India, before 1947, was a country divided by many regions, languages, religions and cultures. On August 14th, 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan became independent. On August 15th, 1947, the jewel of the British Empire, India, was granted independence. India had been divided, primarily along a religious line, into two pieces.
There are many different reasons why partition occurred. When the British oppressed India, they had a divide and conquer policy that exacerbated the religious and cultural rifts that already existed in the society. The Muslim League, believing in the ideology of “Pakistan” actively campaigned to gain more support from the Muslims in India, especially under the guidance of dynamic leaders like Jinnah. Pakistani leader and founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, believed that this partition was inevitable since, “‘[a] united India would never have worked’” (Komireddi 2009). He and others believed that a unified nation would only lead to marginalization of Muslims and, eventually, violence and civil war. The Indian National Congress also made many small decisions that convinced many members of the Muslim League that a unified India was not possible. In the end, there were several reasons for the birth of a separate Muslim homeland in the subcontinent, and all three parties — the British, Indian and Muslim elites played a major role.
As the Hindu’s in northwest India moved south, the Muslims moved north into Pakistan; millions were displaced, thousands were slaughtered as a result of the riots and the birth of both countries was met with death and destruction. Many believe that Muslims went along with the partition and moved to Pakistan “not because they viewed it, as official Pakistani narrative suggests, as the lan...
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...ted the title of Governor-General rather than Prime Minister, which underlined ties to the inherited autocratic British vice regal system. Both of them also died before the formation of the Pakistani Constitution in 1956, and without clarifying their vision for Pakistan. Their deaths created a leadership vacuum and political frenzy within the Pakistani government (Jaffrelot 2011). Pakistan’s ruling elite did not have the same levels of popular mandate and structure as Congress had within India. The Muslim League was made up of culturally migrant-Indian political elites who lacked the grassroots prestige of “Indian revolutionaries” such as Gandhi and Nehru (Darby 2013). Pakistan took eight years to resolve issues on national language, religion’s role within state, and federal structures by which time a quasi-coup and rigged-elections had taken place (Oldenburg 2010).
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system was known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality. Not only did the inequality and separation of the Indian society frustrate the citizens of India, but the imperialism Britain had upon them as well. In the early 20th century, Indian nationalists wanted to take a stand against the British rule and make India independent. The British created unfair laws that created a nationalist movement
“Englishmen.. have given the people of India the greatest human blessing - peace.” (Dutt). Merely coming to India in the 1600s to trade, the British East India Company established trading outposts. After ridding of French influence in India during the Seven Years’ War and having Indians mutiny against British rule, Britain gained full control of India. India has been under the imperialist control of the British until their independence in 1947. British imperialism caused some negative effects on India through poverty and persecution, but retained more of a positive impact due to its massive improvements in the modernization of India and the overall improvement of Indian civilization.
The Indian Independence Bill, which carves the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire. The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule. The religious friction between Hindus and Muslims, which had delayed Britain’s granting of Indian independence after World War II, messed with Gandhi’s excitement. In the northern province of Punjab, (which was divided between Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-dominated Pakistan), hundreds of people were killed in the first few days after independence.
India was somewhat organized before Britain took them over because they had a caste system. Most Hindus and Muslims were segregated into d...
What is pictured when someone thinks of India? Perhaps the manufactured goods, or diverse people. The truth is, however, that until India gained its independence in 1947, it was ruled entirely by British government. The British then proceeded to “improve” India, driving it into a deeper hole. Although British Imperialism in India had some positive effects, the overall political, economic, and social impacts were negative.
n President Andrew Jackson “ He’s made his decision, now let’s see him enforce it”
The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
Whilst the growth of Indian nationalism put considerable pressure on the Raj, historians offer many interpretations as to the fundamental cause of Independence. Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement and subsequent campaigns meant that nationalism began to appeal to the masses and helped establish a broad based movement for Independence. However, the British were always able to supress the nationalist movements, through reform or by using force, up to the Quit India movement of 1942. British involvement in the Great War and particularly the Second World War placed them in a weaker position economically, whilst the social and political expectations of the Indian people were changing, which strengthened nationalism and discontent.
Introduction In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to date. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy.
In the book Train to Pakistan, author Khushwant Singh recalls the brutal and unfortunate times when Muslims were being forced out of Mano Majra. They, along with the Hindu and Sikh population, were living in relative peace. But when there had to be change, chaos ensued. There were several key individuals that shared the total responsibility of the expulsion of Muslims from Mano Majra; Even though some had purer motives than others, they all took stock in the unfortunate process.
India has not been a free independent country for a long time. It had been under British rule from 1858-1947. India finally became independent on August 15, 1947 (Trueman). Many people credit India’s independence to Mahatma Gandhi because of the great role he played in helping India in its freedom struggle. Along with Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammed Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru assisted in making India an independent country. Gandhi’s main principle in India’s freedom struggle was based on non violence, which he called satyagraha, which means holding onto the truth, truth force, or soul force (Bondurant). Along with nonviolence Gandhi believe in passive resistance and swaraj or self rule. Gandhi thought that being violent would only get a bad response from the British, however passive resistance pushed the British to do something which would make them look bad To accomplish swaraj or self rule (Bondurant), Gandhi believed India needed 3 vital ingredients. The first thing India needed was to unify Indians with different religions, especially Hindus and Muslims. Second, India needed to remove its...
“India and Pakistan: Tense Neighbours.” BBC. N.p., 16 Dec. 2001. Web. 15 May 2011. .
...tween the Hindus and Muslims, Jinnah felt that Muslims had no future in India (Overfield 216). With the end of British rule in 1947, not only did India gain its independence but also along with it was born an other country, Pakistan where Jinnah served as the first governor (Overfield 216). With the gain of India’s independence, Gandhi was shot the following year in 1948 by a Hindu zealot who resented his commitment to Hindu – Muslim harmony (Overfield 212).
...shown through Lenny’s point of view. Prior the partition, Lahore was a place of tolerance that enjoyed a secular state. Tension before the partition suggested the division of India was imminent, and that this would result in a religious. 1947 is a year marked by human convulsion, as 1 million people are reported dead because of the partition. Moreover, the children of Lahore elucidate the silences Butalia seeks in her novel. The silence of survivors is rooted to the nature of the partition itself; there is no clear distinction as to who were the antagonists. The distinction is ambiguous, the victims were Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims, and moreover these groups were the aggressors, the violent. The minority in this communal violence amongst these groups was the one out-numbered. This epiphany of blame is embarked in silence, and roots from the embodiment of violence.