The Partition of India Flashcards
1
Q
What is a source for the Indian Partition?
A
14/15th August 1947: Nehru’s Midnight Speech of Independence.
2
Q
What is a significant quotation from Nehru’s Midnight Speech of Independence?
A
At the stroke of midnight when the world sleeps India will wake to life and freedom
3
Q
What should be noted about the context of India’s independence?
A
It occurred in the wider context of a global crisis of Imperialism following WW2.
4
Q
What is notable about India’s status as a secular nation?
A
Hindu population- yet 10-20% Muslim population
5
Q
Name two provinces which were partitioned:
A
Punjab (who compensated and rehabilitated migrants) and Bengal (migration wasn’t sudden and people thought normalcy continued on- festered issues)
6
Q
How many princely states were there in India?
A
over 500.
7
Q
Give an example for why India more complicated than a mere two state solution:
A
Kashmir had a Hindu ruler with a majority Muslim population, yet ended up in India against popular wishes.
8
Q
How many muslims were sacrificed in Partition? How many people died?
A
2 million Muslims were qurbani, whether they died or remained in India. 100,000-750,000 Hindus+Muslims died.
9
Q
How many people migrated during the Indian partition?
A
10s of millions, especially along trainlines.
10
Q
How can we characterise the attention to detail of the partition?
A
It was disorganised. Infrastructure was not recreated, connections between the two states were crudely severed. A lot of raw materials and processing factories ended up on opposite sides of the border to each other.
11
Q
How can the callousness of the border be shown?
A
Through Radcliffe basing the borderlines on statistical information AND keeping the borderlines secret until 17 August.
12
Q
Why were the borderlines’ release dates pushed back from the 12th to the 17th?
A
So that the British could not be held responsible for the chaos which ensued.
13
Q
Why was high politics in the question of partition so strenuous?
A
Because Indian and Pakistani leaders had incompatible post-imperial goals. No outcome was good enough for anyone.
14
Q
Who claimed that nations are imagined communities?
A
B. Anderson
15
Q
What is the issue with nations = imagined communities?
A
An alternative identity to empire, yes. But how do we define nation?
16
Q
What is the issue with the two state solution?
A
The plurality of India. There are hundreds of ways of perceiving community e.g. religious, geographical, economic, linguistic.
17
Q
What are the three aspects of Indian socio-economics?
A
- Elite nationalism.
- Peasant politics.
- Urban working class.
18
Q
Characterise elite nationalism:
A
Often educated to the highest level, if not in Britain, moderate views, professional careers.
19
Q
Characterise peasant politics:
A
Peasants with radical views stoked by economic demands.
20
Q
Characterise urban working class:
A
Peasants in urban areas with radical views, political and economic.
21
Q
List three regional identities of India which show how India could have split regionally:
A
Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi.
22
Q
List three languages of India which show how India could have split based on linguistics:
A
Tamil, Telegu, Hindu.
23
Q
List four religions which show that religious partition of India was not as inclusive as made out to be:
A
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist
24
Q
Pre-1918, what was the moderate Indian perception of Britain?
A
Moderates believed British politics could accommodate Indian principles.
25
Pre-19918, what was the extremist Indian perception of Britain?
Extremists did not believe that British politics could ever accommodate Indian goals and principles.
26
When was the first meeting of the Indian Nation Congress? What was the importance of it?
1885, it was the most significant event in Indian politics prior to independence.
27
What was significant about the first meeting of the Indian National Congress?
There was a call for a need for pan-Indian federal institutions, the meeting was also an acknowledgement of the diversity and plurality of India, although Muslims didn't have agency.
28
How can we see that there was a cultural revivalism of old traditions and history pre-1918?
The 1893 Till Ganesh festival to unite Indians in Bombay.
29
What was a drawback of pre-1918 cultural revivalism?
It ostracised and isolated Muslim inhabitants.
30
What was the pre-1918 pan-Indian federal institution building called?
Swadeshi- meaning 'our country'
31
When was there an intense period of Swadeshi?
