<P> For decades the Conservatives were split on India between die - hard imperialists ( led by Churchill ) and moderate elements who tried to provide limited local control . Meanwhile , the small Labour minority in Parliament was sympathetic to the Congress movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharial Nehru . Decolonisation was never a major election issue ; Labour was not officially in favour of decolonisation when it was elected in 1945 . With violence escalating in India after the war , but with British financial power at a low ebb , large - scale military involvement was impossible . The Viceroy of India warned he needed a further seven army divisions to prevent communal violence if independence negotiations failed . None were available , so political restructuring was accelerated . The Labour government gave independence to India and Pakistan in an unexpectedly quick move in 1947 . Historian and Conservative party sympathiser Andrew Roberts says the independence of India was a `` national humiliation '' but it was necessitated by urgent financial , administrative , strategic and political needs . Whereas Churchill in 1940 - 45 had tightened the hold on India and imprisoned the Congress leadership , Labour had looked forward to making it a fully independent dominion like Canada or Australia . Many of the Congress leaders in India had studied in England , and were highly regarded as fellow idealistic socialists by Labour leaders . Attlee was the Labour expert on India and took special charge of decolonization . Attlee found that Churchill 's viceroy , Field Marshal Wavell , was too imperialistic , too keen on military solutions ( he wanted seven more Army divisions ) and too neglectful of Indian political alignments . The new Viceroy was Lord Mountbatten , the dashing war hero and a cousin of the King . The boundary between the newly created states of Pakistan and India involved the widespread resettlement of millions of Muslims and Hindus ( and many Sikhs ) . Extreme violence ensued when Punjab and Bengal provinces were split . Historian Yasmin Khan estimates that between a half - million and a million men , women and children were killed . Gandhi himself was assassinated by a Hindu activist in January 1948 . </P>
<P> For decades the Conservatives were split on India between die - hard imperialists ( led by Churchill ) and moderate elements who tried to provide limited local control . Meanwhile , the small Labour minority in Parliament was sympathetic to the Congress movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharial Nehru . Decolonisation was never a major election issue ; Labour was not officially in favour of decolonisation when it was elected in 1945 . With violence escalating in India after the war , but with British financial power at a low ebb , large - scale military involvement was impossible . The Viceroy of India warned he needed a further seven army divisions to prevent communal violence if independence negotiations failed . None were available , so political restructuring was accelerated . The Labour government gave independence to India and Pakistan in an unexpectedly quick move in 1947 . Historian and Conservative party sympathiser Andrew Roberts says the independence of India was a `` national humiliation '' but it was necessitated by urgent financial , administrative , strategic and political needs . Whereas Churchill in 1940 - 45 had tightened the hold on India and imprisoned the Congress leadership , Labour had looked forward to making it a fully independent dominion like Canada or Australia . Many of the Congress leaders in India had studied in England , and were highly regarded as fellow idealistic socialists by Labour leaders . Attlee was the Labour expert on India and took special charge of decolonization . Attlee found that Churchill 's viceroy , Field Marshal Wavell , was too imperialistic , too keen on military solutions ( he wanted seven more Army divisions ) and too neglectful of Indian political alignments . The new Viceroy was Lord Mountbatten , the dashing war hero and a cousin of the King . The boundary between the newly created states of Pakistan and India involved the widespread resettlement of millions of Muslims and Hindus ( and many Sikhs ) . Extreme violence ensued when Punjab and Bengal provinces were split . Historian Yasmin Khan estimates that between a half - million and a million men , women and children were killed . Gandhi himself was assassinated by a Hindu activist in January 1948 . </P>
which party was in power in u.k. when india became independent
which party was in power in u.k. when india became independent
Labour
Labour