Could the Partition of India in 1947 been prevented by Nehru?

[vgane]

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Interesting! Could the partition in 1947 been avoided! Yes....The average Pakistani does not carry rancor and would like to have cordial and good relations with its neighbor! It is only the political establishment that does not want any rapprochement!

Quote

Up until the spring of 1946, a political compromise that would have preserved a united India, was still possible. The Congress -- Nehru in particular -- would have had to grant the Muslim areas that (eventually) became Pakistan more autonomy than he was willing to grant, and have had to accept a weaker Central government than he wanted.
Abandoning that compromise was the fatal mistake.
You (Nehru) couldn't just dismiss this demand as illegitimate and say you weren't going to deal with it. You had to accommodate it somehow. And as the larger, more powerful party it was their responsibility to accommodate it. You don't ask the weaker party to make the concessions. You have to be generous.
Nehru for his own reasons chose not to.
I think that was the last real chance to avoid Partition. Maybe it could have still happened later, no one knows, but at that point it was really possible to preserve a united India.

Unquote

http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/nehru-was-as-much-to-blame-as-jinnah-for-partition/20150813.htm

 

[Vaagmi]

Let us not revisit partition again and again and wail. I am not bothered about whether partition could have been avoided or not.

Partition happened and let us move.

I am happy that our brothers went away. It was just good riddance.

As a homogeneous entity we can move forward quickly and surely.

 

[sarang]

Only it was not done as ambedkar and other nationalists wanted - complete exchange of population. Anyway we must move on and make the best of it.

 

[prasad1]

I agree with Vaagmiji's sentiment. Can you imagine India with that much of Muslim population?
I think it was good that there was a partition and a Muslim nation was born. I am sorry for the people who suffered.
In a way India prospered, otherwise we still will be 60 years behind.

 

[mskmoorthy]

Here are two reviews of Midnight's Furies by Nisid Hajari. Nisid Hajari is the one whose interview was posted in the first post by Shri Ganesh ji http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/showthread.php?t=26601&p=311842#post311842

1) Newyorker Review of Midnights Furies By Mr. Darlymple
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple

2) New York Times Review of the same book by Aatish Taser
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/books/review/midnights-furies-by-nisid-hajari.html

 

[yesmohan]

At the time of partition period, from the point of view of Muslims, it was considered as a great success and agony of joy for the community.

 

[tbs]

hi

partition is byproduct of ego clash between nehru and jinnah....gandhi was mediator....MAINLY PUNJABI SIKHS SUFFERED MOST...

many homeless punjab's geneneration still in delhi....south not affected much abt partition....south was safe...

 

[vgane]

hi

partition is byproduct of ego clash between nehru and jinnah....gandhi was mediator....MAINLY PUNJABI SIKHS SUFFERED MOST...

many homeless punjab's geneneration still in delhi....south not affected much abt partition....south was safe...

The Punjabi Hindus were also among the worst sufferers...They had to shut their businesses and move lock, stock and barrel to India over night...They left behind all the properties, riches which was taken over by Muslim urchins

 

[krish44]

Partition is one of the saddest event of modern indian history.

Lakhs of people were uprooted from their homes losing everything they had and having to begin afresh in life in a different city could be a traumatic experience.

In fiftees [I was at a very impessionable age] ,in delhi I have witnessed first hand sufferings of thousands of refugees from west punjab . they had no homes . they occupied any available space including

front verandas of our govt houses . , Even muslim grave yard near our house got occupied. they slept in the open. but very courageous people. they rebuilt their lives

starting from nothing.Very few took to begging. They were prepared to do any work. Govt aid and rehabilitation was very slow in coming. Today in delhi most of west

delhi and parts of east delhi is dominated by punjabis . At the time of partition, the refugees outnumbered the local delhi population. In fact punjabi language was an

alternate language for speaking.Only after the sixties others from uttaraakhand,UP,bihar,north east,south streamed into delhi and reduced the punjabi influence.

Now punjabis have lot of real estate in refugee colonies of west delhi ,parts of east delhi like shahdara .Retail Business in many areas are in their control. They have

done well for themselves.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Could the Partition of India in 1947 been prevented by Nehru ?

It is my opinion that accepting partition of a Nation with such divesity is biggest political blunder in the History of India. Gandhiji was against it till the end. Gandhiji declared, "You will divide India over my dead body". Even it has been questioned whether Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the then leader of the All-India Muslim League, wanted an independent Pakistan or a Pakistan within a loose kind of federal India. According to a British Historian "Lord Mountbater admitted that partition was a bad idea, no one was sure if Jinnah wanted it". However,Nehru and rest of the Congress leadership came round to accept idea of Partition because they thought if they had a Pakistan within India, in a federal setup it would be impossible to have a strong central government.

If we browse the history we will understand how much of damage and agony partition of has done to this country. "Massive population exchanges occurred between the two newly formed states in the months immediately following Partition." About 14.5 million people uprooted from their homes where they lived for generations and crossed the borders is search of what they hoped was the relative safety of religious majority. Massive violence and slaughter of innocent people occured on both sides of the borders causing the death of about one million people. The newly formed governments were completely unequipped to deal with migrations of such staggering magnitude.

Has partition of this great Country solved the religious problem. No not at all. It has tured into multi headed Hydra with more problems in the name of religion, caste and language.

Now that Partition has become a reality the issue is just an academic discussion, and we celebrate our "69th independence day today".

