Understanding Partition 2 marks What do you understand by the term Communalism?

Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community. It seeks to define this community identity as fundamental and fixed. When were provincial elections held in India for the first time and what was the outcome? Elections to the provincial legislatures were held in 1937 and only approximately 12 percent of the population enjoyed the right to vote. The Congress won an absolute majority in five out of eleven provinces and formed governments in seven of them. It did badly in the constituencies reserved for Muslims, but the Muslim League also fared poorly in the election. What was the Hindu Mahasabha? The Hindu Mahasabha was a Hindu party that remained confined to North India. It was founded in 1915 and aimed to unite Hindu society by encouraging the Hindus to transcend the divisions of caste and sect. It sought to define Hindu identity in opposition to Muslim identity. What are the two types of stereotypes that existed and still exist in both India and Pakistan? Present day stereotypes that exist in India and Pakistan date back to the time of partition and in certain instances even before 1947. In India, Muslims are considered cruel, bigoted, unclean, descendants of invaders, while Hindus are kind, liberal, pure, children of the invaded. R.M. Murphy a journalist has shown that similar Stereotypes exist in Pakistan. According to him, some Pakistanis feel that Muslims are fair, brave, Monotheists and meat-eaters, while Hindus are dark, cowardly, polytheists and vegetarian. What did the possibility of separate electorates mean for the Muslims in India? Separate electorates for Muslims meant that Muslims could now elect their own representatives in designated constituencies. This led to favouring of particular religious groups by the politicians working within this system. What do you understand by the term holocaust with reference to the Indian partition? Contemporary observers and scholars have sometimes used the expression holocaust for the killings, rape, arson, and loot that constituted the Partition. The word primarily means destruction or Slaughter on a mass scale. What were the immediate after effects of the Partition in India? The Partition resulted in a massive catastrophe on both sides of the shadow lines. Several hundred thousand people were killed and Innumerable women raped and abducted. Millions of people on both sides were uprooted, transformed into refugees in alien lands. Write a short note on the provincial elections of 1937.

In 1937, first time the elections were held for the provincial legislatures. Only 10% to 12% of the population had the right to vote. The Congress got full majority and won 5 out of 11 provinces. Muslim League could not win even a single seat in North West Frontier Province. It could get only 2 seats out of 84 of reserved constituencies and 3 out of 33 in Sind. In United Provinces, Bombay and Madras, Muslim League wanted to form a joint government with the Congress but Congress rejected the offer. What was the alternative to partition given by the Cabinet Mission? In March 1946, Cabinet Mission was sent to India to examine the Muslim Leagues demands and also to propose a suitable political framework for an independent India. It recommended a loose three tier confederation. It wanted India to remain united. It suggested that India would have a weak central government controlling only foreign affairs and defence and communications to be with the provincial assemblies. Neither the Congress nor the League accepted the proposal. Why did the Congress finally agree to partition? Congress felt that the only way to get out of the disturbances caused by communal violence was to let the partition take place. It accepted the proposal of partition as a necessary evil. Congress had experienced political chaos while working with Muslim League in the interim government and soon realized that a democratic and secular republic could be established only after partition. When was the demand for Pakistan put forward? What was the principle it was based on? Muslim League demanded the creation of Pakistan in 1940 at the Lahore session. It was based on the principle of two-nation theory where India would be divided into two nations of Hindus and Muslims. When and why did Cripps mission come to India? Give one reason for its failure. Cripps mission arrived in India in March 1942 to have a dialogue with the Indian leaders with a view to grant Dominion Status to India. This mission failed because it did not promise to give complete independence to India. How did the survivors describe the Partition? Survivors of 1947 partition described the incident in many names. They called it as Maashal-la (martial law), mara-mari (killings) and raula or hullar (disturbance, tumult, uproar). When was the Hindu Mahasabha formed? The Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1915. One of its founders was V. D. Savarkar. It was a Hindu party confined to North India. It tried to unite Hindus by giving up caste and sect. It was started to give counter actions to the Muslim Organizations of that time. How can we say that the conflict between Hindus and Muslim is not a historic in nature? Some of Indian and Pakistan Historians believe that Mohammad Ali Jinnahs theory that Muslims and Hindus constituted two separate nations could be traced back to the medieval history. Event of partition also led to the continuation of conflict between two groups from the medieval and modern periods. But this view and arguments do not hold any strong evidence since it refuses the mutual cultural exchange and history of sharing. It also negates the very nature of change that peoples thinking is changed by circumstances.

What is the importance of the Lucknow Pactin the historical context of the Partition? The Lucknow Pact signed in 1916 between the Congress and the Muslim League was an important one in understanding the Partition, because it shows the origin of the Muslim League which was controlled by the UP-based Young Party. One of features of the Lucknow Pact was the acceptance of separate electorate. However, the pact paved the way for a joint political platform for the Moderates, Extremists and the Muslim League but in a way Congress has accepted and legitimised the separate electorate system which is based on the view that Hindu and Muslims are not two different religions but nation. When was the Arya Samaj formed? The Arya Samaj, a North Indian Hindu reform movement found by Dayananda Saraswati in 1875. One popular slogan of the Arya Samaj was Go back to Vedas and its main functions were to sustain the Vedic practices. This trend is known as revivalism. When was the Muslim League formed? The Muslim League was floated in Dhaka in 1906. It was dominated by the UP based Muslim elite. Aga Khan II was one of the founders of the All India Muslim League as well as its first President. The Muslim League demanded for the separate nation for the Muslims during 1940s. How did the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh spread to the other part of the country? The RSS spread from Nagpur to the United Provinces, the Punjab and other parts of the country in 1930s. By 1940s the RSS had more than 100,000 trained cadres with strong ideology of Hindu Nationalism. They were convinced that India was a land of the Hindus. What example would you give to the argument that the Muslim League was not having clear idea of the separate nation in 1930? Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal, the writer of Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara demanded for a separate North West Indian Muslim State In his presidential address to the Muslim League in 1930 the poet put forward his intention. He did not predict the emergence of separate state with an aim to reorganize the Muslim majority to form an autonomous unit within a single Indian federation. Who coined the name Pakistan? What does it stands for? The name Pakistan stands for as follows: P- Punjab A -Afgan K - Kashmir S - Sind Tan- Baluchistan This name was coined by a Punjabi, Muslim student at Cambridge Choudhry Rehmat Ali. In his pamphlet Now or Never, he mentioned about it. Initially leaders did not take it seriously and rejected as a dream of a student. Who were the two main leaders opposed to the partition on the communal line?

