Biographical Notes - Educational Sources - Indian Independence 1947

Brief biographical information of British and Indian politicians and important personalities
involved in the Indian Independence movement:

Attlee, Clement (1883-1967)

Deputy Prime Minister of Britain under Winston Churchill, 1942; Prime Minister (Labour
Government) 1945-1951. Attlee and his Labour Cabinet granted independence to India in 1947.

Abell, George Edmond Brackenbury, Sir (1904-1989)

Joined Indian Civil Service, 1928; Private Secretary to the Viceroy, 1945-47.

Amery, Leopold Charles Maurice Stennett (1873-1955)

Secretary of State for India and Burma, 1940-45.

Bose, Subhas Chandra (1897-1945)

Born in India; studied in England; entered Indian Civil Service in 1919; President of the All-India
Congress, 1938; exiled to Berlin, 1941; formed Indian National Army against the Allied forces in the
South and Southeast Asia during World War II; killed in plane crash in 1945 on his way to Japan.

Churchhill, Winston Leonard Spencer, Sir (1874-1965)

Leader of the Conservative Party 1940-55; Prime Minister 1945, 1951-55.

Cripps, Richard Stafford, Sir (1889-1948)

President of the Board of Trade, 1945-47; a member of the Cabinet Mission to India in March 1946;
Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1947-50

Dufferin, Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquis of Dufferin and Ava(1826-

1902)
Under Secretary of State for India 1864-66; Viceroy of India 1884-88.

Erskine Crum, Vernon Forbes, Lt-Gen (1918-1971)

Conference Secretary to Viceroy and Governor-General of India, 1947-48

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand, Mahatma (1869-1948)

Called to the Bar in 1889; in South Africa from 1893-1915; leader of the Indian Nationalist
Movement and Indian National Congress until his assassination in January 1948.

Irwin, 1st Earl of Halifax, 1st Baron of (1881-1959)

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood. Viceroy of India, 1926-31.

Ismail Khan, Nawab Muhammad (1884-1965)

Prominent leader in the Muslim League, 1930-46

Ismay, Hastings Lionel, General, 1st Baron (1887-1965)

Military adviser to Winston Churchill during World War II; Lord Mountbatten's Chief of Staff in India
in 1947.
Jinnah, Mahomed Ali, Quaid-i-Azam (1875-1948)
Called to the Bar in England in 1896; Leader of the Muslim League, c.1934; first Governor-General of
Pakistan, 1947-48

Kripalani, Jiwatram Bhagwandas, Acharya (1888-1982)

Professor of English and History at Muzaffarpur College in Bihar, India, 1912-17; President of the
Indian National Congress, 1945-1947

Liaquat Ali Khan, Nawabzada (1895-1951)

Trained as a lawyer in England, 1919-21; Leader of the Muslim League Party, 1940; Finance Minister
in the Interim Government of India, 1946; first Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1947-1951.

Linlithgow, Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of (1887-1952)

Viceroy and Governor-General of India, 1936-43

Lytton, Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer- Lytton, 1st Earl of (1831-1891)

Viceroy of India, 1876-1880.

Mieville, Eric Charles, Sir (1869-1971)

Principal Secretary to the Viceroy of India, 1947.

Monteath, David Taylor, Sir (1887-1961)

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma 1941-1947

Mountbatten of Burma, Admiral of the Fleet, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten,
1st Earl of (1900-1979)
Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia, 1943-46; Viceroy and Governor-General of India, 1947-
1948.

Nehru, Jawaharlal, Pandit (1889-1964)

Barrister and politician in the United Provinces of India; supporter of Gandhi; President of Indian
National Congress, 1929, 1936-37, 1946, 1951-54; first Prime Minister of India, 1947-64.

Nishtar, Abdur Rab Khan, Sardar (1899-1958)

Leading member of the Muslim League; Member of the Indian Interim Government 1946-1947.

Patel, Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai, Sardar (1875-1950)

Trained as a barrister in England, 1910-1913; Member of the Indian Interim Government 1946;
Deputy Prime Minister of India after Independence 1947-1950.

Pethick-Lawrence, Frederick William, 1st Baron (1871-1961)

Member of the Round Table Conference, London, 1931; Secretary of State for India and Burma,
1945-1947.

Ripon, George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of (1828-1909)

Viceroy of India, 1880-1884.
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882-1945)
32nd President of the United States 1933-1945

Singh, Baldev, Sardar (1902-1961)

Sikh member of the Indian Interim Government (Defence), 1946; Defence Minister under Nehru's
government, 1947-1952.

Wavell, Archibald Percival, Field-Marshal, 1st Earl (1883-1950)

Commander-in-Chief, India, 1941-43; Aide-de-Camp General to the King, 1941-43; Field-Marshal,
1943; Viceroy and Governor-General of India, 1943-1947