That, in fact, was the root of the hindu muslim divide but in utter disregard for the truth, indian historians and politicians together with the british historians to hide their role in dividing india, blamed the muslims, the muslim league and pakistans creator mohammad ali jinnah for the hindu muslim conflict. A new, invisible partition is happening in india between. The muslim league had a firm grasp on the political value of such an. As of late, growing radicalization among muslims and hindu. What were the conflicts between hindus and muslims answers. Hindus and muslims are brothers, it is their duty to. Andrew major estimates that 4045,000 women in total were abducted during the partition riots, with approximately twice as many muslim women as hindu.
India was formed mostly of hindu regions, while pakistan was mostly muslim areas. Nothing on this planets happens just by itself but everything has astrological reasoning behind it. The bloody legacy of indian partition the new yorker. The real stakes in hindu muslim arguments are simply too low to militarize the conflict. The demand to partition india was made by the main communal party of the muslims, the allindia muslim league. It insisted that indian muslims were not a minority onefourth of the total population of india but a separate nation by virtue of their islamic. Indias partition and the conflict over kashmir, a muslimmajority princely state ruled by a hindu dynasty, were driven by local interests and philosophy, including the twonation theory, which held that the muslims of british india. How the partition of india happened and why its effects are still felt today. Then partition, when british india divided into two independent states, predominantly hindu india and predominantly muslim pakistan, and more than a million people died in sectarian. Conflict between hindus and muslims reached a boiling point after britain granted india independence in 1947 and divided the country into two states india, which was predominantly hindu, and pakistan, which was predominantly muslim. The partition of india was the process of dividing the subcontinent along sectarian lines, which took place in 1947 as india gained its independence from the british raj. In india, riots between hindus and muslims can be traced back to 1893, sparked.
Hindu muslim conflict the tension between muslims and hindus has been very high for centuries and still continues to exist today. Opinion indias muslims and the price of partition the. For many, that would be a tall order, given the violence and displacement during indias 1947 partition, when colonial india split into hindu controlled india and muslim controlled pakistan. This conflict is not merely a matter of incompatible theologies. Stanford scholar casts new light on hindumuslim relations. The origins of hindumuslim conflict in south asia the diplomat. The indian government estimated that there were 33,000 hindu and sikh women in pakistan and the pakistani government estimated that there were 50,000 muslim women abducted in india. The northern, predominantly muslim sections of india became the nation of pakistan, while the southern and majority hindu. After partition, that thing never went out of peoples heads. Understanding hindumuslim violence in post partition india, lses stuart corbridge, nikhila kalra and kayoko tatsumi challenge the model proposed by. When something good or bad has to happen, at the time of fruition the planets form a particular permutation combination and the incident takes place. History of hindu muslim relations is marred by bitter communal riots before and after indias independence. Through the 1930s and 1940s indias muslims even those who never wanted a separate muslim state felt the need to have a greater say in.
Partition of india and the issue of religious minorities. Muslim and hindu conflict in india and the partition of india and. The partition of india was a consequence of calculations gone wrong, on the part of both the congress and the muslim league. The first big hindu muslim conflict was during 1921 when muslims in a region of kerala attacked and killed thousands of hindus. Gandhis program of satyagraha, or passive resistance, helped inspire a mass movement, which finally convinced the british to grant indian. Throughout the middle ages, muslim expansion into the indian peninsula threatened the hindu way of life. Muslim and hindu conflict in india and the partition of india and pakistan. The area has also witnessed separation and partition such as the split of the. Did hindumuslim conflicts in india really start with the. The partition of india forced millions of people to leave their homes to move to the.
Almost all the scholarly and popular writings on the partition are on the rise and growth of hindu muslim conflict communalism that culminated into the creation of pakistan, signaling the. The overwhelming, but predominantly hindu, protest against the partition of bengal and the fear of reforms favouring the hindu majority, now led the muslim elite in india to meet with the new viceroy lord minto in 1906 and ask for separate electorates for muslims. Pakistan became primarily muslim while india remained mostly hindu. As you know shabana azmi will speak tonight on coexistence and conflict. Partition and conflict hindu muslim riots in india, riots between hindus and muslims can be traced back to 1893, sparked off by religious processions, disputes over temples and mosques and cow protection movements cows are viewed within hinduism as a symbol of wealth and abundance, among many other things. Muhammad ali jinnahs sympathisers, looking to blame hindus for partition and for hindu muslim conflict, also hold nehru responsible for partition, claiming that under the first cabinet mission. The hindumuslim divide and the 1947 partition of india new age. Partition displaced fifteen million people and killed more than a million.