The two major leaders who were opposed to the Partition on the communal line were Mahatama Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of the NWFP. The later is known as the Frontier Gandhi also. What was the Direct Action Day of the Muslim League? After rejecting the Missions proposal, the League moved for Direct Action to achieve its separate nation for the Muslims. 16 August, 1946 was declared as Direct Action Day by the Muslim League. On this day Calcutta witnessed communal violence which lasted for many days. By March 1947, the violence embraced the rest of regions in the country. 5 marks Why did the Hindus in Bengal demand for the partition of Bengal? In March, 1947, top leaders of the Congress party voted for dividing the Punjab into two. One part was with Muslim majority and other part with Hindu and Sikh majority. The method was demanded for Bengal also. Leaders of Hindus and Sikhs believed that partition was the final solution and otherwise they would be dictated by the Muslim League and its majority. Bhadralok Hindus in Bengal demanded that power should remain with them due to fear of the Muslim majority in Bengal. They envisaged that the Partition was the final solution for political dominance. What was the proposal of the Cabinet Mission? In March 1946, a three member mission was sent by the British Cabinet to India to analyze the Leagues demand and to suggest a suitable political solution with as possible framework for a free India. The Cabinet Mission toured the country for three months and suggested that India was to remain united with a weak central government having control over foreign affairs, defence and communications and the provincial assemblies being grouped into three sections while electing the constituent assembly for making draft of the Constitution for the whole nation. How did the Congress and the Muslim League perform in the Provincial Elections of 1946? In 1946 elections for Provincial were held. The Congress got majority in the general constituencies by capturing 91.3 per cent of the non-Muslim vote. In the same manner the Muslim League got success in the seats reserved for Muslim. It won all 30 reserved constituencies in the Centre with 86.6 per cent of the Muslim vote and 442 out of 509 seats in the provinces. Only after 1946, the Muslim League was able to become as a political party for Muslims and justified its claim as the sole spokesman of Indias Muslims. About 10 to 12 per cent of population enjoyed the voting rights in the provincial elections and one per cent in the elections for the Central Assembly. What could be considered as the event that gave the final shape to the demand for the separate nation by the League? The demand for Pakistan gradually took final shape, when the League moved a resolution on 23 March 1940 demanding autonomy for the Muslim majority areas. But this resolution did not talk about partition or a separate country Pakistan. Sikandhar Hayat Khan, a Punjab Premier and the leader of the Unionist Party drafted the resolution and was opposed to Pakistan and dividing country into Muslim Raj and Hindu Raj. But he supported considerable autonomy for the units of the confederation. Why did the proposal of the Cabinet Mission fail?

Initially all political parties accepted the proposal of the Cabinet Mission. But that agreement did not last long. The League demanded that the grouping be made compulsory and Sections B and C be given rights to secede from the Union in future. But demand of the Congress was that provinces be given the right to join group. The Congress did not accept the clarification of the Cabinet Mission that the grouping would be compulsory at first and the provinces would be given right to take its decisions after the framing of the Constitution and th elections would be held accordingly. But finally both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected the Missions proposal since these proposals would make the partition inevitable. Leaders in both parties agreed to the partition. What do you mean by Hindu nationalism in India? How does it originate? Hindu Nationalism is a claim that argues that India is a country meant only of the Hindus. Other religious people such as the Muslims should become the Hindus otherwise they should go to other countries where the same religious people are living. It is a dangerous ideology that rejects the multi cultural multi religious and multi linguistic identities of India. The formation of the Hindu Maha Sabah and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) considered by historians as an obvious indication of the emergence of Hindu Nationalism. What was the incident that made convinced the Muslim leaders to make the League as sole spokesman of Muslims? The Muslim League demanded for a joint government in the United Provinces. This demand was rejected by the Congress. This incident gave an optimistic opinion to the League about the future of the Muslim community and the leaders of the Muslim League saw a future threat to their community people. The rejection for the joint government by the Congress convinced the League that the Muslims could be represented by the League only and the Congress was considered as a Hindu party. Few were convinced by the projection of the League by Jinnah as sole spokesman of Muslims. Support for the League from the united provinces, Bombay and Madras was popular, but it had little support from the provinces- Bengal, the NWFP and the Punjabout of which the future Pakistan was to be carved out. How did the political parties such as the Congress and the Muslim League perform in 1937 provincial elections? For the first time, the provincial elections were held in 1937 to the provincial legislatures. During that period, only 10 to 12 per cent of people had the voting rights. The Congress performed well in the elections and won with absolute majority in the 5 provinces out of eleven and formed the government in seven of them. It performs poorly in the constituencies reserved for the Muslims and the Muslim League also performed very poorly and got vote 4.4. per cent of the total Muslim vote. The Muslim League could not win even a single seat in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). It got only two out of 84 reserved constituencies for Muslims in the Punjab province and 3 out of 33 in Sind. What is Communalism and how it is dangerous to the society? Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community. It seeks to define this community identity as fundamental and fixed. It attempts to consolidate this identity and present it as natural as if people were born into the identity, as if the identities do not evolve through history over time. Communalism is a dangerous identity is and different from other identities such as

