What were the causes of Indian Independencein 1947, and was partition inevitable?

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What were the causes of Indian Independence in 1947, and was partition inevitable?

In 1947 India was declared an independent country from Britain, after years of peaceful and violent protests, pressure from all sides, and numerous promises. Not only this, but Pakistan was also formed by partitioning the country into two, providing a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. Although independence was greeting with relief from all, partition came with riots, millions of murders and hatred between countries that has not healed up even by today. The word “inevitable” in the essay title implies something which was almost ‘destined’ to happen from the beginning, and the course of action could not be averted under any circumstances. In this essay I will divide up the causes of independence and partition into long term, medium term and short term. These key points will be discussed and compared in relevance to the question, on which causes were important towards the contribution of independence and partition.

Perhaps the longest term cause relating to partition was the Mughal Empire. It was in 1526 that the Mughal leader Babar, a Muslim, invaded the Hindu majority India. This was a minority of invaders ruling over a majority, and continued through Akbar’s reign from 1556 to 1605 and finished with Aurangzeb, who died in 1707. By this time about a third of people in India were Muslim. Mughal emperors maintained a strict cohesion to fundamental Islam and also believed that all non Muslims should convert or be put to death. This first meeting between Hindus and Muslims was not a happy one; the thousands of murders that the foundation of their relationship lay on meant religious tension for hundreds of years afterwards, even seen today in the hatred between Hindus and Muslims. This can be put down primarily to the harsh treatment of Hindus and Sikhs by Emperor Aurangzeb, despite the fact he made attempts to reconcile, especially towards the Sikhs, in the last few days of his life. This underlying hatred continued for hundreds of years and it was perhaps the first cause of hatred between Muslims and Hindus which made them believe they could not live together. This was an important first cause for the partition as it instilled hatred between Hindus and Muslims.

The East India Company or EIC was also the longest term cause, this time relating to independence by causing a rift between the British and Indians. The EIC first landed at Indian shores in 1608 at the time of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. Many years of trading followed as the EIC made large amounts of money through lucrative deals with Indian businessmen. By 1744 the company was in a position to loan £1 million to England; however this was detrimental to relations for all; British people saw the Indians as underhand, corrupt people (as these were the only people they came into contact with) and the Indians saw themselves as being exploited. Men who travelled to India were seen as “fallen gentlemen”, an image that was only broken years later. This showed a lack of trust even from the beginning of the British Indian relationship as it begun with corrupt dealings and exchanges. Although at this point Indian independence was not inevitable; as the British did not have a hold on the country, it did not start the relationship well.

Powerbrokers became rich enough to pay the EIC for fight for them and hence the British became involved in fighting and continued to gain money. In 1757 the Battle of Plassey took place, where the EIC essentially captured Bengal and was the turning point in relations, as the British became hungry for physical power of their own. Although greatly exaggerated by British historians, this was no more than a number of Bengali elephants stampeding, handing the British victory. This began tensions between Indians and the British as they first used force to get what they wanted. At this time Hindus prophesied that the Vedas spoke of a rule lasting only 100 years, so in 1857 the Indian Mutiny took place as Hindus believed it was at this time the British would be overthrown. Unfortunately it failed, and this angered the Indians further as perhaps the British were “overstaying their rule” in India.

Another important long term cause for Indian independence was the Indian education. The British never spent time in their reign in Indian bothering to control the education system; they felt there was no need. Hence the Indian education system would teach the pupils of the long and rich Indian history, which would instil nationalism in the youth for the next generation of freedom fighters for Indian independence. Even after the 1919 Government of India Act Indians were still given control of the education system, a mistake by the British which was actually quite a major cause in Indian Independence; had the British used propaganda to teach Indian students the ideas of Independence may never have crept into the mainstream population at all.

Unfair treatment of Indians was prevalent from the beginning of the Raj in India. With the British having more money, they had personal servants for specific tasks; for example a fan waver, or a “punkah wallah” would only perform this task; examples of such lavish lifestyles may have been enjoyable for the British who “owed allegiance to no man” but made the Indians feel oppressed and enslaved. The British brought phrasebooks and learnt rude and demeaning names, looking down on most Indian citizens. This made the Indian servants and population feel oppressed by the British, as if they were being treated badly. Although this was not a main cause towards independence, it was one of the many small factors which added up together and caused nationalism.

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There were a number of medium term causes leading up to the partition and independence of India. The first of these was the Morley Minto reforms of 1909. It was established after the setting up of the Congress Party in 1885 and the Muslim League to defend Hindu interests. It made the government more Liberal in its approach and was named after the Viceroy, Lord Minto. It meant 27 members would be elected by Indians for the Viceroy’s council, giving 60 members in total. Indian people could also be elected for provincial councils, and separate representation was given to ...

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