Indian Partition

Autonomy

After Britain replaced its conservative government, India had a higher chance of achieving autonomy.

Leading up to Autonomy

• Muslims feared that they would be a minority
• Jinnah felt uneasy but Nehru and Gandhi told Indians to act like one nation

Final Steps

• Among the independence negotiations, Muslim leaders called for a demonstration that they knew would lead to rioting
• Because of this Jinnah said "The only solution to India’s problem is Pakistan"

Partition

Gandhi and Nehru disliked the idea of partition, who sickened at the prospect and only reluctantly came to accept the notion of a divided but independent India

Gandhi's Efforts

• He thought that rivers of blood will flow in the wake of the partition and it did during the migration
• Undertook many measures to try to end the violence
• Tried to convert people to ahimsa

Violence

As each nation tried to rebuild itself, hostility between the two continued.

Involvement in the Cold War

• Their continued hostility made India and Pakistan more vulnerable to the pressures of the cold war.
• When Pakistan lost the battle over Kashmir, they sought an alliance with the United States
• Nehru favored a policy of nonalignment and accepted military aid from the Soviet Union.

Legacies

• India had been the jewel in the crown of the British empire and its breakaway marked a significant turning point
• Just as Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance to British rule inspired nationalists around the globe before and after WW2.
• The British recognized that Europeans could not rule in Asia without the cooperation of colonial peoples and could rely on their own models of decolonization

India and Pakistan gained independence yet retained ties to Britain, becoming Dominion members in the British Commonwealth.