Partition of India

• 1. Colonial Roots And Early Tensions

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  In 1905, Lord Curzon divided the Bengal Presidency into two provinces. The Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam emerged alongside the Hindu-majority province of Bengal. This administrative split transformed nationalist politics in ways no previous action had. The Hindu elite of Bengal protested strongly against the division. Many owned land leased to Muslim peasants in East Bengal. They feared Bengalis would be outnumbered by Biharis and Oriyas in the new province. Pervasive protests took the form of the Swadeshi campaign. Protesters boycotted British goods and occasionally used political violence. Young men in groups like Jugantar bombed public buildings and assassinated British officials. The unrest spread from Calcutta to surrounding regions when students returned home. The religious stirrings combined with political outrage to create a national outcry. The overwhelming protest led the Muslim elite to ask for separate electorates. In December 1906, the All-India Muslim League formed in Dacca. Nawab of Dacca Khwaja Salimullah hosted the League's first meeting in his mansion in Shahbag. The League supported Curzon's partition plan. British anxieties since the 1871 Census drove this strategy. Muslims had fought the British in the 1857 Rebellion and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Muslim leaders experienced public animosity from new Hindu political groups over three decades. The Arya Samaj organized reconversion events to welcome Muslims back to the Hindu fold. Hindus were politically mobilized during the Hindi, Urdu controversy and anti-cow-killing riots of 1893. Muslim fears grew when Tilak and Lajpat Rai attempted leadership positions in the Congress.

• 2. Ideology Of Two Nations

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  The two-nation theory asserted that Indian Hindus and Muslims are distinct nations. This assertion was based on the former Indian Muslim ruling class sense of being culturally and historically different. Religion resulted in cultural and social differences between the communities. Some professional Muslim politicians used it to secure political spoils. Others believed the main objective was preserving the cultural entity of Muslim India. Theodore Beck played a major role in founding the All-India Muslim League in 1906. He supported the two-nation theory alongside another British official named Theodore Morison. Both men believed parliamentary majority rule would disadvantage Muslims. Lala Lajpat Rai laid out his own version of the theory in 1924. He sought to form a clear partition into a Muslim India and non-Muslim India. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar proposed an embryonic form in his 1923 pamphlet Essentials of Hindutva. The pamphlet served as the founding text of Hindutva, a Hindu nationalist ideology. In 1937, Savarkar declared at the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha in Ahmedabad that there were two nations. Muhammad Ali Jinnah undertook this ideology in 1940. He termed it the awakening of Muslims for the creation of Pakistan. Jinnah opposed Partition of Punjab and Bengal initially. He advocated integration without displacement of Sikhs or Hindus. In 1943, Savarkar publicly expressed support for Jinnah's two-nation theory. One interpretation argued for sovereign autonomy without population transfer. A different contention held that Hindus and Muslims constitute distinct ways of life. This version viewed total removal of communities as desirable toward complete separation.

• 3. War And Political Deadlock

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  World War II began in 1939 when Lord Linlithgow declared war on India's behalf. He did not consult Indian leaders before making the declaration. Congress provincial ministries resigned in protest against this action. The Muslim League organized Deliverance Day celebrations from Congress dominance. They supported Britain in the war effort under state patronage. Linlithgow gave Jinnah the same status he gave Gandhi. He described the Congress as a Hindu organization. In March 1940, Jinnah delivered a two-hour speech at the League's annual session in Lahore. He stated that Muslims and Hindus were irreconcilably opposed monolithic religious communities. On the last day of the session, the League passed the Lahore Resolution. It demanded areas where Muslims are numerically in majority should be grouped into independent states. The League gathered support among South Asian Muslims only during the Second World War. August Offer proposed dominion status after the war in 1940. Neither the Congress nor the Muslim League accepted the offer in September. Sir Stafford Cripps visited India four years later with an offer of dominion status. The League rejected the offer seeing it insufficient for Pakistan principles. In August 1942, Congress launched the Quit India Resolution asking for drastic constitutional changes. British authorities jailed Congress leaders until August 1945. The Muslim League remained free to spread its message for three years. Jinnah admitted the war proved a blessing in disguise. His ranks surged during the conflict while other national Muslim politicians existed. The British increasingly saw the League as the main representative of Muslim India. Labour won the United Kingdom general election in 1945. Clement Attlee headed a government committed to decolonization. Britain decided to end British Raj in late 1945. Power transfer was announced no later than June 1948. New elections were held in early 1946 coinciding with trials of Indian National Army officers. Congress won 91 percent of votes among non-Muslim constituencies. The Muslim League won the majority of the Muslim vote and most reserved seats.

