Just a day ago, our nation celebrated its 75th anniversary of independence, and while we are all commemorating this momentous occasion, there is much to discover about how we got here. A Twitter user posted a detailed thread on why India didn’t join the Commonwealth following decolonization like Australia and New Zealand, which shed light on the country’s route to becoming a republic.
There was a need for an establishment of nations that were once a part of the British Empire as the Empire started the process of decolonization and the emergence of independent states from former British territories.
The 1949 London Declaration was ratified by eight nations (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom) following the collapse of the British Empire. In a nutshell, this established that all members were free, sovereign, and on an equal footing with one another and that they acknowledged King George VI as the figurative head of their grouping, the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 1942 and 1947, respectively, Australia and New Zealand both joined the Statute. After India gained its independence in 1947, it decided to abolish the monarchy as the form of government and establish itself as a republic.
At a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in London in April 1949, it was decided that India could maintain membership if it accepted the British crown as only “the symbol of the free association” of Commonwealth members. India announced its intention to become a republic in 1949, which would have required its withdrawal from the Commonwealth under the existing rules.
The thread claims that Mountbatten decided it would be appropriate to give India dominion status while the nation worked on its constitution in light of the escalating agitation.
The tweets went on to explain how Japan played a role in deciding on our Independence Day and the precise moment our nation proclaimed its full sovereignty.
In addition to this fascinating thread about India’s independence, the Twitter user had also previously posted about the country’s division and how some of the present states came into being.
Also read: This 7-Year-Old’s Painful Account Of The Partition Shows The Price We Had To Pay For Freedom