Consequences And Effects Of The Partition Of India

To others, Religion is one condition among so many other countries, but to the Indian people it is one great sustaining force, pertaining to all the spheres of their lives. Mahatma Gandhi who was born and brought up in India could not escape this strong influence of religion in all his activities.

The general cause of the Indian Independence Movement was India’s desire for independence from British, French and Portuguese Rule. The aim of the movement was “Swaraj, a self-governing India” (Sharma, 2005, p. 22). One, more specific, cause of the Indian Independence Movement took place in 1905 when the province of Bengal was divided into two provinces,

In 1939 World War II broke out in Europe. Britain proclaimed India’s involvement in the war without consulting the Indian people. This led to increased protest and volatility. In 1942 India established a national army and proposed the Quit India Movement. This movement promised to lend Indian military support to Britain in return for complete independence. If they refused this treaty the Indian people promised civil disobedience. In 1947 India was granted its independence and became self governing (Luscombe, 2012). On January 26, 1950 the Republic of India was proclaimed and it drafted a constitution. The first democratic elections were held in 1952. However the Hindus and Muslims were not united and colonial India was divided into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India (History, 2010).

There was a high food shortage in 1946 and this caused many to ration. World War II left a deep wound in India as two and a half million Indian soldiers were sent to aid the allies and 24,000 killed. Many were unemployed as they lost their jobs after the war since there was no need for war production. Gandhi’s party, Indian national congress, created in 1885 seemed it would be the power that ruled after Britain left. This changed, however, as the All Muslim league became popular during World War II. Muslims were a minority compared to the Hindus. The Partition of 1947 created Pakistan, where the Muslims would live, and India, where the Hindus would live.

When the British assumed control they unified India. The British however, made an unfair government that negatively impacting the politics of India. The government the British had created, gave the Indians little to no say in the decisions being made and mostly only benefit the British. The transition from colonial rule to independence also caused many deaths. Lalvani claims the British administration was “superbly efficient” (Lalvani).

Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.

The purpose of this historical inquiry is to analyze to what extent did British Imperialism have an effect on shaping modern India? The main source that will be discussed in this paper is the seventh book of the Spotlight on History Series called The British Raj, which explains the reasons behind the conflicts between the British Empire and Indian nationalism and assess the achievements of a memorable relationship.

This can be put down primarily to the harsh treatment of Hindus and Sikhs by Emperor Aurangzeb, despite the fact he made attempts to reconcile, especially towards the Sikhs, in the last few days of his life. This underlying hatred continued for hundreds of years and it was perhaps the first cause of hatred between Muslims and Hindus which made them believe they could not live together. This was an important first cause for the partition as it instilled hatred between Hindus and Muslims. The East India Company, or EIC was also the longest term cause, this time relating to independence by causing a rift between the British and Indians.

Decolonisation may have given a country its freedom but also caused isolation in society and mass emigration. The effects of decolonisation created many issues including economic uncertainty and a clash of beliefs leading to violent outbursts between religious groups. Although India benefitted from decolonisation in the long run, it has had an effect on the generations of Indian people growing up in Britain today who deal with the consequences on a daily basis. World War II was a changing point for Britain and led them to prioritise themselves over their colonies, which lead to the neglect of India and her people. India is only one example of how decolonisation created more problems than it solved after 1945, most of the British colonies experienced somewhat of similarities in their decolonisation. Although decolonisation had many negative effects on the country of India, their independence was an important milestone in history and solved many issues, including financial issues, Britain were facing after the

Contemporary comparative erudition on the topic of nationalism proposes another reason for India’s democratic survival. Under the independence movement, with the governance of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress party turned what formerly had been a cultural unit into a nation with a cultural political unit. This transformation perpetuated Indian democracy: “There has to be a political unit before there can be a democracy” The strategic communications between British authorities and national movement leaders also laid the fundamentals of democracy. No historical explanation can be comprehensive unless it takes the “agency” of India’s freedom movement into justification – with the attainment of India’s autonomy. (Varshney 1998: 38)

Sikhism transformed after the eighteenth century. The entitlement of war had made a big impact on power within regions in India. The Early nineteenth century, Sikhs dominated most of the territory in Punjab due to their ruler, Ranjit Singh. The nineteenth century was a time for Sikhs to understand their identity again. A few years later, imperialism appeared in India from British companies. The British controlled Punjab in 1840s. Corruption and oppression raised because British looked at Sikh as enemies. The British colony started creating policies to suppress Sikhs and started instigating tension with other dominant religions in India. In 1947, the partition of India and Pakistan began from India Independence Act. The Sikhs were promised self

Through the study of human history it is evident authoritative and monarch governments prevailed as legitimate authorities but with careful considerations these political systems were seen as inaccurate by many. New political systems, functions and responsibilities soon began to surface. Democracy was among these new political systems and argues for the influence of citizens in politics and the protection of rights (Dahl, 1998, p. 44). Democracy can be found through many political systems around the world particularly in first world countries such as Canada and the United States of America. Fortunately the notions of democracy can also be found in some developing countries such as India. ¬¬¬Although democratic views and notions are found throughout Indian politics and its associated practices India does not prove to be completely democratic in relation to Robert Dahl’s criteria of democracy highlighted in his book, On Democracy. Robert Dahl, a political scientist and professor, sets up 5 criteria of democracy that includes effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, inclusion and control of agenda (Dahl, 1998, p. 36-7). He argues that a sense of true democracy is founded when all 5 criteria of democracy are fulfilled (Dahl, 1998, p. 36). Unfortunately India is unable to accommodate the criteria of voting equality and effective participation due to its

The Partition of India consists of a new country being made. This was done because of many cultural differences between Muslims and Hindus. They did not accept each other, so terrorized each others houses, many rallies where formed and there was much chaos in the entire area. Pakistan was where the Muslims were driven to and the Hindus stayed in India. Before Pakistan was created Muslims and Hindus lived in the same country called British India. Muslims were thought to be of a lower class and were not accepted by the Hindus. Even taking water from a Hindu well would not be accepted.

The Partition of India in August, 1947 was a significant event in history that accounted for the separation of one of the world’s oldest civilization into two, independent nations – Pakistan and India. Like many other wars in history, The Partition of India was instigated by religious, political and social conflict. This resulted in violence, discrimination and the largest human displacement in contemporary history. While the Partition was well-studied, much of our understanding was focused on the political side of history, not the human side of it. This was why oral history played an important role in manifesting the complexity of a historical event. Our focus here is Maya Rani’s testimony from Butalia’s book, The Other Side of Silence:

Before the Partition of India, in 1947, India was considered a country with a reasonably peaceful history. However, during and after the Partition, sexual violence, both towards men and women, escalated, resulting in the rape and abduction of over 80,000 women. Cracking India, by Bapsi Sidhwa, tells a story that highlights these violent acts by both Muslims and Hindus, through the eyes of a disabled young Parsi girl named Lenny, who witnesses first hand the violence of Partition when she mistakenly participates in the abduction of her ayah, Shanta. Throughout Cracking India, Lenny observes as the religions involved in Partition become increasingly violent towards both men and women, within their own religions and against others.