Why, and with what success, was India partitioned in 1947? (27) Flashcards
What was the clear brief given to Mountbatten by Attlee and the British government?
Partition was to be avoided ; if Congress and the League couldn’t agree terms by the given deadline, then Britain would devolve power to the existing central and provincial governments - and go.
Why was Mountbatten chosen to negotiate the final stages of India’s independence?
His flamboyance, left-wing tendencies and determination not only to be, but to be seen as, a man of action brought a refreshing change to Indian politics and a hope that the Congress-League deadlock could be broken.
What did Mountbatten spend his first four weeks in India doing?
Consulting with Indian ministers, politicians and his own staff. With some, his charm and flattery worked, as did his clear determination to cultivate the friendship of men with whom he had to bargain.
Who did Mountbatten quickly establish relationships with?
Gandhi, Nehru and other Congress leaders.
Why did Mountbatten fail to establish a good relationship with Jinnah?
Their first meeting was frosty, as Jinnah wasn’t seduced by the charms of the Viceroy and the Vicerine. Mountbatten was later to refer to him as an ‘evil genius’, a ‘lunatic’ and these insuts were relayed to Jinnah by staff who were trying to double guess how events would unfold and where their loyalties should lie. This did nothing to improve Jinnah’s view that Mountbatten had strong pro-Congress sympathies - this view was strengthened by the clear and reported infatuation Lady Mountbatten had for Nehru.
What did Mountbatten conclude after his four week consultation?
Partition was the only solution
Why was Attlee so against Partition?
For the whole time in India, the Raj had tried to govern impartially between Muslim and Hindu - one of its major successes had been that its rule was secular.To fall back now, on a primitive division of a huge landmass along religious lines was a serious step backwards.
What broke out in the Punjab?
56% of the Punjab’s inhabitants were Muslim, but it was administered by a shaky alliance of Hindus, Sikhs and non-League Muslims led by Khizr Hayat Khan. His resignation in March 1947 and subsequent attempts of the League to form its own admin led to militant Sikhs calling for direct action against the Muslim League and the subsequent explosion of violence.
Amritsar and Lahore were centres of carnage, while murder, arson and looting were common throughout the province. In the North-West Frontier Province, the League launched a civil disobedience campaign of its own against Congress.
How did Gandhi respond to the riots?
He was in despair, his dream of a united India in which all religions could coexist was slipping away, so he fell back on his belief in the power of truth and love and began one of his long-distance walks through the districts of East Bengal. As always, heh aimed to communicate directly with the illiterate masses, trying to explain what the politicians were doing.
What happened when Gandhi turned his attention to Bihar?
In Bihar, Hindus were killing Muslims on a large scale. As a practical gesture,it was a futile one, since he’d become an outdated figure and from then onwards was sidelined in the search for an acceptable formula for independence.
When was the plan for Partition and reallocation of power created?
April and May 1947
What was the first draft plan?
‘Plan Balkan’ basically allowed the Indian states and provinces to decide their own future.
What did Nehru point out as the faults of ‘Plan Balkan’?
A recipe for total anarchy
Would result in the ‘Balkanisation of India’
Provoke certain civil conflict
Cause a further breakdown of central authority, which alone could prevent the growing chaos
Would demoralise Army, police and the central services
Congress would reject a plan that would weaken India and the Congress Party
If Pakistan was to be a viable state, it needed to contain - in Jinnah’s opinion - Bengal and the Punjab, if they had the power to decide their own fate, they would surely partition.
Why was Britain becoming desperate to leave India?
Desperate to leave India before the sub-continent went down in flames, as the remnants of the Raj were fast losing control of the domestic situation and Mountbatten was afraid the British would be swamped by events they couldn’t control.
Vast areas of north-west India were in a state of riot and rebellion
The ‘steel frame’ of ICS which held India together was now reduced to a mere skeleton of mainly Indians to whom their friends and relations looked for patronage.
Attlee’s declaration that the British would be out of India by July 1948 had led to bloody contests for supremacy in mixed Hindu-Muslim areas like the Punjab.
Why was Jinnah in a hurry for partition?
His persistent cough and debilitating physical weakness had been diagnosed as a terminal illness - tuberculosis. If he wanted to see the birth of a separate Muslim state, events had to move fast.
