The Partition Of India And India

“India has never been a symbol of unity of Hindu-Muslim civilization. It is not possible for the British Government to create homogeneity between Hindu and Muslim culture and civilization as the two systems are distinctively opposed to each other. There is no way other than the partition of India”

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.

Many people believe that in the 1940’s most of India’s problems involving independence was to do with divisions within India rather than British imperialism. In this essay I will be looking at both points of view and finally giving my opinion. I will be using three sources also to help me show both sides of the story. I will also be using my further knowledge to add a wider range of knowledge.

Imperialism swept across the world following the Industrial Revolution as trade opened up transcontinentally and capitalism became the driving economy of Europe. England expanded its influence to Africa as did Belgium and France. A scramble for Africa occurred, with England fighting for dominance over China as well. As invasions and wars began in Africa, China dealt with the British opium trade and its effect on the Chinese people. Imperialism had varying effects on these different countries and continents. In Egypt and the Indian government, it evoked feelings of nationalism in the people for their native land. Resistance was another reaction from most countries as anger towards the Western powers built in the citizens of the imperialist states. Conversely, some people and governments saw opportunity in a relationship with England and attempted to take advantage of what England could offer their homelands.

Although it could be argued that Britain unified India 500 million diverse Indians, and built a strong Indian army, they had an extremely strict cruel government that eliminated Indians freedom and used their own army against them as punishment. According to Dr. Lalvani imperialism in India resulted in “the bringing together of several different states into one unified India” However before the British came to India Hindus and Muslims lived together in peace for centuries. And while Britain was present and after they left the two religious groups were extremely divided and violently fought. Including wars that resulted in “5,000 people dead and 12,000 people hurt” (Gandhi). Britain encouraged separation and division of Muslims and HIndus because of the attack strategy, “divide and conquer” upon the idea that it would be easier to take over and govern a country that was fighting among

The effects of imperialism are both positive and negative. The positive effects are banning inhumane traditional practices such as sati and the dowry system, promoting widow remarriage and prohibiting child marriage. The negative effects are that Britain caused the traditional industries to crash. Also, poverty increased. British officials were paid out of the India treasury.

Today, India is a free country, but this country’s history to freedom was not pleasant. Britain, a country that occupied many territories, came to conquer India for its valuables. During this time, they treated Indians poorly and stole all the goods of the country to trade. This rule continued for nearly two-hundred years, and India struggled to fight for freedom from 1857 to 1947. On August 15, 1947, India finally gained its independence through the India Independence Act passed by the British House of Common. The British House of Commons is the UK parliament that is part of the legislative branch. The act stated that India would be divided into two dominions, India and Pakistan, thus granting Pakistan independence on August 14 and Indian independence on August 15. Marc Aronson, in his book Race, explores and examines the concept of race where the reasoning behind racial discrimination can be seen. Aronson provides the four pillars of race, which show an ideology behind racism that occurs universally. During the British-rule in India, the British racially discriminated Indians. As a result of the discrimination, Britain

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.

Indians were becoming politically active in the late 1800s. During this period, they founded institutions that would help end colonial rule. In 1885, Indian modernists formed the Indian National Congress to reform Hindu and Muslim practices that did not match up to their liberal ideals and to change British Indian policies that were opposed to democratic ideals. However, many internal issues within the Indian culture were obstacles to independence. Most notably are the differences in language groups. Despite these problems, a nationalist movement took root within the country that ultimately led to the creation of India and Pakistan in 1947. There were three principles to this movement that helped the movement succeed.

This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent

Gandhi was really concerned about the increasing divisions between the Hindu and Muslim's. He tried as much he could to prevent the partition between the Hindu and Muslim's. However the amount of success he had been trough this was very different and he did not achieve what he wanted. He was very disappointed about the separation between the Hindu and Muslim's. To prevent the

In this essay I hope to look at the issues of conflict in South Asia focusing on India and in particular the continuing Hindu-Muslim tensions, and look at possible reasons for the continuing conflict which appears to have escalated since the withdrawal of British Rule from India. Multiple events had shaped the Indian subcontinent with

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.