gender identity, identity of living places such as urban, village or city, and even state and country and also linguistic identities. At present scenario, India faces two major communalisms- the Hindu Communalism and the Muslim Communalism. What is revivalism? And how was the Arya Samaj a revivalist organization? Any appeal and suggestion by organizations, movements, groups or individuals to perpetuate the age old conventional and religious practices could be revivalism. The appeal of the Arya Samaj Go back to the Vedas was the same in nature. It appealed to people to revive Vedic learning and combine it with modern education in the sciences. The point here is that as the society grows due to the developments in the science and technologies, human beings should give up imperfect systems, ideas, and understanding of the nature and our place in it and move forward to reach the perfect position in our understanding as well as application of the benefits that we got from the science and technology. There is no point at all in sticking to the old values, ideas, systems and practices in the name of religion and tradition. What were the reasons for the communal tensions during 1920s and 1930s? The period of 1920s and 1930s witnessed a series of communal tensions. Muslims were angered by music-before-mosque, by the cow protection movement. The Arya Samaj tried to bring back to the Hindu fold (shuddhi) people who had been converted into Islam. The Hindus were angered by the (tabligh) propaganda and tanzim (organization) after1923. Middle class publicists and communal activists from middle class tried to build solidarity with their communities. They mobilized people against the other community. What was the separate electorate? And how was it one of factors in contributing the communal conflict during the Partition in 1947? Historians argue that the separate electorates for Muslims created by the British government in 1909 and expanded in 1919 contributed a lot for the Partition in future. It gave a strong foundation for the communal rift. Meaning of the Separate electorate The Separate electorates meant that Muslims could now elect their representatives in constituencies allotted only for Muslims. This gave inspiration for the politicians who worked within the parties to give more sectarian slogans and increase number of benefits that came out of it. This sectarian trend played a vital role with in the political parties during the colonial role as well as, as one could see the present scenario, in the modern periods. They culminated in the functional use and deepened the communal identities as well as hatredness. The separate electorates also gave an active opposition and hostility between communities. How does the legacy of the Partition shape the history of the two countries? The consequences of the Partition were many. Memories, hatreds, stereotypes and identities emerged during the partition still continue and determines the relationship between two countries. Hatreds raise its head often in the form of community conflicts and communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India. Recounting of partition deepens the hatreds, and creates suspicion and distrust and strengthens the stereotypes.

 In India, the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Muslims are three major religious communities with sharp communal divisions and with different culture. Relationship between Pakistan and India has been shaped by the legacy of partition. What kind of stereotypes did prevail among the people during the Partition? The partition produced haters of Pakistan in India and haters of India in Pakistan. Some people believed that Indian Muslims are loyal to Pakistan and not to India. The Hindu community people had some of stereotypes about the Muslim community such as - Muslims are cruel, bigoted, unclean and invaders on India. Hindus considered themselves as kind, liberal, pure and children of the invaded. According to the Journalist R. M. Murphy, the Pakistanis had stereotypes about their own community such as the Muslims are fair, brave, monotheists and meateaters and while they consider the Hindus as dark, cowardly, polytheists and vegetarian. The origin of these stereotypes pre-date Partition. Bu they played a crucial and strong force during the partition. What was holocaust? In Germany Hitler killed number of Jews to completely eliminate (ethnic cleansing) the whole Jewish community in a systematic manner. It will not be an exaggeration to say that killings of Jews were part of his administrative routine and part of his ideology of Nazism. Nazism is a racial theory that is based on the view, that Aryan race (scientifically racism is not correct) is a pure one and other groups (especially Jews) are not. Comparing the number of people killed, historians have concluded that the partition also could be called as holocaust. Why do historians compare the partition with that of the holocaust carried out by Hitler in the name of Nazist ideology in Germany? Scholars and historians have raised an important question regarding the killings and mass murders at the time of the partition. The question is - Were they mere killings or holocaust? Although we don't have the accurate number of people who were killed or raped, the available records and sources show that in the communal carnage many innocent people were killed. Women were raped and children were butchered. Number of Killings The total number of murdered people may vary from 200,000 to 500,000 and 15 million people migrated form one part to another. The killings of these many people prompt us to ask whether it was a partition or holocaust. Scholars have described them as holocaust. Killings started even before the official announcement of the border between two countries. Give some examples of how we come to know about the various incidents that happened during the Partition of India. Oral narratives, memories, diaries, family histories, first hand written accounts tell us about trials and tribulations of ordinary people. They tell us about the day-to-day experiences of people who were affected by the governments decision to divide the country. We get information about the same from the government documents, which deal with policy and party matters and state-sponsored schemes. Such reports throw light on negotiations between the British and major political parties about the future of India and on the rehabilitation of refugees.

