A Dark Time For the Indian Subcontinent - A New Dawn for Pakistan

Trigger Warning: Graphic scenes described

On the 4th and 5th of August every year, both Pakistanis and Indians celebrate their independence. However, for many, it is a time for serious reflection on the sacrifices and bloodshed rife within the days of the infamous Partition. Indeed, for some of our grandparents who still remember that fateful day, it remains a matter of gratitude towards the people who gave their lives to allow future generations to breathe air on land that they can call their own.

To understand the reasons behind the split, it is essential to place ourselves in the dynamic political and social climate of India in the 1940s. During this time, Hindu-Muslim tensions were at their peak - resulting largely from the colonial policies, causing centuries of relatively peaceful coexistence to be shattered. The Muslim League led the demand for a separate nation for Muslims, whilst the Indian National Congress was in favour of a united India but rallied for independence from the British. The respective leaders, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Founder of Pakistan) and Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first Prime Minister) originally agreed on the importance of unity in India. But in 1940, the League changed its attitude, fearing that the independent country would trample on the rights of Muslims even more severely than before. During World War ll, Congress fell out of favour with the British due to its ‘Quit India Movement’, allowing the Muslim League to gather more support than they were previously able to.

As the two opposing voices began to rise more loudly in a highly tense political atmosphere, the ethnic cleansing that would spatter the blood of Hindus and Muslims on the streets of India became increasingly violent. 4,000 people were killed over three days of violence during the Great Calcutta Killings that took place in 1946, the start of what would become one of the bloodiest moments in history.

In 1947, Lord Mountbatten was appointed as the last Viceroy of India and given express instructions to avoid partition and preserve a united India. However, due to rising fears about a possible Hindu-Muslim civil war, Mountbatten concluded that partition was necessary for a quicker transfer of power. Thus, the date set for leaving India was advanced, allowing less than six months for independence. In June of that year, it was agreed that the Muslim-majority areas would be assigned to the new nation of Pakistan whilst Hindu-majority areas would be assigned to India. The communal violence that accompanied this announcement was unprecedented, and the aftershocks of the genocide that took place, are felt to this day. Historians describe the terrors following the announcement: ‘The catalogue of horrors includes the disembowelment of pregnant women, the slamming of babies' heads against brick walls, the cutting off of the victim's limbs… and the displaying of heads and corpses.’

The reason behind these atrocities was to ‘cleanse’ the predominantly Hindu areas from the Muslim families living in it and vice versa, in order to secure that area entirely for either India or Pakistan, depending on the majority group. Incredibly, a London barrister Cyril Radcliffe, who had never even visited India, was given the enormous task of deciding the country’s future by drawing the lines that would split it in two. Perhaps even more incredible is that he was given only 5 weeks to do the job, so it is no wonder that the map he submitted tore Punjab and Bengal apart in half. Owing to Mountbatten’s haste in leaving India, many lives of both Hindus and Muslims that might have been saved, were lost in the violence of the days that followed.

Thus, after years of struggle, Pakistan came into being on 14 August, 1947. Trains were packed with Muslim families anxious to reach the other side of the border, and Hindus anxious to do the same. But many trains arrived at their destinations without a single passenger alive, nothing except for corpses and blood - murdered by savage mobs, angry at their freedom. Families were torn apart, fear gripped the hearts of those who stayed, and weapons slashed through the bodies of children. Neighbors turned against each other, homes were burnt to crisp, and mothers were forced to watch as their daughters were mercilessly beheaded or raped. Roughly 7 million people from each side fled when the new boundaries left them in the ‘wrong’ country, one of the largest impelled migrations in history.

Thus, the united efforts of Britain and India left the young nation of Pakistan unprotected (no military support), unstable, and virtually bankrupt in the hopes that it would soon collapse and easily be acquired back after a few years. Clearly, they underestimated the drive of its people, considering that apart from the split of Bangladesh, The Islamic Republic of Pakistan still stands after 75 years.

This comes at another time significant in Pakistan’s history, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan recently ousted after a no-confidence vote, as he fell out of favour with Pakistan’s army, and attempted to dissolve the national assembly which was termed ‘unconstitutional’ by the Supreme Court. Khan has blamed the US for conspiring with the opposing political parties in an attempt to overthrow him, but Washington has denied any such claims. The former cricket star came into power in 2018, promising to create a ‘New Pakistan’ with ambitious tax reforms, new jobs created, and the elimination of corruption. As he left office in the hands of the new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif though, Pakistan instead faces a crippling economic crisis with soaring inflation and a depreciating rupee. Clearly, the country has a challenging time ahead, but considering that Pakistan was born after years of struggle, it is not too unreasonable to think that its people will overcome the troubles it faces in the distant future, as was done in the aftermath of the partition 75 years ago.

Maryam Sohaib

12D