Posted on Nov 3, 2018
Was India bifurcated by the British Raj to please Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was demanding a separate Muslim State of Pakistan?
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Was India divided in 1947 because of Jinnah, Sardar Patel or Nehru? Some claim Jinnah demanded a Pakistan carved out of India, to include all Muslim majority centers. Others claim Sardar Patel & Nehru were against the division of India, because Mahatma Gandhi wanted a united Nation. Jinnah wanted Punjab and Hyderabad to be included in Pakistan, but Sardar Patel and Nehru fought against this saying India is our Mother and so, it is impossible to divide her. What are your thoughts?
India
Pakistan
World History
Freedom
Posted >1 y ago
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To this very day the aspects of the division remain difficult to fully comprehend due to the politics that were involved. One of the most difficult times - and it gets about 7 words in US world history classes if mentioned at all. Focus is the evilness of the Raj and colonialism - never what happened next. And to this day - it still is not settled as to what was done - and how it was done! Even after 3 all out wars.. not resolved.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
Amazing LTC Eric Udouj, Sir; Indian History clearly teaches that three Indian National Congress leaders forced the hands of the Raj for the bifurcation of India; Nehru, Sadar Patel and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Great Britain was money-strapped at the time and curbing the uprising associated with the endless fast for the independence of India of Mahatma Gandhi was further taking toll. The British Raj had to go. There was a divide between the three Indian Congress stalwarts, yet with a single objective; Azad and Abadh.
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LTC Eric Udouj
As to unresolved - see my post on Indian Victory in Bangladesh article.. for how this divide ended up with the East Pakistan issue and its results.
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I think it's pretty clear that Jinnah was the driving force for Partition because he feared a Hindu Majority more than he hated the British. In general, I would have to point out that the treatment of minorities tended to be better in the Hindu areas than they were in the Muslim ones, but the demand for partition certainly set the stage for the mass migration/violence that followed and the wars over control of the contested areas that had traditional Hindu rulers but large Muslim populations. The British caved because they wanted out and were not in the position to make their will permanent.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
Jinnah was a member of the Indian National Congress and then, he broke away forming the Muslim League, which went on to become the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). He ceased the opportunity to envisage a breakaway Islamic State of Pakistan, in which he would serve as the very first Governor General and be graced with eternal gratitude. Jinnah pitched his envisaged Pakistan to the British Viceroy Earl Mountbattan, who saw Nehru and Sardar Patel as obstacles. More to follow.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana - I'm aware of Jinnah's membership in the National Congress. I think Mountbatten's support was an attempt on his part to prevent the violence that followed anyway. If you haven't read it, The Last Viceroy is a pretty good look at the period from the English side of things.
My Father served under Mountbatten during WWII in the CBI flying the Hump. It got me interested in the area and consequently the aftermath of WWII.
My Father served under Mountbatten during WWII in the CBI flying the Hump. It got me interested in the area and consequently the aftermath of WWII.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
CPT Lawrence Cable; indeed, the violence that followed was the resistance that Mahathma Gandhi seeded with his Leave India Movement, which precluded his eternal fast. Jinnah aggravated the resistance by igniting the PML demand for a separate Islamic state. The British Raj was overwhelmed and cash-strapped fighting the resistance. Gandhi was always against division of India, but the British Raj had no other option to tame the rebellion. Mountbattan would have preferred that Jinnah along with Nehru and Patel chart out the future of India, but this proved impractical at that time. Jinnah demanded that all Muslim states be made a part of the new Pakistan, but Nehru and Patel fought against it. The Raj had to get out of this mess, sooner rather than later. Radcliffe was brought in to delineate the boundaries, prior to the 15th of August 1947. Radcliffe had no time to study the territorial concerns and thus, the International Border is incomplete, even today.
Prior to Independence, India was made up of 25 princely states; all were independent, yet dependent.
Prior to Independence, India was made up of 25 princely states; all were independent, yet dependent.
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