The Causes of Indian Independence in 1947

The Causes of Indian Independence in 1947

In 1947 India was declared an independent country from Britain, after

years of peaceful and violent protests, pressure from all sides, and

numerous promises. Not only this, but Pakistan was also formed by

partitioning the country into two, providing a separate homeland for

the Muslims of India. Although independence was greeting with relief

from all, partition came with riots, millions of murders and a hatred

between countries that has not healed up even by today. The word

"inevitable" in the essay title implies something which was almost

'destined' to happen from the beginning, and the course of action

could not be averted under any circumstances. In this essay I will

divide up the causes of independence and partition into long term,

medium term and short term. These key points will be discussed and

compared in relevance to the question, on which causes were important

towards the contribution of independence and partition.

Perhaps the longest term cause relating to partition was the Mughal

Empire. It was in 1526 that the Mughal leader Babar, a Muslim, invaded

the Hindu majority India. This was a minority of invaders ruling over

a majority, and continued through Akbar's reign from 1556 to 1605 and

finished with Aurangzeb, who died in 1707. By this time about a third

of people in India were Muslim. Mughal emperors maintained a strict

cohesion to fundamental Islam and also believed that all non Muslims

should convert or be put to death. This first meeting between Hindus

and Muslims was not a happy one; the thousands of murders that the

foundation of their relationship lay on meant religious te...

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... hence the British became involved in fighting and continued to gain

money. In 1757 the Battle of Plassey took place, where the EIC

essentially captured Bengaland was the turning point in relations, as

the British became hungry for physical power of their own. Although

greatly exaggerated by British historians, this was no more than a

number of Bengali elephants stampeding, handing the British victory.

This began tensions between Indians and the British as they first used

force to get what they wanted. At this time Hindus prophecied that the

Vedas spoke of a rule lasting only 100 years, so in 1857 the Indian

Mutiny took place as Hindus believed it was at this time the British

would be overthrown. Unfortunately it failed, and this angered the

Indians further as perhaps the British were "overstaying their rule"

in India.