However, both these sources need to be to confirmed with findings from other sources and then weighed for their reliability. Explain the main objective of the Pakistan resolution. What were the views of Jinnah? Who had drafted the original Resolution? The Muslim League moved a resolution known Pakistan Resolution demanding greater Muslim autonomy in British India. It was passed by largest gathering of the league delegates on 23 March 1940. The Resolution text unanimously rejected the concept of a United India on the grounds of growing inter-communal violence and recommended the creation of an independent Muslim state Jinnah was critical of the Congress and the nationalist Muslims, and espoused the TwoNation Theory and the reasons for the demand for separate Muslim homelands. Sikandar Hayat Khan, Punjab Premier and leader of the Unionist Party had drafted the original resolution. He declared in a Punjab assembly speech on 1 March 1941 that he was opposed to a Pakistan that would mean Muslim Raj here and Hindu Raj elsewhere ... If Pakistan means unalloyed Muslim Raj in the Punjab then I will have nothing to do with it. Write a short note on the condition of women at the time of partition. In the upheaval that preceded the partition, women saw the worst of the situations. They were abducted; sold frequently; forced to settle down to a new life with strangers in unknown circumstances. They had undergone to develop new family bonds in their changed circumstances. However, the Indian and Pakistani governments were insensitive to human relationships; they now tore them away from their new relatives, and sent them back to their earlier families or locations. They did not consult the concerned women, undermining their right to take decisions regarding their own lives. When the men feared that their women - wives, daughters, sisters - would be violated by the enemy, they killed the women themselves in this period of extreme physical and psychological danger thus leading to further deterioration of the condition of the women. Define Communalism. Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community. Communalism reduces distinctions within the community and emphasizes the essential unity of the community against other communities. The seeds of communalism were sowed by the British through divide and rule policy way back to 1857. Further, it was promoted with formation of Muslim League in 1906. M.A. Jinnah saw the Muslims of British India as a nation and desired that they obtain a nation-state for themselves. This communal conflict got shape with emergence of Hindu Mahasabha. The movement like Shuddhi by Hindus and Tabligh and Tanzim by Muslim made situation worse. Explain how the election of 1937, was a step stone to Muslim Leagues negative attitude towards Congress. In 1937, elections to the provincial legislatures were held for the first time. Congress did well in the elections. In the United Provinces, the Muslim League wanted to form a joint government with the Congress. The Congress rejected that offer; so Muslim League assumed Congress as Hindu Party and observed the need of separate Muslim State to preserve their rights and needs. Moreover, while the leading Congress leaders in the late 1930s insisted more than ever before on the need for secularism, these ideas were by no means universally shared lower down in the party hierarchy, or even by all Congress ministers. In 1937 the

members of the Congress were not allowed to join the League, yet Congressmen were active in the Hindu Mahasabha. What were the efforts of Gandhi to avoid the killings of the people during the Partition? Or who was the one man army who took efforts to sustain ahimsa? Gandhi took efforts to protect the communal harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus. He was 77 years old. He tried to prove his ahimsa and also believed that hearts of people could be changed. He went to Noakhali from there to Bihar villages and then to the slums of Calcutta to stop killings by appealing to the people. In October 1946, Muslims in East Bengal targeted Hindus; He visited the area and appealed to the concerned religious community not to attack and assured the safety of the Muslims. He visited Delhi also and tried to build a spirit of mutual trust and confidence between the two communities. 8 marks What were the major causes of Partition? While the Indian National Congress was calling for Britain to Quit India, the Muslim League, in 1940, passed a resolution for them to Divide and Quit. There were several reasons for the birth of a separate Muslim homeland in the subcontinent, and all three parties-the British, the Congress and the Muslim League-were equally responsible. The foremost reason was the British policy of divide and rule. In order to win over the Muslims to their side, the British helped establish the M.A.O. College at Aligarh and supported the All-India Muslim Conference, both of which were institutions from which leaders of the Muslim League and the ideology of Pakistan emerged. As soon as the League was formed, they were given separate electorates. Separate electorates for Muslims, created by the colonial government in 1909 and expanded in 1919, crucially shaped the nature of communal politics. During the 1920s and early 1930s tension grew around a number of issues. Muslims were angered by music-before-mosque, by the cow protection movement, and by the efforts of the Arya Samaj to bring back to the Hindu fold (shuddhi) those who had recently converted to Islam. Hindus were angered by the rapid spread of tabligh (propaganda) and tanzim (organisation) after 1923. Congress rejection to form a joint government with Muslim League in 1937 convinced the League that if India remained united, then Muslims would find it difficult to gain political power because they would remain a minority. Rejection of the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946 both by the Congress and the Muslim League convinced the leaders of the Muslim League and Congress that compromise was impossible and partition was the only course to take. Discuss the growth of communalism from 1909-1930. By creating the feeling of communalism, the British wanted to weaken the nationalist movement so that they could prolong their rule without any danger. The British adopted the divide and rule policy after 1857 so as to promote the Muslims in their efforts to gain equal status under the British. Thus the Muslim League was formed with the support of British. In 1915, the Hindu Mahasabha was formed. Religious identities thus acquired a functional use within a modern political system. The separate electorates for Muslims, created by the colonial government in 1909 and expanded in 1919, crucially shaped the nature of communal politics. Community identities no longer indicated

