Partition of India

What caused India to divide into the two separate states of India and
Pakistan in 1947?
History Internal Assessment:

Pakistan in 1947?
Sheriza Chandru Wadhwani
Word count: 1983
Candidate number: 3260175
Pakistan in 1947?
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
2
A. Plan of the Investigation
. 3
B. Summary of Evidence
...
3
C. Evaluation of Sources
....
5
D. Analysis
6
E. Conclusion
.. 8
F. List of Sources
.. 9
Pakistan in 1947?
A. Plan of Investigation
The purpose of this investigation is to investigate What caused India to
divide into the two separate states of India and Pakistan in 1947. In
order to assess this, I will analyse the series of events that caused the partition
in order to make a valid judgement to establish the instigating cause. The
investigation will explore the abrupt descent of the British from India, the
relationship between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress and
the religious conflicts that arose between the Muslims and the Hindus. This
research question was chosen as I wanted to learn more about my Indian
heritage and in particular, why and how India became divided.
The two main sources used for the analysis in this are The Great Partition: The
making of India and Pakistan1, as well as a primary source - an interview with my
grandmother Lila Hathiramani2. My grandmother is a particularly more useful
source than most people who lived in India in the lead-up towards partition as
she has a strong political background and personal view as she was a freedom
fighter. I chose these particular two sources in order to compare an academic
viewpoint and a personal one in order to make a more solid judgement.
`
B. Summary of Evidence
In 1858 the British officially ruled over India. This led to the two-year Indian
mutiny, during which the social, economic and political rule that the British would
undertake was established.3 A social segregation was formed between the two
nations, as India had never been completely encompassed by the Raj, (meaning
to rule or kingdom.)4
1 Khan, Yasmin. The Great Partition The making of India and Pakistan. India:
Penguin Books India , 2007.
2 Hathiramani, Lila Chetan. Interview with Mrs. Hathiramani on the causes of the
partition Sheriza Wadhwani. 15 May 2011.
3 Kaul, Dr. Chandrika. From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India
1858-1947. 3 March 2011. 25 May 2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml>.
4 Kaul, Dr. Chandrika. From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India 1858-1947.
3 March 2011. 25 May 2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml>.
Pakistan in 1947?
The Quit India movement started in 1942 in response to Gandhis call for
independence from the British which resulted in many of the Congress leaders
imprisonment. A minority supported Britain in the war with the hopes that the
support would grant them independence however the majority felt insulted as
the British hadnt asked them beforehand if they were willing to fight 5. This
caused tension between the British and the Indians who felt as if they were being
taken for granted. Two and a half million Indian soldiers served in the Second
World War, over 24,000 were killed and 64,000 wounded 6.
The two main political groups were the Indian National Congress - congress,
founded in 1885, consisting of many high up as well as middle class people and
the All India Muslim League league, founded in 1906 under Muhammad Ali
Jinnah7. To the British, the two parties had ideas for India that didnt correspond
with one another and they didnt know who to give power to when they
departed.8 The Muslims kept their religious ideas separate from the Hindu and
Western ways, known as the Aligarh Movement which became communal 9. They
themselves began to feel that their ideas were in contradiction to the Hindus and
their yearning for Pakistan, a separate homeland, strengthened to the point
where they wanted it even if the only way to acquire it was through violence 10.
The British stepped in and supported the Muslim communalism which then
expanded rapidly and the Congress leaders set up meetings with Jinnah to make
settlement with the league however no progress was made and the Congress
finally accepted the Leagues demand for a separate state - Pakistan. 11
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg.17
partition Sheriza Wadhwani. 15 May 2011; Wood, Sydney. India, From the Raj to
Independence . London: Macmillan Education LTD, 1989, pg.41
9 Panigrahi, D.N. India's Partition: The story of Imperialism in Retreat. New York:
Routledge, 2004, pg.9
10 Singh, Vipul. The Pearson Indian History Manual for the UPSC Civil Services
Preliminary. Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2008, pg.178
4
Pakistan in 1947?
Many of the soldiers in the Indian National Army (INA), suffered when Singapore
fell and many surrendered and were charged with treason. 12 During this time,
numerous nationalist politicians came to the defence of the INA soldiers which
prevented the British from putting them on trial. 13 Independence was on its way
and the nationalist tide grew stronger.
Many riots and massacres occurred throughout the years leading up to the
partition rioting in Bihar, Delhi, Calcutta, Gurgaon and massacres in Punjab.
Thousands of Muslims were killed in the Bihar riots where mostly the villagers
took part in. The worst riots between Hindus and Muslims ever remembered in
India broke out in Calcutta and it was described by the British as a cross
between the worst of London air raids and the Great Plague. 14
Lord Louis Mountbatten arrived in India in March 1947 with the agenda to
transfer power as quickly as possible. India split up into two separate states and
was independent in August, almost a year quicker than planned.
C. Evaluation of Sources
The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan by Yasmin Khan provides a
detailed account of the events leading up to and the causes of the partition. The
purpose of this source is to examine the context and execution of the
subcontinents division and was published alongside the 60 th anniversary of
11 Singh, Vipul. The Pearson Indian History Manual for the UPSC Civil Services
Preliminary. Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2008, pg.179
12 Pinfield, Nicholas. The India Subcontinent: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New York:
Longman Inc. , 1991, pg.63
13 Hathiramani, Lila Chetan. Interview with Mrs. Hathiramani on the causes of

