Communalism :-
Communalism is the politics that creates conflicts and conflicts between religious communities. Communal politicians try to strengthen religious identity. Partition of India and attainment of independence: -
According to scholars, the death toll in the riots during Partition ranged from about 2 lakh to 5 lakh . Some scholars believe that the partition of the country was the end point of a communal politics that began in the early decades of the twentieth century. They argue that the separate electorates created by the British in 1909 for Muslims (which were expanded in 1919) had a profound effect on the nature of communal politics.
Due to separate constituencies, Muslims could choose their representatives in special constituencies.
In this system, the politicians were tempted to use community slogans and take illegitimate advantage of the people of their religious community.
In the early decades of the 20th century, communal inequalities were further cemented by many other factors.
- (i) Music in front of the mosque of Muslims, cow-protection movement and Arya Samaj's attempt to purify (i.e. to convert the new Muslims to Hindu again) was angered.
- (ii) On the other hand, after 1923 AD, the expansion of Tabligh (Propaganda) and Tanjim (Organisation) got agitated.
- (iii) As middle class propaganda and communal activists started building more solidarity in their respective communities by mobilizing people against other communities.
- (iv) With each communal riot, the differences between the communities deepened and disturbing memories of violence were also created.
Still, it would not be correct to say that Partition happened only directly because of the increasing communal tensions.
The hero of the film 'Garm Hawa' rightly said that communal strife used to happen even before 1947, but due to it, the houses of lakhs of people never got destroyed.
Understanding division:
The British policy of Divide and Rule played an important role in the spread of Communal Islam.
At first the British attitude towards Muslims was not favorable, they feel that they were responsible for the revolt of 1857.
But soon he felt that his behavior had strengthened the Hindus, so he reversed his policy.
Now, they took sides with the Muslims and turned against the Hindus.
Bengal was partitioned in 1905 by Lord Curzon. He said that Bengal was partitioned due to administrative problems.
The real objective of the British behind the partition of Bengal was to sow the seeds of inequality between Hindus and Muslims.
By the Act of 1909, the British Government gave the right of separate electorate to the Muslims.
In 1916, the Lucknow Pact was signed between the Congress and the Muslim League. This was an important step in achieving Hindu-Muslim unity. But it was actually an agreement for cooperation in the political field on the basis of a common program.
In February 1937, elections to the provincial assembly were held, in which only a few had the right to vote.
To solve India's political crisis, Lord Attlee sent a cabinet mission to India.
The Muslim League, on 6 June 1946, accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan as the foundation of Pakistan was enshrined in it, but the Congress opposed it.
Lord Mount Batten reached India to resolve India's political confusion. He proposed his plan on 3 June 1947, in which he stated that the country would be divided into two dominions, namely India and Pakistan. This was accepted by both the Congress and the Muslim League.
Some incidents and facts about partition :-
The disturbing experiences of Partition can be elicited through interviews, books and other related documents.
Large-scale violence led to Partition, thousands of people were killed, innumerable women were raped and abducted.
There was massive displacement of people across the border.
Millions were uprooted and turned into refugees. In all, 15 million had to cross the newly created borders.
The displaced people lost all their immovable property and most of their movable property was also separated from their relatives and friends.
People were stripped of their local culture and forced to start life from scratch.
When speaking of murders, partitions as well as arson, rape and looting, observers and scholars sometimes use the expression with the primary meaning of mass destruction or slaughter.
Historical background of partition :-
There are many incidents which fueled the partition of India and Pakistan, whether directly or indirectly.
The politicization of religion began with separate electorates in 1909. It was further strengthened by the colonial government of India in 1919.
Community identities no longer indicated a simple distinction between faith and belief, they became the cause of active opposition and hostility between communities.
Communal identities were carried forward in the 1920s and 1930s, preceded by music by Rajjid, the cow protection movement and the Arya Samaj's Shuddhi movement.
Hindus were angered by the rapid spread of Tabligh (Propaganda) and Tanzeem (Organisation).
The campaigners and communal activists of the middle class sought to create greater solidarity within their communities and mobilize people against the other community. Every communal riot deepened the differences between the communities.
