WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/46051
Dear members of the list,
Assalamu Alaikum.In response to the issue mentioned in the letter below of Syed Islam ,I am sending to you what I wrote on the issue of partition in 1947 in reply to a querry by one of my students.
Shah Abdul Hannan
Dear ------
Assalamualikum.
You asked me (while talking this morning over telephone ) about the historical entity of India, it's borders and whether the partition of 1947 has been a proper thing. You also asked me some other questions.
As regards the historical entity and area of India, it changed many times in the last two thousand years. The Moghul-Indian state was not always of the same size. It expanded to the South and the East gradually. The same is true of the British Indian Empire. It expanded gradually to the East, the West and South. The same position is also true of the other periods of the past. There was no internationally recognized border of the Subcontinent. The firm borders have now been established after the creation of independent states of Pakistan and India in 1947.
It is very difficult to say that there is natural entity called Subcontinent bounded by rivers and mountains. If one talks of natural border or racial or linguistic affinity, then the huge province of Baluchistan is more close to Iran because Baluchi language is more close to Farsi and there is no natural geographical barrier between them In that sense one may argue that North West Frontier Province has more links with Afghanistan and the hilly regions of Eastern India are closer to Burma. In fact one may argue that the area west of Indus is very different from the rest of Subcontinent.
These are indeed contentious points. Claim that South Asia is historically or naturally a single entity will be difficult to establish and as such to claim that there should be only one state in this Subcontinent is not really tenable.
On the other question, as I said before that India and Pakistan are the outcome of historical experience of Muslims and Hindus of India from 1861 - 1940. This cannot be over turned. These two states, Pakistan and India, were created after a lot of parleys and negotiations by the June 3 ,1947 Act of British Parliament on the basis of agreement reached among British government, Congress and Muslim League.
Now whether the partition is good, it is a subjective issue and the answer will depend on from what angle you look at it. From Hindu point of view it was a reduction or lessening of their control and power over a much larger state that could be if Pakistan was not created. But this is not a serious loss for them because it did not affect their social, economic and political progress. Even the present state of India is a big country and can be a world player. From the Muslim point of view indeed it was and is a big gain. It ensured their quick economic, social and political progress, though at times democracy has suffered. It has enhanced the prospect of emergence and progress of two powerful Muslim states where the Muslims can truly and freely order their lives, if they so want, according to Islam. This would not have been practical in one undivided India. The question of suffering of minorities in the two countries did not override the above considerations because the minorities rights were guaranteed by the Indian Act of 1935 ( which remained the constitution of Pakistan and India till their constitutions were made ) and later agreements between the two countries, though the two countries sometimes failed to fulfill their obligations.
Unfortunately most of the writers on partition are making history rather than writing history.
I hope, this will help you in your study of the literature of the 1947 partition.
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In reply to another question,I wrote.
Re: About partition of the sub-continent
Dear members,
Assalamu Alaikum. It is easy to comment now when the historical setting is different .We have to realize that Pakistan was the final outcome of the struggle of sub-continental Muslims in which Bengali Muslim leaders including Suhrawardy sb, Bhasani sb, Abul Mansur ahmad, Ataur Rahman khan, Tamizuddin Khan, Abul hashim sb and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sb played a major part.Sher-e- Bangla moved the first partition resolution.
Even now, I honesty feel that one India would have led to constant fighting among Muslims and Hindus on service and parliamentary representation and on the issues of water-sharing and revenue -sharing among Muslim and Non-Muslim provinces in much more acute form.The present arrangement is much better, the problem has reduced further with the creation of Bangladesh.
Shah Abdul Hannan
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