simple difference in faith and belief; they came to mean active opposition and hostility between communities. Communal identities were consolidated by a host of other developments in the early twentieth century. During the 1920s and early 1930s tension grew around a number of issues. Muslims were angered by music-before-mosque, by the cow protection movement, and by the efforts of the Arya Samaj to bring back to the Hindu fold (shuddhi) those who had recently converted to Islam. Hindus were angered by the rapid spread of tabligh (propaganda) and tanzim (organisation) after 1923. As middle class publicists and communal activists sought to build greater solidarity within their communities, mobilizing people against the other community, riots spread in different parts of the country. Every communal riot deepened differences between communities, creating disturbing memories of violence. What was the approach of the Congress Party during 1930s towards the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League? The Congress ministries of the interim government widened the rift. The Congress had rejected the Leagues demand for a formation of the joint government in the United Provinces. The League and the Congress differed in the question of abolishing the landlordism. The Congress did not gain anything from the Muslim mass contact programme. The radical and secular approach of the Congress party alarmed conservative Muslims and feudal Muslims who had not won over the Muslim support. Maulana Azad argued that members of the Congress should not be allowed to join the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. In 1937, the Congress leaders such as Maulana Azad asked its members not to join in the Muslim League. And the relationship of the Congress Party with other organizations such as the Hindu Mahasabha was same. In 1938 the Congress declared that its members should not be part of the Hindu Mahasabha. Write a note on the various reasons for spread of communalism that led to partition of India. Mohammad Ali Jinnahs theory that the Hindus and Muslims in colonial India constituted two separate nations was a culmination of a communal politics that started developing in the opening decades of the twentieth century. The separate electorates for Muslims, created by the colonial government in 1909 and expanded in 1919, crucially shaped the nature of communal politics. Religious identities thus acquired a functional use within a modern political system. A host of other developments in the early twentieth century consolidated communal identities. During the 1920s and early 1930s, tension grew around the cow protection movement, and by the efforts of the Arya Samaj to bring back to the Hindu fold (shuddhi) those who had recently converted to Islam. Hindus were angered by the rapid spread of tabligh (propaganda) and tanzim (organisation) after 1923 to strengthen the Muslim communalism. Yet it would be incorrect to see Partition as the outcome of a simple unfolding of communal tensions. It was in March 1947, that the Congress high command voted for dividing the Punjab into two halves, one with Muslim majority and the other with Hindu/Sikh majority. It had asked for the application of similar principal to Bengal as they were convinced that Partition was a necessary evil, otherwise they would be swamped by Muslim majorities and Muslim leaders would dictate terms. In Bengal too, Bengali Hindus, who wanted political power to remain with them, began to fear the permanent tutelage of Muslims. Since they were in a numerical minority, they felt that only a division of the province could ensure their political dominance.

Why did Congress agree to the decision of partition of India? The Indian National Congress was not in favour of partition of India. Several leaders including Mahatma Gandhi had expressed their views against partition of the country. Many reasons forced Congress to agree to the decision of partition of India such as: Threat given by Muslim League: After withdrawing its support to the Cabinet Mission plan, the Muslim League decided on Direct Action for winning its Pakistan demand. It announced 16 August 1946 as Direct Action Day. On this day, riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several days and leaving several thousand people dead. Activities related to partition in Bengal and impact on Congress: In Bengal, too a section of Bengali Hindus, wanted political power and began to fear the permanent control of Muslims. Since they were in a numerical minority, they felt that only a division of the province could ensure their political dominance. Thus they supported the partition of India due to their limited interests of gaining power Communal activities of the soldiers and police: Problems were compounded because Indian soldiers and police came to act as Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs. In many places, not only did the police-men help their co-religionist but they also attacked members of other communities was agonising and produced a process of suffering. Thus the growing disruption of the administration and the spread of communal hatred forced the national leaders to agree to the partition. While carnages occurred in Calcutta and Noakhali in 1946, the Partition was most bloody and destructive in the Punjab. The near-total displacement of Hindus and Sikhs eastwards into India from West Punjab and of almost all Punjabi-speaking Muslims to Pakistan Narrate the major events from the 1937, which culminated in the Partition of India. Major events, which took place from the year 1937which led to the partition of India were: Provincial Elections of 1937: In the year 1935 the British government passed an act based on which in 1937 elections to provincial legislature were held for the first time. The Indian National Congress did much better than the Muslim League. This led the Muslim League to be convinced that if India remained united, Muslims would find it difficult to gain political power because they would remain a minority. Pakistan Resolution: From 1937 to 1939, Jinnah did not have any specific demands such as partition but demanded for Muslim representation. Despite this, the growing insecurity of the Muslims led to the passing of the Pakistan resolution in 1940 demanding a measure of autonomy for Muslim majority areas. World-War II: The outbreak of World War-II in 1939 delayed any negotiations, which may have pacified the Muslim through mutual agreements. By 1945 due to change of power in the world, Britain was willing to grant India independence. Cabinet Mission: In 1946, Cabinet Mission was sent to India, which recommended a loose three-tier confederation. The league demanded that the Muslim majority provinces be given right to secede from the union. Direct Action Day: On 16 August 1946, Muslim League announced Direct Action Day to be undertaken which led to the agreement that partition was a tragic but unavoidable one. Declaration of Clement Atlee: On 20 February 1947, Clement Atlee declared British would quit India in 1947 and in March, Lord Mountbatten worked out a compromise where the country would be free but not united. This was agreed to by the nationalist leaders to stop the riots and blood bath.

