The Partition Of The 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”

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.

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.

Modern day Pakistan’s land has traditionally been Muslim for many years. In the early nineteenth century it was ruled by Britain and considered part of the British Indian Empire. In 1947, a partition was granted from the British, and Pakistan and India were created as their own countries. As the previous British Empire divided,

The negative and positive effects of imperialism brought highs and lows. Some of the lows were old indian industries, the stop of economic development, the growth of poverty, and unemployment on a vast scale which was caused by the destruction of the industry and some of the positives were better machinery and the growth of trade.. Some old indian industries included shipbuilding, metalwork, glass, paper, and crafts were broken up into pieces. Because of the old indian industries being torn down, the economic development of India stopped and the growth of a new industry was prevented. The new industry was to be better and more efficient when compared to the old Indian industries.

Did you know that the British laid the foundations of modern-day India? This was one of the few positive acts the British made towards India. Many of the acts Britain made towards India benefited themselves not the Indians. You may be thinking that the British did a great thing by creating infrastructure in India, however, they created numerous complications in the government, economics, and socialism of India resulting in death among several millions of innocent civilians.

The ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan has been the subject of speculation and study by political scientists and historians for a number of years. The ethnic conflict seems to have been sparked at the very beginning in 1947, when the British used Muslim and Hindu mercenaries against each other before the area finally split into today’s countries of India and Pakistan (Spiegel et al. 2015, 185). The timeline since then has been full of conflicts, both major and minor. Brutal tactics used by security forces and a high rate of unemployment have added to the issue (BBC News 2016).

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 British’s goal to separate the Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs was a total disaster. “The trouble was that Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs were an integrated population so that it was impossible to make a border without widespread dislocation.” This quote states that making a border was impossible because the groups aren’t meant to be spread apart. “By the end of 1947 there were virtually no Hindus or Sikhs living in west India - now part of Pakistan - and no Muslims in the Indian east.” This explains how the British made Pakistan because of the partition. “The British government and Mountbatten must bear a large part of the blame for this tragedy." Therefore, the British caused religious violence and disagreement against each

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

The question for this investigation is: “How did WW1 affect India’s social development with Great Britain?

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.