Jai Hind,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Could the Partition of India in 1947 been prevented by Nehru ?

The Punjabi Hindus were also among the worst sufferers...They had to shut their businesses and move lock, stock and barrel to India over night...They left behind all the properties, riches which was taken over by Muslim urchins

Another major community which is affected by Partition was Sindhis (Hindus). At the time of partition, the Sindhi Hindus made up only 25% of the population and the rest were mostly Muslims in the province of Sindh. The Hindus were preoccupied with trade and commerce and contributed greatly to the economy of the region. There were close ties between the Hindus and Muslims of Sindh province and there weren't any major troubles before 1947. The problems started when 2 million Mujahirs from the Indian side reached there and forced the exodus of the Sindhi Hindus. Many of the Hindus wanted to return to SIndh only to find their lands being taken up Muslims. Unlike the Punjab and Bengal Sindh was not partitioned on religious lines. The bulk of Sindhi-Hindus have become people without a Country, just refugees in the Country whose name derives from their land and river.

"Over two million Hindu Sindhis (who formed a religious minority in Sindh, now in Pakistan) migrated to India during partition. Their psychic wounds and ruptures remain unknown to most. Of these ruptures, the most serious one has been the community's move towards hardened identities. Yet less than a hundred years ago, the Sindhis practised a very non-textualised form of Hinduism." Sindhis are highly enterprising and hard working community, now scattered all over India and the world, they are trying hard to safe guard their language and identity.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[prasad1]

Taj Mohammad Khan was a young Pathan when India was carved out on communal lines in 1947. He was a Congress activist in Peshawar and was greatly influenced by Mahatama Gandhi and Frontier Gandhi (Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan). He was a broken man when it became clear that the nation would be divided on communal lines. He was in extreme dilemma whether to stay back in Peshawar, the land of his forefathers, or move to a new place in a new country. And when communal riots broke out post Partition, he decided to leave the homeland for Muslims for secular India. He came to Delhi along with his family and couple of other friends. Today we know him as father of superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
The likes of Taj Mohammad Khan had rejected the two-nation theory with utter disdain. If not thousands, there were many Muslims who shifted to India from newly created Pakistan in 1947 when communal passions were running high.
Many years ago H.C. Shourie, who was the Rehabilitation Commissioner of refugees in Delhi, told this writer that several Muslims families from NWFP region of Pakistan came to India in 1947.They were not ready to live in Jinnah’s Pakistan. That was the region that was not much impacted due to communal violence that engulfed Punjab and Bengal. The local people were close to Gandhiji and Ghaffar Khan. That was the major reason for many Muslims to leave Pakistan and settle in secular India.
Many Hindus, Sikhs and even Muslims migrated to Afghanistan. A former Pakistani diplomat and historian, Nazar Abbas, said that there is a possibility that some Muslims had migrated to India then. “It is a fact that due to Ghaffar Khan, large number of people there were not supporting the idea of Pakistan. As he had a huge support base, I can believe that some of them had shifted to India,” noted Nazar Abbas.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-idea-of-india/article7541445.ece?homepage=true

 

[krish44]

many kerala muslims from mallapuram went to karachi to settle after partition.

they could not adjust with the lifestyle of pakistani local muslims and those from north india who had settled there.

most preferred to return.

many anglo indians thought it made no difference whether it was india or pakistan. they found it impossible to continue in pakistan.

 

[yesmohan]

At that time, Nehru had not been able to convince Jinnah.

Jinnah, not for his personal will alone but with the push from behind with the majority mood of the Muslim community at that time, had indeed, literally fought with Nehru for the cause of partition.

Even now, a few of the Muslims in India, have a fanatic affinity to Pakistan having/showing/waving Pakistan national flags at times.

 

[sarang]

Sadhu Vaswani and his disciple Dada J P Vaswani, the current spiritual head of most of the sindhis who had to leave karachi when their firends and relatives were murdered. Sadhu vaswani restarted St Mira education movement in pune, and many sindhis settled in pune, mumbai suburbs and in small groups all over india. Many still have memories of their place of birth, but are immensely relieved because they did abandon pakistan for living in india. Many sindhis have become vegetarians and actively take part in their community satsangs and religious activities.

Another major community which is affected by Partition was Sindhis (Hindus). At the time of partition, the Sindhi Hindus made up only 25% of the population and the rest were mostly Muslims in the province of Sindh. The Hindus were preoccupied with trade and commerce and contributed greatly to the economy of the region. There were close ties between the Hindus and Muslims of Sindh province and there weren't any major troubles before 1947. The problems started when 2 million Mujahirs from the Indian side reached there and forced the exodus of the Sindhi Hindus. Many of the Hindus wanted to return to SIndh only to find their lands being taken up Muslims. Unlike the Punjab and Bengal Sindh was not partitioned on religious lines. The bulk of Sindhi-Hindus have become people without a Country, just refugees in the Country whose name derives from their land and river.

"Over two million Hindu Sindhis (who formed a religious minority in Sindh, now in Pakistan) migrated to India during partition. Their psychic wounds and ruptures remain unknown to most. Of these ruptures, the most serious one has been the community's move towards hardened identities. Yet less than a hundred years ago, the Sindhis practised a very non-textualised form of Hinduism." Sindhis are highly enterprising and hard working community, now scattered all over India and the world, they are trying hard to safe guard their language and identity.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.