the partition Sheriza Wadhwani. 15 May 2011, pg.65
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg.63; Das, Suranjan. Communal Riots in Bengal
1905-1947. Das, Suranjan. Communal Riots in Bengal 1905-1947. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1994, pg.171
5
Pakistan in 1947?
Indias Partition and Independence. 15 Khan was born in London and attended St.
Peters College and now teaches politics at Royal Holloway. 16
The values are that the author has links to both India and Pakistan with both her
grandfathers supporting different sides and therefore has a more balanced view
of the events that occurred leading up towards the partition and has the
capability to comment from a Muslim as well as Hindu perspective. 17 A great
variety of sources have also been used including interviews, autobiographies as
well as academic journals.
Limitations include that the book has a broad coverage of post-partition life so
the information about the pre-partition life may be directly linked to life after the
partition. Also used in the book are speeches by well-known politicians such as
Jinnah and Nehru whose manipulation of selective information in a persuasive
manner is a limitation as it may have swayed Khans view.
The other major source used in this investigation is an interview with Lila
Hathiramani, my grandmother who was born in 1919. She never finished high
school however, living with a father and older brother greatly interested in
politics pushed (her) into the political world. 18 The purpose of the interview is to
explore the major events that led up to the partition in order to make a sound
judgment as to what caused the divide.
The interview is of great value as it is a primary source. My grandmother was
living in India during the time of the partition and therefore tells a first-hand
narrative of her experience of the events. She was very involved in politics,
especially during the Ghandi movement and gives a personal perspective to the
partition compared to book which primarily contains an academic viewpoint.
The limitations to using the interview as a primary source are that the
interviewee is 93 years old and is therefore relying on her extremely selective
and vague memory. She was young when many of the major events happened
and therefore doesnt have many detailed recollections of them. She also did not
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg. inside front flap
16 Khan, Yasmin. The Great Partition The making of India and Pakistan. India: Penguin
Books India , 2007, pg. inside back flap
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg. acknowledgments
Pakistan in 1947?
complete secondary school which can be seen as a value as it hadnt moulded
her opinion however the limitation is that one could argue that she wasnt
properly educated. Another factor to consider is that because of the growing
divides and disunions between the two religions - Hinduism and Islamism, many
viewpoints from both sides (including my grandmothers) were inaccurate and
skewed. Public knowledge of general history and historical fact has developed
much since my grandmothers days and she may not be as historically informed
as a person today.
D. Analysis
The partition of India, as well as its independence from the British comes hand in
hand as they all occurred consecutively or simultaneously as some may argue.
Many of the different events leading up to the partition added fuel to the fire of
the main cause the religious conflict between the Hindus and the Muslims.
The deteriorating relationship between the Congress and the League progressed
throughout the years leading up to the partition and caused a large segregation
between the Muslims and Hindus. It appeared to reflect that Indian society had
been pulled apart magnetically along religious lines, to the point where there
were only two thingsMuslims and non-Muslims. 19 The parties progressed from
amicable to hostile towards each other which mirrored in the actions of the
people. By 1946, the big questions were how and when the British should leave,
and most importantly, who they should leave power to. The British heard both
the parties ideas for India and rapidly, without looking into the details,
concluded they could never rule India collaboratively due to their contrasting
ambitions. There was still hope amongst the people in India that a partition could
be avoided however after the British intervened, all hope was lost. 20
The Indian National Army caused racial tension as well as a spurge for
Independence from the British to the Muslims, this meant an independent
state, Pakistan. Many of the Indians had hatred towards the British for causing
Penguin Books India , 2007; Whitehead, Andrew. Oral Archive: India, a People
Partitioned (London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1997, 2000), A.S.
Bakshi interviewed in Chandigarh, 16 March 1997. Chandigaarh : London: School
of Oriental and African Studies, 1997.
Pakistan in 1947?
the Indians even more misery as not only might India be divided into two, but
also, even more death was arising due to their compulsory fighting in a war that
admittedly didnt concern them. Many of the Indians took out their anger by
blaming the Muslims and vice versa which escalated the tension between them
