In British India, Batala was the headquarters of a "tehsil" in the Gurdaspur district of the Punjab Province. The allocation of the Gurdaspur district during the Partition of India was highly contested because it was in central Punjab and had roughly equal proportion of Muslim and non-Muslim populations. Viceroy Lord Wavell allocated three eastern tehsils of the district (Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot) to India, and one western teshil (Shakargarh) to Pakistan. However, it continued to be contested. The whole district was shown as part of Pakistan in the 'notional partition line' in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the issue was referred to the Punjab Boundary Commission. The final partition line ('Radcliffe Line') eventually confirmed Wavell's division of the district, with the result that Batala became part of India. For three days, 14–17 August 1947, Batala was regarded as part of Pakistan, then added to Indian territory.