The Traumatic Legacy of India-Pakistan Partition: A 77-Year Reflection
In August 1947, the British left India after more than 300 years. The British divided British India into two independent nation states, India and Pakistan. India was to remain secular with a Hindu majority, whereas Pakistan was to have a Muslim majority. British colonists divided two countries in haste, resulting in one of the largest human migrations in history. Muslims began their trek to east and west Pakistan, uprooting an estimated 15 million people. Hindus and Sikhs journeyed in the opposite direction. Between one and two million people lost their lives due to large-scale religious violence, starvation, and disease. More than 75,000 women were raped or abducted. But how did this religious hatred spark so much violence? To understand this, we have to look at Britain’s rule of India. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims existed even before the British Raj was established, but many Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus also coexist peacefully. When the British came to rule, they used the now infamous strategy of divide and rule. They enacted specific measures, such as the scientific census in 1871 and the formation of a separate electorate for Muslims, which resulted in the evolution of rigid religious identities.These identities became more and more important than language and ethnicity and were used to pit people against one another so that the British could consolidate their own power. Mistrust between Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians began to grow. How did this lead to the country being partitioned? Indians had long wanted independence from repressive British rule. During World War I, Britain introduced the Defense Act of India, which gave them indiscriminate power to lock people up without trial and restrict freedom of speech and movement.In 1919, British soldiers mass-carried unarmed Sikh men, women, and children who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate the Sikh new year. Some say this massacre marked the beginning of resistance against colonial governance. But in order to understand how and why the country was partitioned, we also need to understand who the political players were at the time.Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi were leaders of the Congress, a Hindu-dominated secular political party that spearheaded the independence movement. They wanted a united secular India.The Muslim League was led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. He also wanted independence and initially backed Hindu-Muslim unity. However, by the 1940s, this had changed, and he wanted an independent Muslim state. In 1939, Britain dragged India into World War II; most Indians were not happy about itNehru and Gandhi turned down fighting. They started the ‘Quit India movement’ in 1942, calling on the British to withdraw completely from India and inciting anti-British protests across the country.Up to three million people in Bengal died of starvation in 1943; many Indians believed that British exploitation played a part..Britain found itself cash-trapped at the end of World War II. They realized they couldn’t afford to run India much longer. They decided they would withdraw from the subcontinent but didn’t put a date on it. With talk of a transfer of power, tension ran high in the country. Muslims were concerned that they would be vulnerable in a Hindu-majority country. On the other hand, Hindus opposed the division of the country.To seek a homeland, the Muslim League urged a strike in Calcutta in August 1946. The great Calcutta massacre started with these demonstrations. There was a riot killing between 4000 and 10000 persons. It also spurred riots and murder in other nations of the union. This kind of bloodshed worried the British since it might start a civil war. They resolved they wanted to leave India faster and avoid any possible controversy by cleaning their hands..The British PM announced that India would be independent not before July 1948. But all that changed when viceroy to India and minor royal Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed in March 1947. His job was to resolve the issue of partition by negotiating between Nehru and Jinnah and to try and get Britain out of the country as soon as possible.In June 1947, he shockingly declared that India will gain independence by August 1947—nearly a full year ahead of plan. Who, though, split up the Indian empire? The British layer Cyril Radcliffe was assigned the duty of dividing India according to railway canals and religious distinctions.He had never traveled to anywhere east of Paris before he was flown to India and given 36 days to carve up the map of south Asia. Radcliffe drew a line that divided the states of Punjab and Bengal into two and excluded Kashmir from any country.Later on, he admitted that because of the hot weather in June, he took help from outdated maps and census reports rather than undertaking fieldwork. Radcliffe finished two weeks before independence, but the viceroy decided to keep the new country’s borders a secret until after independence.On August 14, 1947, Pakistan declared its independence. A day later, so did India; at the time, neither country knew where the borders were. The British army, which had suppressed Indians and crushed revolt, exited India after more than 300 years with hardly a shot fired and only seven casualties. But they left two countries in complete turmoil. The horror of partition! The partition unleashed a wave of bloodshed. One of the central flashpoints was the Punjab people, who suddenly found themselves in the wrong country and had to flee from their ancestral homes on foot, on bullock carts, or by train. More than 7 million people traveled from India to Pakistan. Another 7 million people traveled from Pakistan to India. Mobs hid in the bushes along the way, waiting to slaughter people. Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus killed one another. Many of the refugees either succumbed to hunger or thirst, or faced murder along their journey. Trains known as ‘blood trains’ frequently carried refugees who arrived at their destination with corpses.Women were raped and abducted. Many of the victims suffered mutilation and had their breasts severed. Pregnant women attacked by mobs had their bellies cut out of
