The Partition of India Flashcards
What is a source for the Indian Partition?
14/15th August 1947: Nehru’s Midnight Speech of Independence.
What is a significant quotation from Nehru’s Midnight Speech of Independence?
At the stroke of midnight when the world sleeps India will wake to life and freedom
What should be noted about the context of India’s independence?
It occurred in the wider context of a global crisis of Imperialism following WW2.
What is notable about India’s status as a secular nation?
Hindu population- yet 10-20% Muslim population
Name two provinces which were partitioned:
Punjab (who compensated and rehabilitated migrants) and Bengal (migration wasn’t sudden and people thought normalcy continued on- festered issues)
How many princely states were there in India?
over 500.
Give an example for why India more complicated than a mere two state solution:
Kashmir had a Hindu ruler with a majority Muslim population, yet ended up in India against popular wishes.
How many muslims were sacrificed in Partition? How many people died?
2 million Muslims were qurbani, whether they died or remained in India. 100,000-750,000 Hindus+Muslims died.
How many people migrated during the Indian partition?
10s of millions, especially along trainlines.
How can we characterise the attention to detail of the partition?
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.
How can the callousness of the border be shown?
Through Radcliffe basing the borderlines on statistical information AND keeping the borderlines secret until 17 August.
Why were the borderlines’ release dates pushed back from the 12th to the 17th?
So that the British could not be held responsible for the chaos which ensued.
Why was high politics in the question of partition so strenuous?
Because Indian and Pakistani leaders had incompatible post-imperial goals. No outcome was good enough for anyone.
Who claimed that nations are imagined communities?
B. Anderson
What is the issue with nations = imagined communities?
An alternative identity to empire, yes. But how do we define nation?
What is the issue with the two state solution?
The plurality of India. There are hundreds of ways of perceiving community e.g. religious, geographical, economic, linguistic.
What are the three aspects of Indian socio-economics?
- Elite nationalism.
- Peasant politics.
- Urban working class.
Characterise elite nationalism:
Often educated to the highest level, if not in Britain, moderate views, professional careers.
Characterise peasant politics:
Peasants with radical views stoked by economic demands.
Characterise urban working class:
Peasants in urban areas with radical views, political and economic.
List three regional identities of India which show how India could have split regionally:
Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi.
List three languages of India which show how India could have split based on linguistics:
Tamil, Telegu, Hindu.
List four religions which show that religious partition of India was not as inclusive as made out to be:
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist
Pre-1918, what was the moderate Indian perception of Britain?
Moderates believed British politics could accommodate Indian principles.
Pre-19918, what was the extremist Indian perception of Britain?
Extremists did not believe that British politics could ever accommodate Indian goals and principles.
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.
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.
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.
What was a drawback of pre-1918 cultural revivalism?
It ostracised and isolated Muslim inhabitants.
What was the pre-1918 pan-Indian federal institution building called?
Swadeshi- meaning ‘our country’
When was there an intense period of Swadeshi?
1906-10
List three examples of swadeshi:
- Bank of India.
- Punjab National Bank.
- Canara Bank.
What does the practise of Swadeshi show?
A rejection of British supremacy in India.
When was the Muslim League founded?
1906
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.
How did the Muslim League perceive itself?
As a community within communities.
How many soldiers did India supply to WW1? How many labourers?
1 million soldiers, 500,000 labourers.
How many Indians died in WW1?
62,000
How much money did India supply Britain with in WW1?
£100 million as a ‘war gift’ and £100 million as a loan
What was the nature of Indian involvement in WW1?
Provinces were coerced intro contribution, all contributing to Indian inflation.
What were the three political implications of WW1?
- Indian nationalism was no longer elite-centred.
- Nationalism became linked with rural struggles and tax burdens.
- Congress claimed to be forming a nation (in world context of centralisation).
What were the two periods of economic distress in India which followed WW1?
1919-22 and 1930-32
What was the impact of the 1929 Great Depression in India?
Britain prioritised goods over maintenance. There was a collapse of agriculture.
What was the demonetisation in India following the 1929 Great Depression?
Rs 5 billion –> 2.1 million (1931-41)
