Analyse the factors that led to the partition of India.

 Factors that led to the partition of India:

The Partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Today the Dominion of India is the Republic of India, while the Dominion of Pakistan is today the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It can be said that the seeds of the Partition of India were sowed in the Partition of Bengal when the province was divided on a religious basis. Popular outrage and protests against this move forced the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, to reverse the decision. The 1916 Lucknow session of the Congress was a scene of unprecedented mutual cooperation between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. It was spurred on by the doubts of the Muslim League that the "religious neutrality" of the British was a farce. This was because of the fact that Britain was at war with Turkey. The Sultan of Turkey was regarded as the Khalifa or spiritual head of Islam as he was the custodian of the holy sites of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. This only increased the suspicion of the British intention towards the Muslims of the subcontinent.

The Muslim League joined the Congress towards the goal of greater self-government; in return, the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims both in the provincial legislatures and the Imperial Legislative Council. This came to be known as the Lucknow Pact. In the ensuing years, the full implicationsof the pact unfolded. The pact was seen as being more beneficial to a minority of Muslim élites from the provinces of UP and Bihar rather than the Muslim majorities of Punjab and Bengal.

Following are the factors that led to the partition of India:

(1) Britisher's Policy of Divide and Rule: To check the tide of nationalism in India, the Britishers tried to divide the country. Their policy of divide and rule led to the partition of India in 1947.

(2) Muslim League's Obstinacy: The Muslim League preached that the Muslims and Hindus are two separate nations.

(3) Appeasement Policy of the British Governmen: It encouraged the Muslim League to ask for a separate country.

(4) Muslims in Minority: The Mohammedans feared that the Hindus in the majority would dominate them. Hence to seek their salvation they laid the demand for a separate country. They were also instigated by the utterances of some of the Hindu Mahasabha leaders.

(5) Instigation by Muslim Countries: To preserve the Muslim religion and culture, the Muslim countries instigated the Indian Muslims to ask for a separate country.

(6) Decision of the Cripps Commission: The Cripps Commission sent to India in 1942 had suggested that any province of British India that desired to remain aloof from the Indian Union would be allowed to retain its existing position and will be given the same status as the Indian Union. It was a severe blow to India's unity. Some Missions that were sent by the British Government to settle the political problems of India had accepted the claim of the Muslim League for Pakistan.

(7) Non-cooperation between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League: They were diagonally opposite in their views. The Indian National Congress formed the Interim Government in 1946. The Muslim League joined it and held the Finance Department. It did not release funds for national programmes. It also retarded the smooth functioning of the government. So their separation and the acceptance of the partition of the country was the only recourse.

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