Unveiling the Significance of Muharram and Ashura: A Comprehensive Guide to the Islamic New Year and the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein
Some of the days in the year are special, and Allah rewards us abundantly for doing ibadah during these days. One such day is the Day of Ashura (the 10th day of Muharram), which comes in the sacred month of Muharram. Importance of Muharram: Muharram means something that has been sanctified or is sacred. Our last prophet, Hazrat Mohammed, peace be upon him, has referred to this month, Muharrum, as “Shehr ul Allah.” He also said, “The best month to fast after Ramadan is Shehr ul Allah hill Muharrum (the month of Allah, Al Muharrum). So did you notice our prophet has called only Muharrum the month of Allah? Since no other month in the Islamic calendar bears the title “month of Allah,” it holds the highest honor. This alone is enough to understand how important it is. Because of the immense virtue it carries, this is the beginning of the year, and if the beginning is right, the rest of the year becomes right Origin of Islamic New Year: Difference between Islamic and Gregorian Calendars: The Islamic calendar is lunar as opposed to the Gregorian calendar, which is solar. The lunar calendar is divided into 12 months, each representing a lunar cycle that begins with a new moon. The first month is called Muharram. The 10th day of this month is known as the Day of Ashura. Ten or eight years after the Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him passed away, Umar bin Khatab instituted the calendar. They debated which month to start with, and concluded that Muharrum made the most sense due to its blessings and the fact that it immediately follows the hajj, symbolizing a fresh start. And so, from that point on, it’s the first month of the year. Significance of Ashura: It has been narrated by Muslim scholars that when the prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, migrated to Madinah (the city where he spent the last years of his life), he found that the Jews were fasting on a particular day, and when he asked what this was to them, they said this is the day when God rescued our people (Banu Israel) and Moses from the domination of the pharaoh. On that day, Moses and his people fasted to express their gratitude to God, and he also followed suit. So the prophet said, We have more rights than Moses, and he instructed his followers to fast on this day. Fasting in Muharrum: This happened on the 10th of Muharrum, and on this day we were taught to fast, either before it or after it. So, you can fast on the 9th and 10th or the 10th and 11th of Muharram. Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, said if I live to see next year, I’ll fast on the 9th as well, but by the time the following year came out, our last Prophet had passed away. It’s this month when our last prophet used to fast regularly; Ibn e Abbas reported that I’ve never seen the prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him, more concerned about fasting than on the Day of Ashura and in the month of Muharram. Benefits of fasting on the 10th Muharrum: Fasting on this day will wash away minor sins of the previous year. We must take advantage of this opportunity by refraining from sins, particularly major ones, to prevent their escalation History of fasting even before Ramadan Even before Ramadan, fasting on this day became mandatory; after the first year of Hijrah (migration), everyone was required to fast. Then Allah revealed Ramadan, so Ramadan became wajib, and the next year, Muharram became recommended, not obligatory. So in the first year of Islam, it was obligatory for all Muslims to fast on the 10th Muharrum, and in the second year, it went from being obligatory to strongly recommended and encouraged. Important events in history that happened on Ashura On this day, many incidents happened in the past, according to Imam al-Gazali, who, writing in his Mukhashfa al Qaloob, Umar ibn ul Khattab (RA), listed a few events that had taken place on Ashura. On this day, Allah created the sky and earth, along with a preserved tablet. Allah created Angle Jibrael (AS), Adam (AS), and Hawwa (AS). Allah created Jannah. Allah enabled Adam to live in Jannah. Ashura received the first rain on earth the day Adam al-Alaihi Salam accepted his repentance. Therefore, since the beginning of human history, significant events have occurred on land. However, it would be impossible to discuss the testing of Allah’s servants on Ashura without acknowledging the role of Imam Hussein, the son of Ali (A.S.), and the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, in the Battle of Karbala. Incidents which happened on Ashura This is the day when Hazrat Adam’s repentance was accepted. It was on this day, Ashura, that the ark of prophet Nuh (A.S) came to rest on Mount Judy. The day prophet Ibrahim (A.S) was saved from the fire. The day when prophet Yusuf (A.S) was taken out of the well. The day prophet Yaqoob (A.S) regained his eyesight. The day the illness of prophet Ayub (A.S) disappeared. The day prophet Musa (A.S) and his people were saved from the pharaoh. The day the great kingdom of prophet Suleiman (A.S) was bestowed upon him. The day prophet Yunus (A.S) was saved from the whale’s stomach. The day prophet Isa (A.S) was raised up to the heavens. The most tragic incident that happened on Ashura, the Battle of Karbala. Battle of Karbala The last prophet’s grandson, Hazrat Imam Hussain, was martyred in the battle of Karbala in Iraq on the 10th Muharrum. Yazid’s army also martyred 71 others, including Imam Hussain’s 6-month-old son, Ali Asghar. That battle was fought between Hazrat Imam Hussain and the cruel Umayyad Caliph Yazid. Muslims remember this day for Imam Hussain’s martyrdom. Just 48 years after the death of the Prophet Mohammed, Peace Be Upon Him, the world began witnessing oppression. Syria’s
USA, happy birthday to independence
We pay tribute to the War of Independence! The United States celebrates Independence Day every year on July 4. Emergence du pays is there for him. Today is the date that the famous Declaration of Independence from France was signed in 1776. According to this document, Great Britain no longer had control over the thirteen American countries.
