THE PARTITION OF INDIA:
After the British
pulled out of India in 1947, following growing costs to maintain the empire,
India was divided into different parts. Exports from India had declined by £44
million between 1929 and 1935; and the India alone was costing Britain more
than a billion pounds per year. Following pressure from independence groups and
leaders such as Gandhi, Britain gave up the struggle. Indian independence
marked the beginning of the end for many world empires.
The Muslims and Hindus, the two major Indian religious groups, had a history of conflict and during British rule it had been suppressed by the British authority. When Britain left, they decided that to maintain peace in India, it needed to be divided into a Muslim area: Pakistan, and a Hindu area: India (as it is currently). The two religions have a history of conflict and so Pakistan was intended as a ‘homeland’ for Muslims, whilst the Hindus could remain in the rest of India.
However, despite intentions of peace making, the subsequent mass migration of people trying to reach their new homelands resulted in huge violence. Religious violence ensued and the result was an estimated 500,000 deaths.
The partition was hastily drawn up by a British lawyer, Cyril Radcliffe, who used an out of date map and had little knowledge of Indian conditions – communities and even individual farms were cut in two. This rush to partition India, due to British eagerness to pull out before chaos ensued, meant that problems were inevitable. Huge mistakes, such as cutting Pakistan in to two separate areas, thousands of miles away from each other, still have an impact today.
Foreseeing problems, the British delayed their announcement of the partition, then suddenly announced it and pulled out of India as fast as possible, leaving a wake of chaos, violence and deep rooted problems which can explain some of India and Pakistan’s current difficulties.
The Muslims and Hindus, the two major Indian religious groups, had a history of conflict and during British rule it had been suppressed by the British authority. When Britain left, they decided that to maintain peace in India, it needed to be divided into a Muslim area: Pakistan, and a Hindu area: India (as it is currently). The two religions have a history of conflict and so Pakistan was intended as a ‘homeland’ for Muslims, whilst the Hindus could remain in the rest of India.
However, despite intentions of peace making, the subsequent mass migration of people trying to reach their new homelands resulted in huge violence. Religious violence ensued and the result was an estimated 500,000 deaths.
The partition was hastily drawn up by a British lawyer, Cyril Radcliffe, who used an out of date map and had little knowledge of Indian conditions – communities and even individual farms were cut in two. This rush to partition India, due to British eagerness to pull out before chaos ensued, meant that problems were inevitable. Huge mistakes, such as cutting Pakistan in to two separate areas, thousands of miles away from each other, still have an impact today.
Foreseeing problems, the British delayed their announcement of the partition, then suddenly announced it and pulled out of India as fast as possible, leaving a wake of chaos, violence and deep rooted problems which can explain some of India and Pakistan’s current difficulties.