Subject : Modern Indian History
Chapter : THE NATIONAL MOVEMENTS IN 1940s
Topic: Why Congress Accepted the
Partition of India
Question : Why congress accepted the partition of India?
Answer : Change in Congress’ Stand- By the time Attlee made
the declaration On February 20, 1946, which clearly hinted at the partition, the
Congress barely uttered any protest. Infact, the Working Committee of the
Congress at its meeting on March 8, 1946, it announced that the Constitution
thus framed by the Constituent Assembly ‘would apply only to those areas which
accept it’. This signified acceptance of the partition plan.
SO WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT THIS CHANGE?
Congress had been fighting for a longtime. Most of the
movements that were launched had failed and produced very little changes. The
tussles with the British did lead to concessions which time and again proved to
be of no real value. After the failure of the Quit India Movement, the Congress
had ceased to be a revolutionary organisation. After the release of Congress
leaders from prison in 1945 prospects of peaceful transfer of power looked
attractive. As Pyarelal who was Gandhis’ Secretary and biographer opines by 1947
the Congress front- men were old and ‘past the prime of their lives’ and when
the broad ideal they had fought for so long was within the reach they
capitulated lest it was taken away again. None had the energy left to drag the
struggle for another couple of years and court another round of imprisonment. In
addition, during the course of the interim Government the Congress first hand
experienced the tactics of sabotage used the Muslim League members of the
Interim Government. The Muslim League at every turn blocked the functioning of
the Government in spite of the Congress’ attempts at reconciliation. Against
this background the June 3rd Plan proved to be a blessing in disguise as it
provided a way whereby the Congress need not any longer to construct ways for
cooperating with the Muslim League. In addition, a strong Central Government was
possible after the separation of the Muslim-majority areas and such a strong
Government could then set out to forge development of the Country. Vallabhbhai
Patel consented to the separation on such ground. Nehru too consented gradually
but only after having rounds of serious talks with Lord Mountbatten.
Gandhi’s position on partition was far from uniform. It
changed several times. From the beginning Gandhi was against the ‘two-nation
theory’ and hence anti-partition. Over the years however, Gandhi often wavered
in his opinion on the partition. In 1942 an article by Gandhi in Harijan stated
if the majority of the Muslims want partition then it must be done. In point of
fact Gandhi during Gandhi-Jinnah talks of 1944 conducted negotiations with
Jinnah on such an acceptance. However, once Attlee declared the possibility of
partition and before meeting with Lord Mountbatten, Gandhi on March 3, 1947 told
Azad “if the Congress wishes to accept partition it will be over my dead body.
So long as I am alive, I will never agree to the partition of India. Nor will I,
if I can help it, allow Congress to accept it”. Azad is of the opinion that
Gandhi reversed his position after meeting with Lord Mountbatten. Vallabhbhai
Patel too probably influenced Gandhi Thus when on June 14, 1947 very few members
in All India Congress Committee were in the favour of the partition Gandhi
actually spoke about the necessity of accepting the partition in spite of its
implications.
Jinnah, on the other hand, was not in the favour of partition
of Bengal and Punjab and adding the seceding territories to Pakistan. Such a
division would have ruptured the political, social and economic set-up that had
been built in over the century. He was in the favour of wholesale transfer of
the two provinces to Pakistan. The problem of minorities living in the thus
created Pakistan and India. Jinnah suggested could be done over time through
exchange of population. The Congress was against, this wholesale transfer though
it agreed on the creation of Pakistan. Congress wanted the option to decide
which Dominion to join be given to the ‘non-Muslims in the Punjab and Bengal,
living in contiguous to Hindustan and forming a majority of population in these
areas. However, Mountbatten did not give Jinnah any chance for further
negotiations and left Jinnah with no option but to accept Pakistan on such a
division. In 1913-1937 Jinnah in point of fact wanted a common Congress-League
programme.
What was this idea of Pakistan? It is important to trace the
beginning of the nation—of Pakistan as it would help in understanding the
realization of the partition of India. It is equally important to trace the
beginnings of the rupture of Hindu-Muslim community that made possible such a
division. Did Hindu-Muslim form two separate nations whose interests and
differences could not be reconciled? The, answers to such questions can shed
light to the partition. Hindus and Muslims had lived side-by-side for many
centuries. Though some contestation between the two erupted time-to-time but
solidification of religious identities, was peculiar to the colonial rule. The
colonial rule always distinguished between the two communities and this
distinction was observed in Government statistics- census, cataloging and so on,
and also in terms of job and patronage. The two communities gradually felt and
realized these distinctions. The census taxonomy fostered the concept of
“religion as a community”.
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