even more.
The riots and massacres that took place throughout India were fairly significant
factors to the partition into two separate states. The riots in Bihar affected
approximately 400,000 Muslims and caused the League to set up running camps
for the homeless Biharis.21 The Congress tried to stop details of incidents in Bihar
leaking into the media. The violence occurring in the years leading up to the
partition was crazy and wild and chaotic. 22 In another interpretation, the
violence was instead often planned, strategic and linked to middle-class party
politics.23 Whilst Khan and my grandmother have complete contrasting views,
the general understanding is that the violence was mad and rushed and
aggravated even more religious tension.
According to Bates, One explanation for the chaos in which the two nations
came into is Britain's hurried withdrawal (from India). 24 The British realised that
they couldnt afford to over-extend their empire and had to quickly leave India
causing them to make rash and chaotic decisions which instigated more racial
tension and the Muslim desire for Pakistan. 25 The final plans for the borders of
the Partition hadnt even been released until after the two states were
established portraying that with more time and caution from the British, the
divide could have been prevented. Without the British, or even with them, if
they hadnt left India so quickly, if they took the time to understand the horrid
religious conflict going on at the time, the Partition could have been prevented,
and Indians and Muslims could have gone back to being neighbours without the
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg.71
22 Hathiramani, Lila Chetan. Interview with Mrs. Hathiramani on the causes of
the partition Sheriza Wadhwani. 15 May 2011.
Penguin Books India , 2007, pg.
24 Bates, Dr. Crispin. The hidden story of Partition and its legacies. 3 March
2011. 26 May 2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/partition1947_01.shtml>.
25 Bates, Dr. Crispin. The hidden story of Partition and its legacies. 3 March
2011. 26 May 2011
8
Pakistan in 1947?
extra added racial strain.26 From this, one can infer that Hathiramani believes
that the British were the major cause of the partition as they decolonised India
too quickly, faster than when they colonised it. Since the evidence indicates that
all the different elements added to the core racial tension, one can conclude
that it was prominently the religious distress that caused the Partition.
E. Conclusion
With an extremely varied opinion as to how the idea of a partition first came
about, it is impossible to pinpoint one sole cause. However, it is clear from the
evidence that the major cause of the divide was the religious conflicts between
the Hindus and Muslims which were brought on by a series of different events
dating all the way back from 1858 when the British invaded India, to 1947 the
very year that the divide took place.
The British didnt bother looking further into the religious divide between the
Muslims and the Hindus and instead took the easy way out and viewed the
situation as black and white. This triggered the same thing amongst the Hindus
and Muslims who also began to believe that theyre ideas for India were too
opposite to merge which added more tension to the religious conflicts. The
massacres disrupted the society and added to the unstable environment that
increased the religious conflicts ultimately causing India to divide into the two
separate states of India and Pakistan in 1947.
F. List of Sources
Books
Khan, Yasmin. The Great Partition The making of India and Pakistan. India:
Penguin Books India , 2007.
Pakistan in 1947?
Panigrahi, D.N. India's Partition: The story of Imperialism in Retreat. New York:
Routledge, 2004.
Pinfield, Nicholas. The India Subcontinent: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New
York: Longman Inc. , 1991.
Singh, Vipul. The Pearson Indian History Manual for the UPSC Civil Services
Preliminary. Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2008.
Whitehead, Andrew. Oral Archive: India, a People Partitioned (London: School of
Oriental and African Studies, 1997, 2000), A.S. Bakshi interviewed in
Chandigarh, 16 March 1997. Chandigaarh : London: School of Oriental and
African Studies, 1997.
Wood, Sydney. India, From the Raj to Independence . London: Macmillan
Education LTD, 1989.
Book section
Das, Suranjan. Communal Riots in Bengal 1905-1947. Das, Suranjan.
Communal Riots in Bengal 1905-1947. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1994. 171.
Interviews
Hathiramani, Lila Chetan. Interview with Mrs. Hathiramani on the causes of the
Websites
Bates, Dr. Crispin. The hidden story of Partition and its legacies. 3 March 2011.
26 May 2011
Kaul, Dr. Chandrika. From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India 18581947. 3 March 2011. 25 May 2011
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml
>.
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What caused India to divide into the two separate states of India and

History Internal Assessment:

Candidate number: 3260175

13 Hathiramani, Lila Chetan. Interview with Mrs. Hathiramani on the causes of

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