Theme 14
Understanding Partitions- Politics,MemoriesExperiences
Q. What did the Muslim League demand through its resolution of 1940?
Ans. The Muslim league moved a resolution at Lahore on 23 march 1940 demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim majority areas:
1) Even, the term Pakistan or partition was not used because this is the first time that the Muslim league formally and officially demanded a separate state.
2) A demand was put forth that Muslim majority areas in North West and Eastern zones be grouped together to constitute independent states and shall be autonomous and sovereign.
3) The resolution was extremely vague and ambiguous. The statements of Sikander Hayat Khan. He drafted the resolution which reflects that the resolution essentially wanted a loose confederation with considerable autonomy for the confederating units.
4) The 1940 resolution is an important milestone in the “pakistan Movement’ and ultimately culminated in partition.
Q. Why did some people think of partition as a very sudden development?
Ans. After the defeat in 1937 elections, the Muslim league in order to widen its social base, adopted separatist politics. In 1940, it officially demanded separate Muslim majority areas of the subcontinent in the Lahore Resolution of 1940.
I. Jinnah saw the Pakistan demand as a bargaining counter useful for blocking possible British concessions to the congress and gaining administrative favors for Muslims.
II. Post Second World War period saw the British wanting to transfer power and differences among the congress and Muslim league over sharing of power. As the difference grew there was a strong demand for Pakistan by Muslim league.
III. The transfer of power and division of country, highly complicated processes, which took place through the months June to August 1947. No authority was there which could exercise control and the speed with which the division was effected was tragic for the common people.
IV. Communal riots broke out. The British wanted to quit as soon as possible. People were panic stricken fearing their lives and property. They viewed partition as a sudden development leading to valence and transfer of population.
Q. How did ordinary people view Partition?
Ans. Many ordinary people viewed partition as a sudden development. No one knew what the creation of Pakistan meant. People, who migrated from their homelands in 1947, assumed that they would return as soon as peace prevailed.
a) Survivors have spoken of 1947 as mashal-la (martial law), Mara-mari (killing) and roula or hullar (disturbance, tumult uproar). Millions of people viewed partition as suffering, killing, rape, arson and loot that constituted partition.
b) It was not a simple political event for them, more constitution division or just party politics of the Muslim League, congress and others. For the common man, it was expected alternations in life. They were rendered homeless. They lost their immovable and movable property assets.
c) It was a psychological, emotional and social trauma. Thousands were separated from their relatives, friends, torn from their mooring, their houses, fields, childhood memories and cultures.
d) They looked at it as a holocaust whereby they were forced to pick up threads of their life again from scratch.
Q. What were Mahatma Gandhi’s arguments against Partition?
Ans. Mahatma Gandhi was in favor of unity among various communities of the country. He was a firm supporter of religious harmony. He never supported the idea of Partition. He did not want the separation of the Muslim from the Hindus who had been living together for centuries. In his view partition was wrong. He was ready to sacrifice his life for an undivided India. But he was not ready to accept the partition. To him, Islam stood for unity and brotherhood of mankind and not for separation. So he said that the demand of Pakistan by the Muslim league was un-Islamic and sinful. According to Gandhi, people who favored the partition were enemies of both Islam and India. Hindu and the Muslim belonged to the same land. They were living in India together for centuries. They shared the same land, same food. They drank same water. They spoke the same language and they lived in peace and harmony. He appealed to the Muslim league not to demand for a separate nation.
Q. Why is partition viewed as an extremely significant marker in South Asian history?
Ans. The following reasons can be put forward for the given view:
i. The partition of India had a unique nature. This partition was based on religions. The partition took place in the name of the communities. History has never witnessed such type of partition.
ii. The partition was followed by severe violence. Innumerable people were killed. People began to kill each other irrespective of their earlier relations.
iii. Earlier, people lived with each other in harmony and peace but now started to kill each other, government machinery failed to check this.
iv. People moved across the border. Most of the Muslims of India crossed over to Pakistan and almost all Hindus and Sikhs came to India from Pakistan. They were forced to start their life afresh.
v. People lost all their movable and immovable property all of a sudden. They became homeless and forced to live in refugee camps.
Q. Why was British India partitioned?
Ans. Several factors can be attributed for the partition of British India. Some of them are given below:
A. Role of Communal Parties and Organisations:
1. Several historians and scholars think that the main purpose of the foundation of the Muslim league was to serve the interests of the Muslims. The Muslim league was demanding more and more political rights for the Muslims. In retaliation of this, some of the Hindus took steps and established the Hindus Mahasabha in the year 1915.
