Was India bifurcated by the British Raj to please Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was demanding a separate Muslim State of Pakistan?

2018-11-03T10:03:48-04:00

Was India divided in 1947 because of Jinnah, Sardar Patel or Nehru? Some claim Jinnah demanded a Pakistan carved out of India, to include all Muslim majority centers. Others claim Sardar Patel & Nehru were against the division of India, because Mahatma Gandhi wanted a united Nation. Jinnah wanted Punjab and Hyderabad to be included in Pakistan, but Sardar Patel and Nehru fought against this saying India is our Mother and so, it is impossible to divide her. What are your thoughts?

Response by LTC Eric Udouj made Nov 3 at 2018 2:40 PM

2018-11-03T14:40:02-04:00

To this very day the aspects of the division remain difficult to fully comprehend due to the politics that were involved. One of the most difficult times - and it gets about 7 words in US world history classes if mentioned at all. Focus is the evilness of the Raj and colonialism - never what happened next. And to this day - it still is not settled as to what was done - and how it was done! Even after 3 all out wars.. not resolved.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Nov 4 at 2018 8:27 AM

2018-11-04T08:27:15-05:00

I think it's pretty clear that Jinnah was the driving force for Partition because he feared a Hindu Majority more than he hated the British. In general, I would have to point out that the treatment of minorities tended to be better in the Hindu areas than they were in the Muslim ones, but the demand for partition certainly set the stage for the mass migration/violence that followed and the wars over control of the contested areas that had traditional Hindu rulers but large Muslim populations. The British caved because they wanted out and were not in the position to make their will permanent.