Write a note on the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission? Was it accepted by the major parties? If not why? In March 1946, the British Cabinet sent a three-member mission to Delhi to examine the Leagues demand and to suggest a suitable political framework for a free India. The Cabinet Mission recommended a loose three-tier confederation which recommended. India was to remain united. It was to have a weak central government controlling only foreign affairs, defence and communications with the existing provincial assemblies being grouped into three sections while electing the constituent assembly: Section A for the Hindu majority provinces and Sections B and C for the Muslimmajority provinces of the north-west and the north-east (including Assam) respectively. The sections or groups of provinces would comprise various regional units. They would have the power to set up intermediate-level executives and legislatures of their own. Initially all the major parties accepted this plan. However, the agreement was short-lived because it was based on mutually opposed interpretations of the plan. The League wanted the grouping to be compulsory, with Sections B and C developing into strong entities with the right to secede from the Union in the future. The Congress wanted that provinces be given the right to join a group. It was not satisfied with the Missions clarification that grouping would be compulsory at first, but provinces would have the right to opt out after the constitution had been finalized and new elections held in accordance with it. Ultimately, therefore, neither the League nor the Congress agreed to the Cabinet Missions proposal. Write a note on the different ways in which partition affected various parts of India. Carnages occurred in Calcutta and Noakhali in 1946, the Partition was most bloody and destructive in the Punjab. The near-total displacement of Hindus and Sikhs eastwards into India from West Punjab and of almost all Punjabi-speaking Muslims to Pakistan happened in a relatively short period of two years between 1946 and 1948. Many Muslim families of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh continued to migrate to Pakistan through the 1950s and early 1960s, although many chose to remain in India. Most of these Urdu-speaking people, known as Muhajirs (migrants) in Pakistan moved to the Karachi-Hyderabad region in Sind. Most of the Muslims migrated to Pakistan with a hope in eyes for own land, own nation of own religion. However, reality proved disastrous to them as they were not accepted as real citizen of Pakistan and labelled as Muhajirs. In Bengal, the migration was even more protracted, with people moving across a porous border. This also meant that the Bengali division produced a process of suffering that may have been less concentrated but was as agonizing. Furthermore, unlike the Punjab, the exchange of population in Bengal was not near total. Many Bengali Hindus remained in East Pakistan while many Bengali Muslims continued to live in West Bengal. Finally, Bengali Muslims (East Pakistanis) rejected Jinnahs two-nation theory through political action. Problems were compounded because Indian soldiers and policemen came to act as Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs. As communal tension mounted in many places not only did policemen help their co-religionists but they also attacked members of other communities. Critically analyse historical facts which we get from Oral History. Oral narratives, memoirs, diaries, family histories, first-hand written accounts- all these help us understand the trials and tribulations of ordinary people during the partition.

One of the strengths of personal accounts is that it helps us grasp experiences and memories in detail. It enables historians to write vivid accounts of what happened to people during Partition. It is impossible to extract this kind of information from government documents which deal with policy and party matters and various statesponsored schemes. In the case of Partition, government reports and files as well as the personal writings of its high-level officials throw light only on negotiations between the British and the major political parties about the future of India or on the rehabilitation of refugees. Oral history also allows historians to broaden the boundaries of their discipline by getting live experiences of the poor and the powerless. The Oral history succeeded in exploring the experiences of those men and women whose existence has hitherto been ignored, taken for granted, or mentioned rarely in mainstream history. Yet many historians dismiss it because oral data seem to lack concreteness and chronology. Historians argue that the uniqueness of personal experience makes generalization difficult: a large picture cannot be built from such micro-evidence, and one witness is no witness. In this context, one of the first difficulties is that protagonists may not want to talk about intensely personal experiences. Interviewees have to often avoid inquiring into personal traumas. There are problems of memory. What people remember or forget about an event when they are interviewed a few decades later will depend in part on their experiences of the intervening years and on what has happened to their communities and nations during those years. Explain the complete breakdown of law and order in Amritsar and violence? Like Calcutta, Amritsar District also witnessed communal killings and other atrocities between the Hindus and the Muslims due to the complete breakdown of law and order in the city. People appealed to the British for help and the later was not willing to take decisions and intervene and advised the people to contact Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel and Jinnah. There was confusion in terms of exercising the power and authority. Leaders except Gandhi were busy with the negotiations regarding independence. While people were in fear of losing their lives and property, the British officials were busy in quitting India. Even Indian soldiers and policemen came to act as Hindus and Muslims or Sikhs. People could not seek any help from the uniformed policemen while the killings were reaching its zenith; the policemen executed the duty of not protecting people but of butchering them for their religions in many places. Saadat Hasan Manto, a gifted Urdu short-story writer said about his work: For a long time I refused to accept the consequences of the revolution which was set off by the partition of the country. I still feel the same way; but I suppose, in the end, I came to accept this nightmarish reality without self-pity or despair. In the process, I tried to retrieve from this manmade sea of blood, pearls of a rare hue, by writing about the single-minded dedication with which men had killed men, about the remorse felt by some of them, about the tears shed by murderers who could not understand why they still had some human feelings left. How are poems, films and work of literary authors different from a historians portrayal about the partition? Partition poems, films and works try to portray the disastrous event of partition in a very insightful manner. It takes us beyond the academic insight of a historian where only events and facts dominate the larger picture of partition. These works seek to understand mass suffering and pain by focusing on an individual protagonist or small

group of ordinary people that are generally not considered relevant by a historian who focuses on larger events and significant personalities. What are the various sources that help us in understanding the partition of our country? There are various sources that help us to understand the partition of India. Oral narratives and family histories of people living during the partition are very significant. Then there are memoirs and personal diaries of individuals that help us in our understanding of partition. Government records and documents are very significant in throwing a light on the events of partition. Their video films and photography gives us a visual understanding about partition. Bringing together evidence from all these sources can help us enrich our knowledge about partition. What are the difficulties of accepting oral history as a source for historical evidences? Oral history poses many problems for the historian to be accepted as a source of reliable evidence of partition. It is because oral data seems to lack concreteness and chronology that is the feature of documented sources of history. The uniqueness of personal experience makes generalization difficult. A larger picture of the event also becomes very hard to develop from such micro-evidences. A single witness of any historical event is as good as having no other witness of that event in history. Oral evidences are also filled with personal issues that are of no importance to the larger historical processes.

