 With the war's end, Mackay retired from the army on 27 February 1946, and the post of High Commissioner gradually became a civilian one.India was not yet independent, but was about to become so, and Mackay met with future leaders Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.Mackay and the Minister for External Affairs, Dr H. V. Evatt, supported Indian independence, while expressing the hope that India would remain in the British Commonwealth.