Reasons for Partition :-
- (i) Policies of Muslim League
- (ii) Marleminto Reform 1909
- (iii) Agrejo's Conspiracy
- (iv) Appeasement policy of Congress towards Muslim League
- (v) Hindu Muslim riots
- (vi) Divide and rule policy of the British
- (vii) Failure of the Interim Government
Why did the partition happen?
Mr Jinnah's Two Nation Theory (Hindus and Muslims constitute two separate nations in colonial India, which can be traced back to medieval history).
Divide and rule policy of the British.
Separate electorates for Muslims, created by the colonial government in 1909 and expanded in 1919, significantly shaped the nature of communal politics.
Hindu Muslim conflicts and communal riots in different parts of the country.
The secular and radical rhetoric of the Congress, without winning over the Muslim masses, only concerned the orthodox Muslims and the Muslim landlord elite.
Pakistan resolution of 23 March 1940, demanding autonomy measures for Muslim-majority regions of the subcontinent.
Provincial elections of 1937 and its results :-
In 1937, provincial elections were held for the first time. In this election, Congress won majority in 5 provinces and formed government in 7 out of 11 provinces .
The Congress performed badly in the reserved constituencies, even the Muslim League did poorly, capturing only a few seats in the reserved categories.
In the United Provinces, the Muslim League wanted to form a government with the Congress but the Congress rejected it as they had an absolute majority.
This rejection convinced the members of the League that they would not get political power as they were a minority. The League also recognized that only a Muslim party could represent Muslims and that the Congress was a Hindu party.
In the 1930s, the League's social support was small and weak, so the League began working zealously to expand its social support to all Muslim-majority areas.
The Congress and its ministries failed to counter the hatred and suspicion spread by the League. The Congress failed to win over the Muslim masses.
The growth of RSS and Hindu Mahasabha also played an important role in widening the gap between Hindus and Muslims.
Proposal of 'Pakistan' :-
On 23 March 1940, the League passed a resolution calling for a measure of autonomy for the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent.
The resolution never mentioned partition or a separate state.
Earlier in 1930, the Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal had called for the reunification of Muslim-majority areas in north-western India into autonomous units within a larger federation. He had not even imagined a separate country at the time of his speech.
Sudden demand for partition :-
None of the Muslim League leaders were clear about Pakistan.
The demand for an autonomous region was made in 1940 and the partition took place within 7 years.
Even so, Jinnah may have initially seen Pakistan as a bargaining tool to prevent the British from giving concessions to the Congress and doing favors to the Muslims.
Important Events During Partition Talks and discussions resumed :-
Talks began in 1945 between the British, the Congress and the Muslim League, but discussions broke down due to unconvincing demands about Jinnah's council members and a communal veto.
In 1946, again provincial elections were held. In this election, the Congress entered the general constituencies and the League was successful in garnering a large share of the Muslim vote.
The success of the League in capturing the seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular. It won all 30 reserved seats at the Center and 442 out of 509 seats in the provinces . Therefore, in 1946 the League established itself as the dominant party among Muslims.
Cabinet mission came to India :-
In March 1946, the Cabinet Mission came to India to create a suitable political framework for India.
The cabinet mission recommended India to unite with three tier federations. It divided the provincial assemblies into 3 sections . Hindu-majority provinces, while B and C were for Muslim-majority areas in the North-West and North-East.
The cabinet mission proposed a weak center and the provinces would have the power to establish intermediate level officials and their own legislature.
Initially, all the parties agreed but later the league demanded that aggregation should be made compulsory and there should be a right to secede from the union. Whereas the Congress wanted that the provinces should be given the right to join the group. So due to differences, talks broke down.
Now after this failure the Congress sensed that partition had become inevitable and took it as sad but inevitable. But Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of the North-West Frontier Province continued to oppose the idea of partition.
Provincial elections again in the year 1946 :-
After withdrawing from the cabinet mission, the Muslim League decided to take direct action to win its demand for Pakistan.
It declared 16 August 1946 as 'Direct Action Day'. Initially, riots broke out in Calcutta and gradually spread to other parts of northern India.
In March 1947, the Congress accepted the division of Punjab into 2 parts, one with a Muslim majority and the other with a Hindu/Sikh majority. Similarly, Bengal was a divided partition.
Destruction of law and order :-
There was a massive bloodshed in the year 1947.
The governance structure of the country completely collapsed, there was a complete loss of authority.
