The decades preceding Indian Independence (in 1947) were strewn with the British oppression of Indian natives. The British cruelly divided previously peaceful and secular Mughal India by inflaming hatred between the Muslim Indians and the Hindu Indians. After World War II, the British slowly lost control of their colonies, and decided to leave India while they were still in control (Maidment). However, when confronted with Muslim demands for an independent state, the British were dragooned to comply, hurriedly and sloppily reaving the Indian subcontinent into East and West Pakistan and India. This partition of India had a negative social impact on India, causing religious genocide and disrupting the previous peace between the two major religions of India, Hinduism and Islam.
From 1526-1748, India was ruled by the Muslim kings of the Mughal Empire, who tried to consolidate the Hindus and Muslims into a unified Indian state (Encyclopœdia Britannica). In 1857, the British took direct control in India through a governor (with the title of Viceroy) immediately following a rebellion by the natives (the Sepoy Rebellion). The main resistance against British rule in India was the Indian National Congress, which was eventually headed by the legendary Mahatma Gandhi. As Congress was a majority Hindu organization, Muslim leaders, fearing Hindu domination, formed the Muslim League, headed in the early 1900s by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Though initially a firm advocate of unity between the religions, Jinnah soon became the face of the Muslim people in India and strongly supported the idea that Muslims and Hindus could not live in a single country together (BBC). Following WWII, the British were drowning in debt, and political collapse was imminent. The Viceroy began frantically scrambling to find a way to pull out quickly when Jinnah, after so many years of living peacefully with the Hindus, decided to approach the British with his idea of partition. Under pressure of mass riots and violence by Muslims, the British decided to accede. In 1947, India and Pakistan became two separate states (BBC).
Socially, the Partition of India impacted India and Pakistan negatively, as it caused mass religious violence, which killed millions of citizens, and estranged Indian and Pakistani citizens, to the point that the countries are today still immersed in hatred. Immediately after the partition, millions of refugees tried to flee to their religious side of the divided country; many were massacred. Trains filled with panic stricken refugees were repeatedly ambushed so much that the trains crossed the border in dead silence. Mobs were roaming the streets, out for blood, and sexual violence was rampant (Dalrymple). The direct aftermath of the partition was chaos as seen by the intense bloodshed on the border of newly formed Pakistan. The Partition, by forming huge religious imbalances, released built up tensions between the religious sects. After hearing their leaders call out for action to save the minority, both sides were wary of the other, as hate speech slowly built up tensions. However, after the borders were drawn, suddenly the Muslim minority in the new Pakistan became a Muslim majority, enabling the majority to attack the Hindu minority. Both sides retaliated ceaselessly, causing excessive violence through the unending hatred. This enormous hatred was in stark contrast with the previous period of religious peace and prosperity under the Mughal empire. Under the Mughal Empire, India was a land ruled by Muslims, but free for Hindus. Hindus were allowed to practice their faith in freedom, and the Muslim rulers abided by their customs. In fact, the Hindu religion blossomed under Muslim rule! Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony during these years, and even with Muslim emperors trying to stop the spread of Hinduism, violence was fairly rare (Pritchett). This religious harmony was slowly but surely eradicated during British rule, and was nowhere to be found during the times of the partition. By separating the previously mixed communities, the British isolated the religious groups from each other, which drove the first stake into their symbiotic relationship. By the beginning of the Second World War, Jinnah’s political stance heightened anti-Hindu sentiments, and major religious violence first broke out in 1946, after encouragement from Muslim governors. The Muslims, after spending a century separated from the Hindus, had no connection or empathy towards the Hindu ideals. This, without doubt, caused fear among the Muslims, being the minority, of what the Hindus might do with political power in India. Despite the leaders of the Indian National Congress remaining firmly secular, the fear overtook the minority, and they rose up to avoid future oppression. This firmly impacted the social connections between the countries to this day, where the divide between India and Pakistan has not been healed, and public opinion is very negative to each other.
Although Jinnah argued that creating Pakistan would provide equal and prosperous opportunities for Muslims, this is simply not the case in present day Pakistan as low literacy rates show how Jinnah’s goals have failed. Mohammed Ali-Jinnah advocated heavily for the creation of a Muslim-only state because Muslims would have better opportunities in Muslim majority Pakistan than Hindu majority India. The Muslim League had started advocating for more opportunities for minorities as early as 1906, resulting in the British implementing legislation to separate the religious communities (BBC). One of Jinnah’s main goals after Partition was to eradicate illiteracy from Pakistan (Zaidi 1151). However, it can be seen today that this goal was not achieved at all. The numbers from 2015 showed that the total adult literacy rate in Pakistan was 56%, while in India, the rate was 72% (Statista). This indicates that the overall Pakistani literacy rate is significantly lower even though Jinnah promised them better opportunities. This abysmal performance vouches the negative impact of the partition, as the benefits that Jinnah tried to provide for his supporters in Pakistan ultimately failed. Additionally, the partition increased Indo-Pakistani tensions that still are relevant today. As recently as September 2016, tensions on the border in Kashmir resulted in military violence, all with the looming threat of nuclear war becoming more of a reality (Miere). The dispute between partitioned territory today shows the deep social impact that the partition has left. The distrust between the two countries has not left since the time of the split, and as both are in possession of nuclear weapons, this distrust could end up being cataclysmic for the world.
The massacre that razed India was a massive negative social impact of the Partition of India. The resulting alienation of the Hindu Indians and Muslim Indians led up to the possibility of nuclear war. As seen by the religious genocide in the direct aftermath of the partition, the partition had the devastating social impact of separating the two main religions of India from their previous prosperity under the Mughal Emperors. This continues to provoke devastating effects today, as the two countries are hostile towards each other and have built up large nuclear arsenals. These escalated situations should be top priority in the religiously charged globe today.