2. The Hindu Mahasabha also demanded more political rights and representation of the Hindus in the different government organizations. Following in the footsteps, the Sikh league was founded. Akali Dal also put forward demand for their people.
3. Directly or indirectly, these political parties helped separation. They created feeling of separation and isolation among different communities.
B. British policy:
1. In India the British followed the policy of divide and rule. In India, before the arrival of the British, the Hindus and Muslims lived happily. There was unity, mutual cooperation and brotherhood among them.
2. British did not like this. They sowed the seeds of dissention and followed the policy of divide and rule. Most of the historians believe that this policy of divide and rule was the main reason of the partition.
3. The British historians, journalists and writers propagated through their writing that Muslim invaders made the Hindus enslaved and they had been exploited for centuries.
C. Role of British Government.
1. The British government also encouraged partition. The British government encouraged the Muslim league to demand a separate state.
2. They tried to disrupt the movement of independence by playing the game of imperialism.
D. Role of Leaders:
1. Role of leaders was also responsible for the partition. Under the leadership of Jinnah, the Muslim league moved a resolution at Lahore demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim majority areas and after that a new nation called Pakistan.
2. The great poet Mohammad Iqbal also spoke about the need for a Muslim state in north west india as early as in 1930.
Q. How did women experience partition?
Ans. For women, partition was horrible. Women were raped, abducted and many times forced to live with strangers and start a new life.
i. They were deeply traumatized and began to develop new family bonds in the changed circumstances.
ii. Women became victims on both the sides of the border. They were forced to live in strange circumstances.
iii. But the government officials of both the countries did not take any serious step to consult these women. Women were left to their fate.
iv. They were even murdered by their own family members. When the men realized that the women of their family would fall into the hands of the enemy.
v. They killed their women with their own hands. To escape from the hands of enemy, in a Sikh village ninety women were said to have voluntarily jumped into a well.
Q. How did the congress come to change its view on partition?
Ans. A united India was the main aim of the congress throughout the nationalist struggle. Congress acceptance of partition has to be viewed in the light of the political situation that faced them.
1. Muslim league got a poor social support in 1937 elections where it polled only 4.4% of the total Muslim vote. To create a mass base, the Muslim league increasingly began to adopted communal politics and projects itself as a sole representative of Muslim interests. The Muslim league moved the Pakistan resolution demanding a separate state for Muslim in 1940.
2. The congress could not succeed to being Muslims masses into the nationalist mainstream and since 1937 to stem the advancing tide of Muslim communalism. Congress also failed to educate the Muslim masses politically.
3. The congress high command agreed to divide Punjab into two parts, one part would consist of Hindu and Sikh majority and other part would consist of the muslim majority areas. The Sikhs feared that their refusal to the partition of Punjab may lead them to be over powered by the Muslims.
4. The same situation was in Bengal. The Bhadralok Bengali Hindus wanted to retain political power with them. As Hindus were in minority, they favored the partition. They believed that partition would help to retain political dominance.
Q. Examine the strengths and limitations of oral history. How have oral history techniques furthered our understanding of partition?
Ans. Oral history techniques help historians to write experiences of people during the time of partition. In fact, history of partition has been reconstructed with the help of oral narratives. It is not possible to extract such kind of information for government records.
a) Government would not provide such information which paints them in bad colour. It will also not tell about the daily development of the events during the partition.
b) Moreover, government was involved in negotiation. Documents of government deal with policy matter5s and throw light on efforts of major political parties.
c) But the oral history tells us the day to-day account. It is told by the people who have actually gone through the trauma and pains of the partition.
d) But the oral data is not free from limitations. Oral data lacks concrete details. It does not have the chronological order.
e) Oral accounts are concerned with tangential issues and that small individual experience is irrelevant to the unfolding of the larger canvas of history.
f) In oral history, people may not talk of their personal aspects. They can hide even their fault or fault of their community as a whole.
g) Many people may not remember all events. People tend to forget also, accuracy of narration can also be questioned.
Q. Examine the factors responsible for the growth of communalism in India?
Ans. At the outset it must be admitted that in spite of strenuous efforts made by the congress leaders and rationalists, communalism could not be checked. Ultimately communalism won when India was portioned and Pakistan was created on the communalism theory of two nations. It may be stated that communalism grew on account of the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy of the British. Jinnah was not the sole originator of this theory of two nations. The policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ encouraged Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to fight for the right of the Muslims. Lord Curzon in 1905 encouraged the Muslims when he divided Bengal and created a Muslim majority province. Iqbal in 1930 also favored separate treatment to the Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha established in 1916 also worked on communal lines following factors led to communalist tendencies.
