‘The catastrophe witnessed during partition of the subcontinent was only a proportion of what could have happened if the two communities had lived together.’
The creation of Pakistan was indeed justified considering the unfolding of events during the first few decades of the 20th century. Prior to the 20th century the Muslims of the subcontinent focused on education and as soon as they became aware of their own needs and rights they launched their own platform to represent themselves in the government. However, the Congress always nullified Muslims League’s claim that League was the sole representative of Muslims of the subcontinent. This led to a confrontation between the two forces and ultimately creation of Pakistan remained the only hope and solution for the Muslims. The creation of Pakistan was justified due to myriad of causes which include socialogical, political, moral, religious and ethical issues which
The most prominent cause that justified the creation of Pakistan was the innate social differences between the two major communities of the subcontinent i.e. the Muslims and the Hindus. These differences include, The Caste system of Hindus versus the Islamic brotherhood; The Hindus believed in the caste system and were divided in to four major castes namely Brahmans, kshatriya, Waishya and Shudras, whereas; the Muslims believed in the equality of human beings and hence the social fabric of the society was difficult to preserve in these hostile circumstances.
Secondly the social customs of the two communities were entirely and often led to a social discord between the two permanent residents of subcontinent. These included difference of perspective regarding cow. The Hindus considered it as a sacred animal an...
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... such efforts to demean the Muslims. It was made compulsory for the Muslims to sing Bande Matram and salute Gandhi’s picture in schools. Hence, the Muslims celebrated the Day of Deliverance when the Congress rule ended in 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War.
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Al-Bı̄rūnı̄, Abū Al-Rayḥān Muḥammad Ibn Aḥmad, Al- Beruni. Kitāb-ul Hind. Lahore: Al-Faiṣal, 1994. Print.
The relationship between cricket and politics is clearly delineated in South Asia from 1880 to 2005 through the easing of the stress between totally different caste members, although the stress mitigated wasn't forever from a religious aspect between the Pakistanis, Indians, and also the British. The various issues that arose in South Asia was largely class or caste systems (Docs 2, 3, 4), rivalry (Docs 1, 6, 10), and religious tensions (Docs 5, 7, 8, 9) against the various countries and cricket groups. Throughout its interaction with Indian politics from 1880 to 2005, cricket has served as both a unifying force between totally different political groups and also has divided political groups in periods of power struggle and political variations, as well as making sturdy bonds between countries.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 247-316. Print.
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system was known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality. Not only did the inequality and separation of the Indian society frustrate the citizens of India, but the imperialism Britain had upon them as well. In the early 20th century, Indian nationalists wanted to take a stand against the British rule and make India independent. The British created unfair laws that created a nationalist movement
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Foner, E. (2008). Give me Liberty: An American History. New York, Ny: WW. Norton &
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1982. Print.
Rippin A. 1990, Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Volume 1: The Formative Period, Routledge, London and New York.
Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: an American history. Seagull fourth ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. Print.
National unity and ideology are the major political concerns in post colonial societies, that is why they used to apply assimilation strategy. This strategy is applied by the dominant groups. These groups might not hesitate to use state force in their own favour. So the state’s policies favour the powerful and dominant group. Pakistan is also one of the examples of plural societies. Here the state used to adopt assimilation policies to create national unity. Resultantly, the state has lost its Eastern Part. Still, various ethnic groups off and on show their resentment and different ethno nationalist movements are in the struggle to preserve identity. Following table is also helpful to show how the state of Pakistan
The most threatening conflict between Hindus and Muslims is the province of Kashmir. This is where the decision to divide India into India and Pakistan seems to have been a terrible mistake. Kashmir, which is the only Muslim majority city in India, lies between the divided India and Pakistan. After India’s independence in the 1940’s, Kashmir had to choose to either unite with India or Pakistan. The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to this day. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy. However, successive Kashmiri governments have been dissolved by the government of India, and elections have only been held in the presence of its armed forces. In 1965, Pakistan and India waged a second indecisive war over Kashmir. In the 1980s, resistance within Kashmir itself against the Indian government took on a violent nature, with guerilla attacks against Indian army bases. India responded with heavy army clampdowns, and since then the situation has only escalated and get worse. It is estimated that well over 34,000 people have died within the valley, and the relations between the two countries have become increasingly acrimonious. India blames Pakistan for the militant uprising, claiming Islamabad is supporting cross border terrorism. Pakistan responds that it merely provides diplomatic and moral support arguing, furthermore, that India’s history of human rights abuses in the valley is to blame. With both countries now in possession of nuclear arms; the recent war in KARGIL and the increasing number of civilian deaths, refugees, and other human rights issues within Kashmir, the conflict seems to be taking on a more serious nature. In this paper I will discuss the Kashmir conflict in some depth, examining the problem in...
Before Pakistan seceded from India the Muslim population created the Muslim League of India led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it was created because Muslims were concerned with living in a Hindu dominated country after India gained its independence at the end of World War II. Maududi and the JI were the leading voices for Islamic political order in the new Muslim state of Pakistan. However, Jinnah 's objectives for the new Pakistan was for it to be no more than a homeland for Muslims, but Maududi viewed the new Pakistan as an opportunity to build a strict social/political order. Maududi respected Jinnah 's views and ideas for creating the government and building a republic where the constituents played a big part, but Maududi wanted heavier Islamic influence. The first version of the constitution incorporated a lot of Jinnah 's ideas and it provided an outline to the divisions of government, and mentioned Islam but no more than in a symbolic context. The constitution did state that the leader must be a Muslim, and also included a clause that held no law could be enacted if it was in anyway contradictory to Islam. From 1955 to 1977 Islam did not have as strong of an influence in
The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...
Lawrence Auster wrote an eye-opening blog excerpt titled India and Pakistan: Why the Mass Killing Occurred. The content of this excerpt explore the fundamental issues of identity and religion that led to the violence in 1947. The author makes his point by utilizing current event such as the train massacre in 2002, in which 50 Hindu women and children were burned alive. The blog is for an audience with some prior knowledge on the topic and continues to expand upon that knowledge. The blog is a secondary source because it introduces its own unique ideas regarding the issue and was written after the time of the event. It was very helpful to my research because it simplifies the wordy information often found on scholarly sites and condenses it into something comprehensible and relatable to the reader.