This is what Penderel Moon wrote about the riots during the Partition of India in 1947: For over twenty-four hours riotous mobs were allowed to rage through this great commercial city unchallenged and unchecked. The finest bazaars were burnt to the ground without a shot being fired to disperse the incendiaries (i.e. those who stirred up conflict).The District Magistrate marched his (large police) force into the city and marched it out again without making any effective use of it at all Which events marked the beginning of riots in India during the partition? The Muslim Leagues announcement of the Direct Action Day on 16thAugust 1946 for winning its Pakistan demand marked the start of breaking out of riots in Calcutta and later on the riots spread all across the country when the Congress high command voted for dividing of Punjab into two halves in March 1947. Why were the riots not coming under the control of the British officials? The British officials were unable to control the spread of large scale violence because there was a collapse of the institution of governance in the areas of riots. Nobody knew who could exercise power or authority over the masses. Many government servants feared for their own lives and fled the scene of riots. Indian soldiers and policemen came to act as Hindus and Muslims and did not stand as a united force to curb the violence. What measures did Gandhiji take to control riots in India during Partition? Mahatma Gandhi took many measures to control the spread of violence during riots. He toured on foot different riot affected villages and appealed to villagers for nonviolent methods of sorting out differences. He appealed to Hindus to protect the

Muslims and vice versa. He also began fasting for the sake of brotherhood among different communities.

Here is the experience of a couple, recounted by Prakash Tandon in his Punjabi Century, an autobiographical social history of colonial Punjab: In one instance, a Sikh youth who had run amuck during the Partition persuaded a massacring crowd to let him take away a young, beautiful Muslim girl. They got marriedwere happy together, and a little boy was born. Soon, however, social workers and the police, labouring assiduously to recover abducted women, began to track down the couple she ran high fever, and in three days she was dead. He had not dared to take her to the hospital. He was so afraid the social workers and the police would take her away. Why did Congress agree to the decision of partition of India? The Indian National Congress was not in favour of partition of India. However there was a great threat to the peace in India due to the Muslim League. After withdrawing its support to the Cabinet Mission plan, the Muslim League announced 16 August 1946 as Direct Action Day. On this day, riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several days and leaving several thousand people dead. Apart from this in Bengal too a section of Bengali Hindus, who wanted political power to remain with them thus they felt that only a division of the province could ensure their political dominance. Problems were compounded because Indian soldiers and policemen came to act as Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs. As communal tension mounted, carnages occurred in Calcutta and Noakhali in 1946. All these factors compelled the Indian National Congress to reluctantly agree to the decision of partition. What was the attitude of the Indian and Pakistani government towards women immediately after partition? Scholars have written about the harrowing experiences of women in those violent times. Women were raped, abducted, sold, often many times over, forced to settle down to a new life with strangers in unknown circumstances. Deeply traumatized by all that they had undergone some began to develop new family bonds in their changed circumstances. But the Indian and Pakistani governments were insensitive to the complexities of human relationships. Believing the women to be on the wrong side of the border, they now tore them away from their new relatives, and sent them back to their earlier families or locations. They did not consult the concerned women, undermining their right to take decisions regarding their own lives.

The Leagues resolution of 1940 demanded: "That geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions, which should be so constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the north-western and eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute Independent States, in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign."

What were the various reasons that led to the partition? The root cause of partition came from British rule and the British policy of divide and rule. The English did not like unity and mutual cooperation, brother hood among the two major communities. The British historians, generalist and writers propagated through their writing that the Hindus were slaved by the Muslim invaders and had been exploited for years. When Muslim League was putting demands for more and more political rights for Muslims In 1915 Hindu Mahasabha also demanded for more political rights and representation in different government organisation for the Hindu. Later on the Akali Dal also raised voice for the people of their own community. These political parties or organisation created directly or indirectly the feeling of separatism and isolation among different communities, sex and interest groups. The Muslim League was encouraged by the British Government to press its demand for a separate state. They played the game of imperialism for disrupting and weakening the movement for independence. In the view of the above, write about the Pakistan Resolution. On 23 March 1940, the League moved a resolution demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent. This ambiguous resolution never mentioned partition or Pakistan. In fact Sikandar Hayat Khan, Punjab Premier and leader of the Unionist Party, who had drafted the resolution, declared in a Punjab assembly speech on 1 March 1941 that he was opposed to a Pakistan that would mean Muslim Raj and Hindu Raj elsewhere ... If Pakistan means unalloyed Muslim Raj in the Punjab then I will have nothing to do with it. He reiterated his plea for a loose (united), confederation with considerable autonomy for the confederating units.

