THE PARTITION

Refer to this link:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-
great-divide-books-dalrymple
Why did the British finally quit?
• The success of the nationalist movement.

• Loyalists of the British were dwindling in numbers.

• Paucity of European recruits to the ICS combined with

policy of Indianization ended British domination of the
ICS.
• The failure of Cripps Mission of 1942(to give India
Dominion Status)

• The Conservative Party which was opposed to the

demand for the independence of India lost in the 1945
elections in Britain & Labour Party came to power under
the leadership of Clement Atlee.
The two nation theory
• Hindus and Muslims had lived in Harmony in India for
centuries. The two nation theory attacked the very basis
of nationalism.

• In 1940, at the Lahore session of the Muslim League the

demand for a separate state was made.
• Jinnah demanded that the areas in which Muslims are
numerically in a majority like the north-western & Eastern
parts of India should be grouped to constitute independent
state which shall be autonomous.
• The genesis for this demand is traced to the Presidential
address of Muhammad Iqbal who at the Allahabad
session of the Muslim League(dec.1930) justified the
Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim state within
India .

• comprising of Punjab, North West Frontier Province, Sind

& Baluchistan.
• Communalism along with divide and rule became the
colonial authority’s political recourse.

• Muslim league was encouraged to counter nationalist

policies & demands.

• M.A Jinnah who was given the title of ‘Ambassador of

Hindu Muslim unity’ by Sarojini Naidu became the leader
of Muslim League & demanded a separate state of
Pakistan.
Causes of Partition
• British left India after World War 2 in a quick and face-
saving manner.
• the underlying distrust of Hindus and Muslims of each
other despite centuries of living together.
• Muslim educational and economic backwardness relative
to Hindus and their fear of Hindu domination in a united
India.
• the failure of the March 1946 Cabinet Mission in Shimla
on account of Nehru’s refusal to a agree to a
decentralized Subcontinent.

• The beginning of the Hindu-Muslim communal riots with

Jinnah’s call for Direct Action in Calcutta in August 1946.

• the pressure exerted on most Princely States to agree to

ascension to India.
• The Congress was divided in its response to India's entry
into World War II. some Congress leaders favoured
launching a revolt against the British . Some other leaders
supported them in the hope that the gesture would be
reciprocated with independence after the war.
• Gandhiji, was opposed to Indian involvement in the war as
he would not morally endorse a war and also suspected
British intentions, believing that the British were not
sincere about granting India freedom.

• Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, supported the

war effort and condemned the Congress policy.
Partition of India
• The British had encouraged communal forces to further
their strategic interests.

• The Muslim league led by M.A. Jinnah demanded for a

separate Muslim state. According to the two nation theory,
the Muslim league claimed that the Indian subcontinent
consisted of two separate nations, India & Pakistan.
• On 24th march, 1947, lord Mountbatten was appointed
viceroy of India and British govt. announced that it would
transfer power to India hands by June 1948.

• In June 1947, Mountbatten presented a plan for division of

India into two independent states: Indian union and
Pakistan. Pakistan comprising of west Punjab, east
Bengal, Sind and north west frontier.
Partition of India
• On 15th august 1947, India became independent.

• Partition accompanied independence. India was divided

along a line drawn by British lawyer Cyril Radcliff of the
Boundary Commission.
• Partition resulted in a lot of trauma. There were communal
riots, migration & refugee problems.

• Communities, families and farms were cut in two, but by

delaying the announcement of partition, the British
managed to avoid responsibility for the worst fighting and
the mass migration that had followed.
• 15 million were displaced and more than a million lost
their lives. 
Partition of India