1906-10
32
List three examples of swadeshi:
1. Bank of India.
2. Punjab National Bank.
3. Canara Bank.
33
What does the practise of Swadeshi show?
A rejection of British supremacy in India.
34
When was the Muslim League founded?
1906
35
Briefly outline the nature of the Muslim League:
Muslims were asserting their right to agency. In its creation they did not contest India but this changed as Britain became more interventionist.
36
How did the Muslim League perceive itself?
As a community within communities.
37
How many soldiers did India supply to WW1? How many labourers?
1 million soldiers, 500,000 labourers.
38
How many Indians died in WW1?
62,000
39
How much money did India supply Britain with in WW1?
£100 million as a 'war gift' and £100 million as a loan
40
What was the nature of Indian involvement in WW1?
Provinces were coerced intro contribution, all contributing to Indian inflation.
41
What were the three political implications of WW1?
1. Indian nationalism was no longer elite-centred.
2. Nationalism became linked with rural struggles and tax burdens.
3. Congress claimed to be forming a nation (in world context of centralisation).
42
What were the two periods of economic distress in India which followed WW1?
1919-22 and 1930-32
43
What was the impact of the 1929 Great Depression in India?
Britain prioritised goods over maintenance. There was a collapse of agriculture.
44
What was the demonetisation in India following the 1929 Great Depression?
Rs 5 billion --> 2.1 million (1931-41)
45
What was the rate of urbanisation in India following the 1929 Great Depression?
Calcutta population 1.2 million --> 2.1 million (1931-41)
46
What is an example of the resentment felt by Indians towards British actions following WW1?
1019 villages flew the INC flag in direct criticism of GB restricting INC power and agency.
47
When were Indians allowed to stand in regional elections?
1935
48
What percentage of the franchised population participated in the 1937 election?
25%- was it rigged?
49
Why did the INC and Muslim League develop an unreconcilable relationship between the world wars?
Due to the INC's rejection at the opportunity to have a Muslim league coalition in United Provinces.
50
What is hypocritical about the INC in the 1930s?
They ostracised the Muslim League, yet maintained their claim as a secular institution- Muslim fears of a Hindu Raj
51
How did Muslims perceive INC officials?
As conservative aristocrats
52
What was the Indian role in WW2?
India was declared a belligerent without consultation
53
When did the Indians win against the Japanese?
1942
54
What was a socio-economic crisis caused by WW2 in India?
The Bengal Famine of 1943 which was caused by inflation and the prioritisation of war aims over sustenance
55
When was the crisis of British India? Why?
1942, the economic demands of wartime Britain became too heavy a burden
56
What should be noted about British perception of India during WW2?
Churchill did not DELIBERATELY sacrifice India contrary to popular belief, its decay was an unfortunate circumstance.
57
What was significant about protests in 1942?
Protests against British rule were in north-eastern India where there was little British presence and war meant troops couldn't be sent there.
58
What was the external perception of Britain in India post-WW2?
There was a lack of imperial enthusiasm, especially from USA who rejected 'empires' yet wanted an informal economic empire to fight USSR.
59
What was the internal perception of Britain in India post-WW2?
India had seen themselves as fighting for India not Britain, Britain was a labour government not too concerned about empire after the war.
60
When was the administrative collapse of British India?
1945
61
What happened in June 1946?
In June 1946 Nehru formed an interim government.
62
When was the Muslim League's Direct Action Day?
August 1946?
63
When was Plan Breakdown?
1946
64
When was the British intent to leave India announced?
February 1947
65
Who arrived in India in February 1947?
Lord Mountbatten, final Viceroy of India
66
When was Mountbatten's partition plan formed?
June 1947
67
What should be noted about the impact of Indian partition?
India had already begun 'partitioning' long before it was formally legislated, people had been moving to 'live with their own kind' for years.
68
What were tensions like prior to independence?
There was a beginning of riots, culture of mistrust and ethnic cleansing long before even 1947.
69
How did India and Pakistan recover from partition?
There was a rapid economic recovery of both Pakistan and India as GDP increased.
