Partition of Punjab And Independence Of India & Pakistan - Monster Thinks

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Partition of Punjab And Independence Of India & Pakistan

1947 generation should celebrate Independence or should be sad on the Bloody Partition of Punjab.



Independence of India & Pakistan





In 1947, the Punjab Province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab. The western part was assimilated into the new country of Pakistan while the east stayed in India. This led to riots. The Partition of India in 1947 split the former Raj province of Punjab; the mostly Muslim western part became the Pakistani province of West Punjab and the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became the Indian province of Punjab. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India.


 Partition of Punjab And Independence Of India & Pakistan

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Undivided Punjab, of which Punjab (Pakistan) forms a major region today, was home to a large minority population of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus unto 1947 apart from the Muslim majority. Several districts that are now part of the Indian state of Punjab had Muslim majorities before the partition such as the Gurdaspur district. Nearly all Muslims fled the partition violence to settle in Pakistan.



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The partition of Punjab in mid-August 1947 took place as part of a negotiated settlement brokered by the British between the Indian National Congress, the All-India Muslim League, and the Sikhs of Punjab to partition India and transfer power to India and Pakistan. The total population of the undivided Punjab Province was 33 million. It included territories directly administered by the British (pop. 28 million) and several princely states. Punjab was a Muslim majority province while Hindus and Sikhs together made up a very large minority of 44-47%. The principle on which India and Punjab were divided was that Muslim-majority areas were separated from the rest of India and give it to Pakistan. The demand to partition India was made by the main communal party of the Muslims, the All-India Muslim League. It insisted that Indian Muslims were not a minority (one-fourth of the total population of India) but a separate nation under their Islamic faith and culture. When the Muslim League demanded the partition of India the Sikhs of Punjab demanded the same principle to be applied to Punjab. The Indian National Congress wanted to keep India united but realizing that the Muslim League was insistent on the partition of India on 8 March 1947 it threw its weight behind the Sikh demand for the partition of Punjab. Viceroy Mountbatten came to the conclusion that the partition of India had become inevitable. Therefore on 3 June 1947 the Partition Plan was announced which required the Punjab and Bengal assemblies to vote on whether they wanted to keep their provinces united or partitioned. Both assemblies voted in favor of partitioning their provinces.


Read More: History of Punjab


Read More: 'Khalistan flag' unfurled on govt building in Punjab's Moga


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The actual transfer of power to India and Pakistan proved to be bloody and bitter. Some people have described it as one of the ten great tragedies of the 20th century. The estimated loss of life during the partition of India is one million and 14-18 million people forced to cross the international border in search of safe havens. For Punjab alone, the loss of life is estimated somewhere between 500,000-800,000 and 10 million people forced to flee for their lives. More importantly, after World War II the first case of ethnic cleansing took place in Punjab. Therefore it bore the brunt of the partition violence. Thus at the end of 1947, all traces of a Muslim presence in the Indian East Punjab were wiped out, except for some Muslims remaining in the tiny princely state of Malerkotla (total population 88,000).  In the Pakistani West Punjab, Hindus and Sikhs became conspicuous by their absence.


Read More: 'Khalistan flag' unfurled on govt building in Punjab's Moga


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