• 4. The Radcliffe Line And Violence

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  Sir Cyril Radcliffe chaired a boundary commission to determine borders between India and Pakistan. He was a London barrister appointed to prepare a report under British Government commission. The Punjab Boundary Commission consisted of two Muslim and two non-Muslim judges. Each side presented claims through counsel without liberty to bargain. Judges divided two and two leaving Radcliffe the task of making actual decisions. On the 3rd of June 1947, Lord Mountbatten announced independence date as the 14th of August 1947. The plan included partitioning Muslim-majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal. The communal violence accompanying publication of the Radcliffe Line was even more horrific. Eyewitness accounts described maiming and mutilation of victims. The catalogue included disemboweling pregnant women and slamming babies heads against brick walls. Limbs and genitalia were cut off from victims. Heads and corpses were displayed publicly during massacres. The scale and level of brutality during Partition massacres were unprecedented. Some scholars question use of term genocide concerning partition massacres. Much violence manifested with genocidal tendencies designed to cleanse existing generation. Direct Action Day occurred on the 16th of August 1946 when Jinnah announced struggle preparation. Armed Muslim gangs gathered at Ochterlony Monument in Calcutta to hear Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Suhrawardy gave crowd impression they could act with impunity. That evening Hindus were attacked by returning Muslim celebrants carrying pamphlets linking violence to Pakistan demand. Approximately 4,000 people died according to official accounts over three days. Violence spread to Bihar where Hindus attacked Muslims. It reached Noakhali deep in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta where Muslims targeted Hindus. Rawalpindi massacres of March 1947 saw Hindus and Sikhs driven out by Muslims. Communities could not live together in wake of death and destruction.

• 5. Mass Migration And Human Cost

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  About 14.5 million people crossed borders following establishment of boundaries. Population exchange was a contentious issue receiving differing opinions among Indian leaders. B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel supported complete population exchange between India and Pakistan. They argued all 42 million Muslims should move to Pakistan while 19 million Hindus and Sikhs should migrate to India. Their rationale aimed ensuring lasting communal peace by eliminating future inter-religious conflicts. Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi strongly opposed compulsory population transfer. Nehru upheld vision of secular India where communities coexist peacefully regardless religion. Gandhi insisted Muslims choosing to stay in India should be welcomed as equal citizens. While partial migration took place millions remained on both sides. Estimates of deaths vary greatly ranging from 200,000 to 2,000,000. Most scholars accept approximately one million died in partition violence. Total migration across Punjab during partition is estimated at 12 million people. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved into West Punjab. Four point seven million Hindus and Sikhs moved into East Punjab. Virtually no Muslim survived in East Punjab except Malerkotla and Nuh. Virtually no Hindu or Sikh survived in West Punjab except Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur. Sir Francis Mudie governor of West Punjab estimated 500,000 Muslims died trying to enter province. British High Commissioner in Karachi put full total at 800,000. During this period alleged that Sikh leader Tara Singh endorsed killing of Muslims. On the 3rd of March 1947, Master Tara Singh declared Death to Pakistan from a dais outside Punjab Assembly. More Muslims had been killed in East Punjab than Hindus and Sikhs together in West Punjab by end of year. Nehru wrote to Gandhi on the 22nd of August noting twice as many Muslims killed in East Punjab.

• 6. Integration Of Princely States

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  The Indian Independence Act passed by British Parliament on the 18th of July 1947 finalized arrangements for partition. It abandoned British suzerainty over several hundred princely states leaving them free to choose accession. Sardar Patel stated every Indian State became separate independent entity upon lapse of Paramountcy. Political integration began with many accessions in August 1947 but mostly followed later. Rulers of Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir chose independence initially. The Government of India Act 1935 provided legal framework for new dominions. Pakistan applied for United Nations membership accepted by General Assembly on the 30th of September 1947. Dominion of India continued existing seat since founding member status in 1945. Mountbatten advised leaders against remaining independent urging joining one of two Dominions. The plan could not deal with question of princely states which were not British possessions. Bengal province divided into West Bengal awarded to Dominion of India and East Bengal awarded to Dominion of Pakistan. East Bengal renamed East Pakistan in 1955 becoming Bangladesh after Liberation War of 1971. Districts Murshidabad and Malda given to India despite Muslim majorities. Hindu-majority Khulna District located on mouths of Ganges surrounded by Muslim districts given to Pakistan. Thousands Hindus attacked in East Bengal forcing hundreds thousands seeking refuge in India. Massive influx affected demographics of Calcutta city. Many Muslims left city for East Pakistan while refugee families occupied homes. Total migration across Bengal estimated at 3.3 million people. Two point six million Hindus moved from East Pakistan to India. Seven hundred thousand Muslims moved from India to East Pakistan now Bangladesh.