70
Briefly outline the traditional indigenous historical interpretation of the Indian partition:
Borders are thought of as incision scars, British portrayal of clinical detachment. Pakistan a diseased limb. This all suggests India was passive in its partition.
71
What can be said about the British use of Sir Cyril Radcliffe?
They wanted the 'confident amateur rather than the narrow technician'.
72
What did partition give to people? Why was this not the reality?
Partition gave people 'the communal right to self-determination' however this was in reality often eclipsed by self-serving politicians.
73
When did the commissions vote on which state they would reside in?
20 June.
74
How did Jinnah want to commissions to be structured?
As UN commissions with 3 non-Indians, this was rejected by Britain for fear of soviet influence and implications of incompetence. Congress thought it would cause delay.
75
How did Nehru want commissions to be structured?
With 1 independent chairman appointed by 2 League appointees and 2 Congress appointees. This was accepted as the structure. Based on judicial rather than political expertise.
76
What should be stressed about the im/partial nature of the partition?
Radcliffe was stressed as an independent (ie not housed at governors/viceroys), commissions played into party-political considerations.
77
What was the naive assumption of Nehru in regards to partition finality?
Nehru claimed that states would modify their frontiers until both were happy after, rather than a 'heavy and prolonged' process. Partition was thus intended to be rough.
78
What is a source for the purposefully rough 'sketch like' nature of the Radcliffe line?
Evan Jenkins, Governor of Punjab: 'in the time available it [would] be quite impossible to make a clean job of partition'.
79
How did Mountbatten describe the backlash of partition to be?
An 'inevitable odium' (Viceroy's 17th personal report 16 August 1947)
80
Under what ambiguous term did parties submit petitions of statehood to the partition commissions?
Under the 'other factors' classification. This clause was exploited where a majority/minority argument was not sustainable enough for the party's wishes.
81
In Bengal, what were the two factions to the partition commission?
The Hindu Coordination Committee (4 parties) and the Provincial Muslim League (1 party).
82
What were the 4 parties of the Hindu Coordination Committee, why is this pluralism so significant?
Mahasabha, Congress, Indian Association, New Bengal Association. Excluding Congress, the parties had a 10/12 representatives majority thus deeply partisan actions.
83
What were the two internal schisms in the Muslim League in Bengal?
Huseyn Suhrawady- (united and independent Bengal) and Khwaja Nazimuddin- (All of Bengal to a united Pakistan, expected to be leader).
84
By what principle was Bengal divided on?
Bengal was divided based upon contiguous majority subdivisions or unions. (Partition based on linked majority-population districts)
85
Regarding Bengal, what did the Muslim League insist?
The Muslim League wanted a share of Bengali provincial revenue proportionate to its share of population to Pakistan- a bid for 4/5 of Bengal including Calcutta.
86
If the Muslim League had got what they wanted, what would have been the outcome in Bengal?
2/3 of Bengali Hindus would have resided in Pakistan, though Bengal as a whole had a 55% majority. The 1946 elections projected that a united Bengal would have a League government.
87
Regarding Bengal, what did the Hindu Coordination Committee insist? What was the issue?
10 Hindu majority districts, 2 Muslim majority districts, 5 indistincts. (57% total land for 47% population). The Congress lawyer A. Gupta said this was suicidally cheeky.
88
How can we exemplify the radical nature of minority influences in the Hindu Coordination Committee?
Arya Rashta Sangha insisted West get 4/5 of Bengal as Hindus owned 4/5 of property.
89
What was suggested by the Congress' lawyer A. Gupta in place of the HCC demands? How was this received.
The Congress Scheme: a watered down 'maximum demand'. / The Congress Plan: strict contiguous majority. Congress overrode the HCC and forced the presentation of both these partition outlines.
90
What was the most sought after area of Bengal?
North Bengal, a 'frontier' region ethnically and culturally that held the wealth. Hub of communism but also Darjeeling tea trade. Though in September 1947 the Gurkha League (Assam) led an anti-Bengali, pro-Bihar movement.