What began with a squabble about the division of assets after partition, and went on to bitter conflict over the future of disputed princely states such. It was also decided that with independence, india would have partition, the mountbatten plan laid out the terms and the details of the partition between the hindu india and the muslim pakistan. In the 20th century, hindumuslim tension played a vital role in the partition of british india. And yet the hindu rightwing treats indian muslims as interlopers. Understanding hindumuslim violence in postpartition india. Britains last viceroy, admiral lord louis mountbatten known as dickie, who had little understanding of india, foolishly halved the timetable allotted to him by british prime minister clement attlees labour cabinet to try to resolve the conflicts. In muslim and hindu societies there are differences, for example, in social expectations and behavior.
He could not have produced a magic formula to extinguish the flames of hatred. While hindu indians dominated the central and eastern part of the indian subcontinent, muslim. Stanford scholar casts new light on hindumuslim relations stanford religious historian audrey truschke uncovers a surprising cultural alliance between muslim and hindu elites in early. Well, you can say first and foremost that she is a remarkably. What was the british relationship to hindu muslim conflict. The bitter truth is that nehru was right to choose partition. Muslim and hindu conflict in india and the partition of. Violence against women during the partition of india. India and pakistan were born to conflict generated by the partition of british india in august 1947. The hidden story of partition and its legacies bbc. Hindu muslim riots have been a very painful tale to hear ever since independence. How it felt to be pakistani in india during the triumph of.
Partition of india in 1947 the areas in red show the regions of conflict at. The hindumuslim divide and the 1947 partition of india. Such high levels of conflict are not seen amongst hindus and muslims in india. So, as i mentioned, hindu muslim conflict in india has been going on for centuries. Photograph by margaret bourkewhite life picture collection getty. The british aided the divide by partitioning india and pakistan. The most critical contemporary phase of this history was the partition. Remember he was dalit, and he had no love for hinduism, infact he converted to buddhism. A hindu should be in india, and a muslim should be in bangladesh, said the couples granddaughter anurupa roy, who grew up. Conflict has affected the region, particularly between hindus and muslims, with riots between the two traced back to 1893.
In the 20th century, hindu muslim tension played a vital role in the partition of british india. The division of india, which most historians refer to as the partition, divided hundreds of millions of indian hindus, muslims, sikhs and others into two sovereign nations. Indian muslims, whom it argued were a separate nation. What is the cause and conflict between hindu and muslims. How it felt to be pakistani in india during the triumph of hindu nationalism the tragedy of ethnic conflict compounded the tragedy of partition. During the 1947 partition there was religious violence between muslim hindu, muslim sikhs and muslim jains on a gigantic scale. While hindu indians dominated the central and eastern part of the indian subcontinent, muslim indians dominated. The violent toll of hindu nationalism in india the new. Immediately, there began one of the greatest migrations in human history. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style.
In august, 1947, when, after three hundred years in india, the british finally left, the subcontinent was partitioned into two independent nation states. Muslims from this region had to flee westwards and compete with resident populations for access to land and employment, leading to ethnic conflict, especially in sindh. I am referring to what is known as mopala rebellion. The partition of the indian subcontinent witnessed hundreds of thousands of hindus and muslims. The congress once again started a program of civil disobedience.
What was the cause of conflict between muslims and hindus. What was the main reason for hindumuslim tensions up. Pakistan was especially created for muslim indians, while india was religiously pluralistic but tended to be mostly hindu. Since 1947, india and pakistan have been locked in conflict over kashmir, a majority muslim region in the northernmost part of india. One school of historiography on the roots of hindumuslim conflict focuses on the colonial period, and political science has been largely influenced by this school. The partition of bengal in 1905 and the creation of separate religious electorates in 1909 generated new animosity. Sadly, the number of fundamentalists on both sides is steadily on the rise. This brought it into conflict with the indian national congress of mahatma gandhi and jawaharlal nehru, who argued that they represented all. So, the bottom line concerning this lesson is that hindumuslim tension resulted in the partition of british india into india and pakistan. India and pakistan are countries that were born through violence. Of all the religious and ethnic issues in contemporary india, history has cast its deepest shadow on hindu muslim relations.
The partition of bengal in 1905 and the creation of separate religious electorates in 1909 generated new animosity, leading to the bloody partition of the subcontinent into a hindu india and a muslim pakistan. The hindu muslim divide in india remains a potential source of communal violence or even a civil war. The history of modern india has many incidents of communal violence. The origins of hindumuslim conflict in south asia the. So he is one of the most unbiased analyst you can get. The partition of india forced millions of people to leave their homes to move to the other state. What were the conflicts between hindus and muslims. Ethnic and religious conflicts in india cultural survival. Thus, hindu muslim conflict in south asia derives from no one particular factor, but is a function of the friction between different communities with different modernizing visions. Indias hindu nationalists still feed off partitions. Indias partition and the conflict over kashmir, a muslimmajority princely state ruled by a hindu dynasty, were driven by local interests and. How the partition of india happened and why its effects. Conservative muslims, too, consider muslims from elsewhere to be closer to them than hindus. The muslim quarter of indias population became increasingly wary of the congress partys promises and restive in the wake of the collapse of the khilafat movement, which.
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