1. Divide and Rule Policy of the British.
2. Fear of the Muslim minority of its Suppression the Hindu majority.
3. Overemphasis on the glory of ancient India.
4. Emergency of political parties on communal lines.
5. Separate electorate for Muslims.
6. Lack of education among the Muslim community.
7. Frustration of the Muslim league on its inability to win election in 1937.
8. Demand for partition of India at the Lahore session of the Muslim league in 1940.
9. Direct Action by the Muslim league in 1946 and Communal riots.
Q Pointing upon the destruction or slaughter on Mass scale at the time of partition, compare Indian holocaust with Germany?
Ans. Because several hundred thousand people were killed and innumerable women raped and abducted. Millions were uprooted, transformed into refugees in alien lands. Estimate of casualties were 2, 00,000 to 50, 00,000. In all probability, some 15 million had to move across hastily constructed frontiers separating India and Pakistan. They were forced to begin picking of their life from scratch. There fire partition is considered as holocaust. The Survivors themselves have often spoken of 1947 through other words like maashal (Martial law), mara-mari, roula or hullar. People do not see any difference between the events of India and Germany. After all this much difference we find that in 1947- 48, the sub-continent did not witness and state driven extermination as was the case with Nazi Germany where various model used. The ethnic cleansing that characterized the partition of India was carried out by self styled representative of religious communities rather than by state agencies.
Q ‘The Partition of India was indispensable’. Explain?
Ans. By the strength of Indian National Congress and power of mass movement ultimately British Government ready to free India in 1947. But freedom could be given with the partition of India in two separate countries India and Pakistan. The causes for acceptance of the Independence with partition were as under:
1. The British had been following a policy of creating feelings of bitterness among the different communities in India. This policy of Divide and Rule aimed to check the growth of Nationalism. When they failed in their objectives, they decided to divide the country and leave it.
2. The attitude of Mr. Jinnah, the most prominent leader of the Muslim League, led to the partition of the country. He preached that the Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations. Hence they could not pull well together.
3. The British government followed the policy of appeasement towards the Muslims. They asked the Muslim League leaders to ask for more and more concession. They encouraged the Muslim to stress their demand for Pakistan.
4. The failure of Interim Government also made the partition of t he country inevitable. In the absence of cooperation between the two major parties of the country, the Muslim League and the Congress, the Government could be run effectively.
5. Lastly, we can say that willing of leaders for the freedom, Hindu Muslim Riots, it was essential the partition of India.
Q. What is Pakistan resolution?
Ans. In 1940 the Muslim League moved a resolution demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim majority areas.
Q. What was the attitude of the Indian National Congress towards Second World War?
Ans. The Indian National Congress was ready to help Britain if they make a clear declaration to free India after the Second World War.
Q. What was the impact of separate electorates for Muslims on the communal politics?
Ans. i) The Muslims could elect their own representatives in reserved constituency.
ii) They can favor the people belonging to their own religious groups.
Q. What are the merits and demerits of Oral history?
Ans. i) It helps us grasp experience and memories in detail.
i) It enables historians to write richly textured, vivid accounts of events like partition.
ii) Oral history also allows historian to broaden the boundaries of their discipline.
iii) Many historians argue the uniqueness of personnel experience makes generalization difficult.
iv) They think Oral accounts are concerned with tangential issues.
Key concepts in nut shell:
❖ Shadow line means the hastily constructed frontiers separating India and Pakistan as the boundaries between these two states were not officially known.
❖ Survivors often refer to partition as Maashal-la(Martiallaw),Maramari(killings) and hullar (disturbance,uproar,tumult).
❖ Muslim League was found in Dec. 1906 at Dhaka by Nawab Salim ullah of Dhaka, Nawab Mohsin Ul Muluq and Aga Khan.
❖ Hindu Mahasabha was formed in 1915 to unite Hindus across caste and sect barriers.
❖ Pakistan Resolution was passed by Muslim League on 23rd March 1940 at Lahore Session.
❖ Sikander Hayat Khan of Unionist Party drafted Pakistan Resolution.
❖ Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan were opposed to partition.
❖ Pakistan Name was coined by Rehmat Ali in pamphlets of 1933 where P stands for Punjab, A for Afghan, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and Tan for Baluchistan.
❖ The issues like music before the mosques, Cow protection, Shuddhi movement of Arya Samaj, and Ramrajya created tension among Muslims in 1920’s and 1930’s.
❖ The Sikh leaders favored partition for bloodshed and violence following Direct Action Day.
❖ GaramHawaby M.S Sathyu and Tamasby GovindNihalaniare two films based on Partition.
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