vgane,
we were all so stupid to be duped and divided by the british? it is a easy way out to blame the british.
the way britain was after the war, they just wanted to quit. quit fast too. india as the political unit, never existed with such a geography ever in history. there was a rule in the north of the vindhyas. and a rule in the south.
modern communication, railways, integrated army and civil servants made the current india possible. there is no reason why burma and ceylon could not have been included either. arbitrarily someone in london separated these two from indian administration.
there is more a logic for ceylon or burma to be part of india than andamans.
the hindu muslim riots started soon after the 1857 war... when with education and the coming of western thought, the two communities began to diverge. the muslims, yearning for the pre british india when they were the overlords; and the hindus looking forward to an india without britain, when thanks to their majority population, they could rule.
it is all numbers. which is why with the low hindu birth rate, not matched either by muslims or xtians, we are leaving a legacy problem for the future generations. who knows how enlightened they will be.
dont blame the british for our troubles. if so after 60+ years why are we still unable to resolve kashmir. if both india pakistan agree that it was a british plot, they could have reconciled long ago.