemy state. Patel took on the responsibility for bringing princely states into the Union of India, steering efforts by his "iron fist in a velvet glove" policies. India used military force to integrate [[Junagadh]], [[Hyderabad State]] ([[Operation Polo]]) and [[Kashmir]] ([[Instrument of Accession (Jammu and Kashmir)|Instrument of Accession]]) to India.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitra|1997|pp=55–74}}</ref>[[File:Rare photograph of Hindustan Times Newspaper when India got its Independence from Britishers..!!.jpg|thumb|The ''Hindustan Times'' reporting on  Indian independence.]]The [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]], headed by the prominent lawyer, reformer and Dalit leader, [[B.R. Ambedkar]] was tasked heading the creation of the constitution of independent India. The Constituent Assembly completed the work of drafting the constitution on 26 November 1949; on 26 January 1950, the [[Republic of India]] was officially proclaimed. The Constituent Assembly elected [[Rajendra Prasad]] was the first [[President of India]], taking over from Governor General Rajgopalachari.  Subsequently, the French ceded [[Chandernagore]] in 1951, and [[Pondicherry district|Pondichéry]] and its remaining Indian colonies by 1954. Indian troops [[Indian annexation of Goa|annexed Goa]] and Portugal's other [[Portuguese India|Indian enclaves]] in 1961, and [[Sikkim]] [[1975 Sikkimese monarchy referendum|voted]] to join the Indian Union in 1975 after the [[Nathu La and Cho La clashes|Indian victory over China]] in Nathu La and Cho La.

Following self-rule in 1947, India remained in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], and [[India–United Kingdom relations|relations between the UK and India]] have since become friendly. There are many areas in which the two countries seek stronger ties for mutual benefit, and the two nations also have strong cultural and social ties. The UK has an ethnic Indian population of over 1.6 million. In 2010, Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] described Indian – British relations as a "New [[Special Relationship]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Ministers to build a new 'special relationship' with India |first= Dean |last= Nelson |newspaper= [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=7 July 2010 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7877719/Ministers-to-build-a-new-special-relationship-with-India.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721012315/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7877719/Ministers-to-build-a-new-special-relationship-with-India.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 July 2010}}</ref>