91
What was the outcome in partition?
71% of Muslims went to East Bengal, 70.8% Hindus west. Hindus got 36% land for 35% population, Muslims got 64% land for 65% population.
92
What does the outcome in Bengali partition show about Radcliffe's actions?
He largely followed the Congress demands: Muslims:non ratio must be equal, partition was based upon thanas (local police censuses). Hindus got the rich north + Calcutta area.
93
What was the only place in which the Radcliffe line did not meet Congress demands?
The boundary was not continuous, there were two lines until 1956. The other issue was that thanas maps didn't line up with settlement maps. These contributed to a lack of West- North corridor for Hindus.
94
What is a contemporary claim of perceptions of the boundary?
Saroj Chakrabarty: 'there was considerable resentment, particularly among Hindus over certain features of the Award'. This was due to misinformation breeding hope and anxiety.
95
How can we characterise reaction to the Award? What is an example of this?
Specific, rather than general discontent. Usually 1 small thanas area, such as Khulna (Hindu majority, yet ended up in Pakistan after provisionally being Indian).
96
How were discontents of the Award settled?
14 December 1948 Interdominion Agreement set up a tribunal, declared changes February 1950. (Prior borders had been based on changing/unenforced natural and administrative lines.)
97
What was the affect of the border on agriculture.
700 miles long, it ruptured sharecropping communities: detrimental to peasant farmers. Though border guards helped with harvest until 1952.
98
What factors being in contention prevented the rehabilitation of migrants?
The drive to stop smuggling and the impressing of a porous border on guards. The removal of minorities from border areas in the militarisation leading up to the war.
99
What source shows the issue with the Bengal border?
April 1948 border report: 'smuggling continues unabated'.
100
What are the two partition myths outlined by A. Roy?
1. The League for partition with a logical end.
| 2. The Congress for unity with a tragic finale.
101
What source shows the League's hatred of Congress?
December 1938: Maulana Zafar Ali Khan notes the 'antagonism [not] towards the Hindus generally, but against the Congress high command'
102
What does A. Jalal's study focus on?
A. Jalal considered League's real role in est Pakistan, reevaluating the islamisation of Jinnah + the 1940 Lahore Resolution which traditionalists have argued was a demand for an independent Muslim state
103
What is the revisionist interpretation of the role of Jinnah and the League?
Lahore Resolution = bargaining chip, Jinnah's decline from federal politics and rise of Gandhi's shows the League just wanted a legitimate place in society. Clouded by provincial political leaders.
104
How was the centralised goal of the League clouded by provincial politics? When did this end?
Provincial political leaders wanted to keep their power and used the enlarged opportunities from the 1919 Montford reforms. 1930s Round Table Conference and islamisation of politics ended stagnation.
105
In the 1937 elections, what was the Congress majority?
9 out of 11 provinces were dominated by Hindu politicians, including Muslim ones. This was the point of the League's strategy change.
106
What does S. Wolpert argue about the League's inter-war change?
'Quiad-i-azam [Jinnah] forged the League into a political weapon powerful enough to tear the subcontinent apart'.
107
What was the consistent goal of Muslims?
The goal was always to secure Muslims in India. There was simply a change in tactics and strategy. Jinnah realised Muslims could not operate politically with a majority/minority system.
108
If the Muslim goal was always to secure themselves in India, what was the Lahore Resolution according to A. Roy?
The Lahore Resolution was Muslims stressing their right to a 'nation' rather than minority status for a federal constitution.
109
What is a source for the intention of the creation of Pakistan?
Jinnah 1943 Delhi speech: 'we had not used the word 'Pakistan'. Who gave us this word? [cries of Hindus], Let me tell you it is their fault!'
110
Why does A. Roy characterise Jinnah as a political sphinx?
Jinnah's objectives could only be achieved via unity, but a central federalised structure would equate to Congress dominance.
111
What did V. Menon stress regarding partition and Congress?
Partition gave congress centralised power unhampered by any communal consideration. Pragmatic high politics moved towards partition, then, before Mountbatten arrived.
