The Partition Of India And Pakistan

The catastrophic turn of events that displaced millions of South Asians in 1947 is a global pandemic and a curse which gave humanity a brand new face to wear. The Partition of India and Pakistan is not only held as sentimental values, but carries with it a painstake group of individuals who were treated out of unjust cruelty. The focus of this essay will discuss the direct impact on Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs claiming their rightful place in society, political turmoil and religious outbreak between the Congress Party and Muslim League and finally how Kashmir became affected by the post-partition outbreak.

Throughout various forms of conditioning placed on the three major communities- Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, individuals became outsourced from their own country in time. The social stigma attached as to who was a Muslim, Hindu and Sikh was also becoming an extreme drive for these social groups. Specifically, there were various factors that would attain negative consequences in the end. Among these factors included the Two Nation Theory discussed by Allama Iqbal who was a poet, philosopher and politician. The theory stated that since a minority group was living in a majority province everything could be discussed within one state. However, Muslims were always viewed as a nation rather than an independent religion, and they believed that separating from India would instigate their religious ties back to Islam-becoming a full fledged nation including their own rules, values, customs and traditions. In contrast, the leader, Vinayak Damador Sarvakar, advocated for the Hindu majority state. Essentially, his beliefs were that Hindus rightfully belong in India since they were first and have sacred ties with the country. The term Hindutva attached great importance to only the Hindus because it stood for caste, ethnicity, and it was the forming of only a Hindu council supporting the Majority group. Consequently, the direct impact of the partition led to the immigration of billions of people. Each problem that arose would result in bloodshed and lives lost. For example, the minority group moving to Pakistan were attacked openly in a train and sent away with bodies piled on one another, symbolizing the vengeance of the Hindu groups. Furthermore, Hindus were targeted in the streets, villages, houses which turned out to be a mass killing spree by the Muslims. Some examples of the Hindu provinces that were targeted for days included Calcutta, Bombay, Noakhali, Bihar, Garmukteswar and Punjab. In other parts of India, mainly in villages, there were targeting the peasants and agriculturists for their land, wealth and power. Eventually, a plan was introduced called Direct Action Day, where they could rebel and re-claim there lost land., still, in the process, many were treated poorly, insignificant and discriminated against. The Sikhs that lived amongst them were forced to end their ties with their brothers and sisters-some even in long-lasting relationships with either a Hindu or Muslim were separated forever. The individuals in the asylum were largely affected-psychologically, mentally and physically. The Story of Toba Tek Singh is just one example of a Sikh (Bishan Singh) who wanted to return to his village after he was released from Jail after fifteen years. After finding out his village was given to Pakistan, and not allowed to cross the border since he belonged in India, he stood waiting. Finally, he died by being chopped in half by the barbed wire-symbolizing his loyalty and courageous fight.

To go beyond the scope of violence, the political organizations- Congress Party and Muslim League were the potent decision makers that affected the Partition. With the help of Mountbatten and Radcliffe, the Majority state could now lively freely-or that was the perception at first. Among the Muslim League was the Governor General of then partitioned Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a political activist for claiming a separate state for Muslims and Pakistan. He also advocated for the Two Nation Theory suggested by Iqbal. It was evident that Jinnah’s interests in Pakistan were long standing and brought up in numerous meetings with Jawalal Nehru, the founder of the India Congress Party. Furthermore, Nehru was fond of having a mixed economy and working out matters in a social matter rather than political. In one of the meetings, it was suggested by Mahatma Gandhi that Jinnah become the Prime minister and Nehru the Governor General. Mahatma Gandhi was in favour of having a united nation where Hindus and Muslims live together in peace, harmony and humility. However, this idea was severed by Jinnah when suggested and he believed that Pakistan needed its own leader in action. It can be suggested that Jinnah at first recommended that Hindus and Muslims were to be treated as equal citizens in one state. However, his idea changed with the craving of having Pakistan becoming a realistic, tangible idea. For Jinnah, there was a cultural clash that existed, that Muslims needed a state of freedom of democracy and his political stance was driven with determination, drive and motivation. On the other hand, Nehru had close ties with Mountbatten and his wife, Lady Mountbatten. As the days were counting down, the force of Partition was coming closer as well. The date of the transfer power was supposed to set on June 1948, was moved to August 1947, a rather unexpected surprise. The problem that arose during this time was that Mountbatten was being spied by the Irish and was assassinated a few years later. The idea that came across Nehru’s mind was to have a Central Government and invest time on building the infrastructure of the country. Mainly, having an autonomous state was the best cause for his country. When time came to discuss the Partition, Nehru avoided the subject of the Two Nation Theory and opted to stay neutral as much as possible. His close ties with Mountbatten posed as a threat and challenge in the eyes of the society-there were suspicions remarked amongst various individuals and groups, suggesting that Nehru’s influence on the British was a positive one and that he could dictate anything he wanted for his country only. The Partition would be such that Princely states would be joining in as well-with a few exceptions from other states. The successful integration of Princely states was due to Sardar Vallabhabi Patel- a strong politician in the Congress and V.P Menon, the Secretary of the state’s ministry. The partition of India and Pakistan would be set on visual draft by Radcliffe, the controversial lawyer who had no expertise in India and Pakistan relations, culture, language and so forth. Mainly, he set the Partition in motion of blind faith, unable to recognize his long-term effects on the people in the South Asian state. The Muslims living in India would move to the East and West side of India, and some to the NWFP (North West Frontier Border). The largest affected area was the Punjab that was given to the Muslims and mainly Hindus and Sikhs were forced to leave behind everything. The Muslims eventually destroyed whatever they had claimed from the beginning. Perhaps, the areas of Bengal were the most controversial areas in that after the Partition, the majority of Hindus living in region would seek to denaturalize their opponents. Among the princely states that were affected, some in not wanting to join the Partition and others for the religo-lingustic differences, included Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad). Eventually, in 1948 India became an Independent State, ready to begin a fresh new start. An interesting turn of events occurred during the partition when Pakistan and India tried claiming Kashmir as there own. The province of Kashmir is inhabited by Hindus, Muslim and Buddhists to date. The first major war that broke out to get Kashmir was initiated