I have not met a Punjabi Musalman I had gone to the hostel looking for accommodation and had promptly declared my citizenship. You are Indian, so I cannot allot you a room but I can offer you tea and a story, said the Manager. I couldnt have refused such a tempting offer. In the early 1950s I was posted at Delhi, the Manager began. I was all ears: I was working as a clerk at the Pakistani High Commission there and I had been asked by a Lahori friend to deliver a rukka (a short handwritten note) to his erstwhile neighbour who now resided at Paharganj in Delhi. One day I rode out on my bicycle towards Paharganj and just as I crossed the cathedral at the Central Secretariat, spotting a Sikh cyclist I asked him in Punjabi, Sardarji, the way to Paharganj, please? Are you a refugee? he asked. No, I come from Lahore. I am Iqbal Ahmed. Iqbal Ahmed from Lahore? Stop! That Stop! sounded like a brute order to me and I instantly thought now Ill be gone. This Sikh will finish me off. But there was no escaping the situation, so I stopped. The burly Sikh came running to me and gave me a mighty hug. Eyes moist, he said, For quite a few years now, I have not met a Punjabi Musalman. I have been longing to meet one but you cannot find Punjabispeaking Musalmans here. To which nationality did the visitor belong? Why he was declined a room in the

hostel? The visitor was from India. Where and on which position the manager of the hotel was working? The Hostel Manager was working as a clerk at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi. Why did the traveller stop the Sikh cyclist? What special thing impressed the Sikh cyclist? The traveller wanted to ask the way to Pharganj. The Sikh cyclist was impressed about traveller because the traveller told in Punjabi that he was a Muslim from Lahore and that Sikh was missing the Punjabi-speaking Musalman in India. What do you mean by rukka? Rukka is a short handwritten note. 10 marks Discuss the impact of partition on various regions. The impact of partition was seen in different regions of the country as the social structure was different in different parts of the country. The impact of Partition was more in the north-western part of the country. When communal carnage was going on in Calcutta and Noakhali in 1946 Bengal, other regions such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Central India and the Deccan witnessed the migrations of many people. Punjab witnessed destruction and bloodshed during Partition. From this region Hindus and Sikhs migrated into India and the Punjabi speaking Muslims migrated towards Pakistan side during the period from 1946 to 1948. Number of Muslim families from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh migrated to Pakistan during 1950s and early 1960s, but some of Muslim families remained in India itself. Most of the Urdu-speaking muhajirs in Pakistan migrated to the KarachiHyderabad region in Sind. In Bengal, Hindus remained in East Pakistan while many Muslims continued to live in West Bengal. There were also people who stood for humanity and helped the victims of the Partition in number of cases. Historians have discovered numerous stories of how people helped each other during the Partition period, stories of caring and sharing, of the opening of new opportunities, and of triumph over trauma. For example, Khushdeva Singh, a Sikh doctor specializing in the treatment of tuberculosis, posted at Dharampur in present day Himachal Pradesh. He worked day and night and provided rare healing touch, food, shelter, love and security to numerous migrants- Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu. The residents of Dharampur had developed the kind of faith and confidence in his service for humanity and generosity that Muslims in Delhi and others had in Gandhi. Partition of India also led to the partition of Bengal into East Bengal (Eastern Pakistan) and West Bengal (India). A million of refugees crossed over from East Bengal to West Bengal. The exodus of Hindus from East Bengal to West Bengal was massive as compared to the number of Muslims who left West Bengal to eastern Pakistan. That influx of refugees threatened to disturb the social, economic and political system of West Bengal. The migration to Bengal was continued for a long time. Indian governments policy was different for the refugees from eastern Bengal to Punjab, as government assumed that people who have crossed the border would return to their respective places after the normalisation of condition. So the government of India and

government of Pakistan signed an agreement for not assigning the immovable property to the refugees of both the sides. But the returning of Hindu refugees to their original home in east Bengal never materialised. The Bengali Muslims who had been displaced from their ancestral homes due to the communal riots and had refused to go to the new state of Pakistan also created another problem of resettlement in India. That influx of people into the two new states crippled the economy of both the countries because agriculture was old fashioned, foreign trade was in shabby state and establishment of new industries was negligible. What do you mean by separate electorate and when did it start in India? Why were the leaders not ready to give separate electorates to religious minorities? How was Divide and Rule politics used in electoral system? In separate electorate system, the voting population of a country or region is divided into different electorates, based on factors like religion, caste, occupation, etc. This system was introduced by the British during the 1909 CE. The reforms were done by Minto-Morley. In Minto-Morley reforms, the separate electorate for Muslims was accepted. According to it, the election to the seats reserved for Muslims were to be made by Muslim voters only. No such concession was given to other minority community. Minorities demanded the separate electorates because they felt that only separate electorates would ensure that Muslims had a meaningful voice in the governance of the country. Non-Muslims could not properly understand the needs of Muslims; nor could people who did not belong to that community choose a true representative for the Muslims. The demand for separate electorates provoked anger and dismay amongst most nationalists as separate electorate would further divide the Indian society on the communal ground. British government favoured the Muslim league proposal of creating the separate state. The Nationalist leaders considered separate electorates as a measure deliberately introduced by the British to divide the people. Partition had made nationalists fervently opposed to the idea of separate electorates. Congress was ready to give the percentage of seats demanded by the Muslim league in free India but was reluctant to the idea of separate electorates in free India as that would divide the Indian society and would create communal tension in a new born state. British applied the policy of divide and rule to control India. British government applied the policy first to divide the social structure of the Indian society. The basic structure of the society was dominated by the Muslims and Hindus so British applied the policy to appeasing the Muslims. Separate electorates were one of the instruments of the policy of divide and rule. The instrument was also tried on the depressed and backward classes and other minority classes like Sikhs and Indo-Europeans. As Sardar Patel commented, Separate electorate was a poison that has entered the body politic of our country. It was a demand that had turned one community against another, divided the nation, caused bloodshed, and led to the tragic partition of the country. There was a concern of making a unified nation state. In order to build political unity and forge a nation, every individual had to be moulded into a citizen of the State; each group had to be assimilated within the nation. According to the nationalist leaders, the Constitution would grant to citizens rights, but citizens had to offer their loyalty to the State. Communities could be recognised as cultural entities and assured cultural rights.