Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.
~ JawaharLal Nehru
Happy Republic Day to all.
Tomorrow will be the sixty second Republic Day for India.
It has been 63 years since we got freedom from British rule, freedom for both India and Pakistan. Independence from the 350 year old British presence in the Indian subcontinent. Independence that everyone had fought for and cherished for a long time. But with independence came division. The Indian Union was divided on the basis of religion, into a secular India(with a Hindu majority) and Pakistan which was formed keeping in mind the Indian Muslims. The moment of glory and joy was soon overtaken by moments of pain and horror. Independence however desirable and dearly fought for, was tainted with blood of millions of innocent people. The price of it was enormous and losses too huge to recover, even after decades. Memories remain...
The partition of India (Indian Union) beyond doubt is one of the greatest tragedies in the recent history of the world. India’s independence was inevitable and certain but not the partition. The unity could have been preserved if it had not been for political motives and miscalculations, personal aspirations and British policies.
Even though Muhammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League are chiefly blamed for the partition, the Congress (and Hindu leaders) cannot escape blame either. For instance political leaders like Savarkar (of Sangh Parivar) spoke of the two nation theory in 1923, much before Jinnah came up with it. In fact even Lala Lajpath Rai thought of a scheme under which Muslims would have the four main states of North-west frontier, Western Punjab, Sindh and Eastern Bengal. He was clear in the theory of a Muslim and a non-Muslim India. This happened in 1924, much before the Pakistan Resolution in Lahore. Jinnah initially didn’t want a separate state, as is often described and believed. He wanted a form of federation which would be equipoise. By that he meant a territorial adjustment of votes which would give a Hindu-Muslim balance and this was to be attained by a weightage of votes or seats. But when the Viceroy suspended the idea of a federation, Jinnah for the first time started talking about a two nation independence theory but that was more of a tactical move which he thought would help him later on. According to him a common coordinating agency(1) would be required for providing adequate safeguards for minorities whereby an organic relationship was to be achieved by sharing control at the centre in terms of perfect equality between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Now, this is where opinions start forming and interpretations differ. While India blames Jinnah for the partition (by coming up with the idea and showing little flexibility) and hence the riots and massacre, Pakistan looks at him as the Father of their nation who has helped them provide security. The truth is both Jinnah and Nehru used popular sentiments to achieve political gains. They both had strong political aspirations. A share in central power might have threatened Nehru’s position considerably. Hence he rejected Jinnah’s proposal.
And so the dividing line between Pakistan and India was drawn with no Mountain, river, canal to define it but a vague sense of possible security due to the religion they belonged to. It is ironical that this sense of security was completely shattered when about 10 million people were left homeless migrants and a million died in these riots! Large sections of the Hindu, Muslim, Sikh population found themselves on the other side of the divide and crossing over turned out to be too expensive! This partition devastated both nations equally. Amongst all, women suffered the most. ..“ Women, especially, were used as instruments of power by the Hindus and the Muslims; "ghost trains" full of severed breasts of women would arrive in each of the newly-born countries from across the borders.”
A complete bloodbath occurred in village after village2. The country went into an anarchy. In fact it isn't just the bloodbath or massacre but the independence shattered the economy too. For instance jute was grown in East Bengal and mills were in West Bengal, which shipped them abroad.People were out of jobs, homeless and hungry. And to add to that a riot
A sense of helplessness. The Calcutta -Noakhali and Lahore-Amritsar riots totally shook the newly formed nations. Had it not been for Gandhi, lord knows when the riots would have stopped. Gandhi was the only one who opposed the division vehemently and left active politics due to that. He probably envisaged this disaster, something Jinnah or Nehru couldn't have imagined.
In fact on the western front, in a Sikh camp it is documented that the male members killed the female members (beginning with younger women) of their family themselves by stifling them or putting kerosene on them after being surrounded by Muslims and realising that there was no way out. A child recalls that in the camp everywhere around him, he saw people dying or dead people and his mother saved his life by hiding him beneath his father's dead body. Communal riots seemed to take away the very sense of happiness and glory that the independence sought to achieve. Before this India had not seen such a mass participation in mass murders
One reason for the chaos is the hurried withdrawal of the British state (after the Labour party came into power) which could not afford an extended empire, especially one which was getting too rebellious.
Interestingly although Pakistan celebrated its independence on 14 August and India on 15 August 1947, the border between the two new states was not announced until 17 August. Cyril Radcliffe who had little knowledge of the Indian terrain and conditions drew it in a hurry using out-of-date maps and census material. Hence despite the fact that riots took place, British do not take the blame for it since they demarcated the boundaries much later. After the boundaries were announced , people moved out of their homes and crossed over believing that they could no longer live in peace with each other. This meant thousands of people leaving their homes and travelling barefoot, carrying almost nothing and reaching camps which were already over-filled. And it meant "ghost trains ". The wounds of 1947 ( and the riots before and later) have still not healed for some people and the two nations are still trying to cope with the history.
This post doesn't have much to do with the Republic Day but is written to look back into history...a history that two neighboring countries share. It is significant because the welfare of one country affects the other directly and hence it is in our best interest to live amicably. The past cannot be changed but the present could be made more peaceful and future more beautiful. With growing tension between countries, for whatever reasons, it becomes imperative to make a substantial effort.
As for 1947, I would think that it is time to bury the hatchet now and look at the possibility of a bright future!
~~~
#1 A subtle creation of alienation by mistrusting welfare of one population on the other. In some pockets Muslims felt a bit alienated due to the many notions and opinions the other religions had about them. This feeling was fueled by Jinnah, which ideally should have been taken care of then but no action was taken to that regard. Nothing done to reassure the common man that Muslims were an integral part of India and this was as much their country. However this was not the only instance. The first creation of this feeling of difference on basis of religion was created in 1905 when Bengal was divided into West and East - the famous "Divide and Rule" policy.
Note: Pictures have been taken from the following websites-
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/th125/gallery/thim004.htm
- http://www.indhistory.com/partition-independence.html
- http://blog.desishock.net/2011/01/15/india-pakistan-partition-1947-a-sad-day-in-history/
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