The British officers were reluctant to take a decision and did not know how to handle the situation. The British were busy preparing to leave India.
Top leaders except Gandhiji were engaged in talks regarding independence. Indian civil servants in the affected areas were concerned for their own lives.
The problem was further compounded when soldiers and policemen forgot their professional commitments and helped in their co-secularism and attacked members of other communities.
Status of women during partition :-
Women suffered the most during partition. Women were raped, abducted, sold and forced to settle down with strangers under unknown circumstances. Some began to develop a new family bond in their changed circumstances.
The government of both India and Pakistan showed a lack of understanding of sentiments and sometimes sent women away from their new relatives. They did not consult the women concerned and underestimated their right to take decisions.
So when men feared that their women – wives, daughters, sisters would be violated by the enemy, they killed their women. There was an incident in the village of Rawalpindi, where 90 Sikh women voluntarily jumped into wells to protect themselves from outsiders.
These incidents were seen as 'martyrdom' and it is believed that the men of the time had to boldly accept the decision of the women and in some cases even persuaded them to kill themselves.
Role of Mahatma Gandhi during Partition :-
Gandhi visited villages in East Bengal to restore peace, villages in Bihar then rioted in Calcutta and Delhi to prevent communal killing and to assure the safety of the minority community.
In East Bengal, he assured the security of Hindus, while in Delhi he asked Hindus and Sikhs to protect Muslims and try to instil a sense of mutual trust.
Regional Diversity in Division :-
Partition led to genocide and thousands of lives were lost.
In Punjab, there was a major displacement of Hindu and Sikh populations from the Pakistani side to the Indian side and there was a displacement of Punjabi Muslims from the Indian side to Pakistan.
The displacement of people in Punjab was very painful. Property was looted, women were killed, abducted and raped. There was a massive massacre.
In Bengal, people moved across the porous border, the victims were less concentrated and agitated in Bengal than in Punjab. There was also no total displacement of Hindu and Muslim population in Bengal.
Some Muslim families from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad also migrated to Pakistan in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Jinnah's two-state theory based on religion failed when East Bengal separated it from West Pakistan and became an independent country in 1971 as Bangladesh.
Punjab and Bengal have a lot in common between these two states. Women and girls were the main targets of harassment. The attacker treated female bodies as the area to be conquered.
The women of the community were seen as discouraging community.
Help, Humanity and Goodwill :-
Beneath the rubble of the violence and suffering of Partition is the history of help, and humanity. There are many stories when people made an extra effort to help the victims of Partition.
There are many stories of caring, sharing, of empathy, of opening up to new opportunities and overcoming trauma.
One of the finest examples, for example, is the story of Khushdev Singh, a Sikh doctor, who helped many migrants with affection, whether from the Muslim, Hindu or Sikh community. He provided them shelter, food, security etc. at the time of partition.
Oral Testimony and History :-
Oral narrations, memoirs, diaries, family histories, first hand written accounts helped to understand the suffering of the people at the time of Partition.
Between 1946 – 50, the lives of the affected people changed drastically. They were bored with immense psychological, emotional and social pain.
Oral testimony helps us learn more about experience and memory. It enabled historians to write rich and detailed accounts about the suffering and suffering of the people. Official records tell us about policy matters and high level decisions of the government and its machinery.
Oral history provided the historian with experiences of the poor and powerless. It gives information about the important help and sympathy of the people in making the life of the affected person easier.
The oral history of Partition has succeeded in exploring the experiences of men and women that were previously ignored and taken up for mention or mention in the passed history.
Some historians doubt oral history because they say that oral history lacks brevity and chronology. Oral histories are not able to provide the big picture as a whole and are usually touching on tangential issues.
The reliability of oral histories can be confirmed and checked by evidence from other sources. Oral history should not be seen as a tangible one if the experience of the people is to be known.
Oral histories are not readily available and those affected may not like to share their suffering to strangers. The oral historian faces the daunting task of shifting, from the web of constructed memories, to real experiences of division.
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History – Themes
in Indian History |
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Pol
Science – Contemporary World Politics |
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– Politics
in India since Independence |
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Geography – Indian
People and Economy |
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– Fundamental of Human Geography |
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Chapter 1: - Population: Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition |
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Chapter 12: - Geographical Perspective on Selected
Issues and Problems |
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