The legacy that left 1 million dead and 10 million displaced from their ancestral homes. The partition of India.The folowing comment from Abdul Munim is such resonance on the day we are remembering Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi :
I am a Muslim for 1400 years….
A Punjabi for 2500 years…
A Pakistani only for 55 years…
BUT
I am an Indian since last 3300 years…
Where should my loyalties lie?
With Islam?Punjab?PAKISTAN? Or INDIA?
Partition is India’s legacy of shame, a wound that never heals, an event so scarring that it will never truly be removed until every Hindu and Muslim accepts it as a “COLLECTIVE FAILURE” and a “COLLECTIVE SHAME”….
God made men, men made boundaries.
Ab to koi mazhab bhi aisa chalaya jai, jisme admi ko insaan banaya jai- ‘Neeraj’.
I fail to understand. Why should partition be a shame? Religion Divides, we all know that. Hindus and Muslims just could not stand each other that they wanted separate countries.
When we love our religion, i think we should love the decision religion made us choose. Otherwise its hypocrisy, i guess.
NO Dilip, contrary to popular perception, religion did not lead to the partition of India. Politics and power broking of that time did. Of course there was tension between Hindu’s and Muslims, but most of it fueled by political and power interests, aided and encouraged by the colonial masters. Otherwise Hindu’s and Muslim’s lived in relative harmony. Ask the people that lived in Lahore before partition.
It’s like saying that the US should have been divided into two separate nations, one black and the other white because of the racial tensions that existed or still exist there.
shekhar
I can still see pain of partition on my parent’s faces. this pain is passed on from one generation to another. Stories of hindu – muslim blended families and friendships. those days are gone , trust is gone and that is all because of political ambitions of two people.
Let us grow up
and
try to be
Human beings
with a common goal
Life
&
its care
World can be better if we all try just to be
Human
“I am a Muslim for 1400 years….
A Punjabi for 2500 years…
A Pakistani only for 55 years…
BUT
I am an Indian since last 3300 years…”
AND
I am a HUMAN BEING since the last 200,000 years…
“Where should my loyalties lie?
With Islam?Punjab?PAKISTAN? INDIA?”
or in just being human?
This kind of repeated arguments against Partition feels very churlish to me most of the time. Was partition the most bad thing to happen, indeed I feel it is one of the best things that happened to us, It would have been a night mare to imagine the population of Pakistan and Bangladesh in Indian confederation.
Imaging a life among those people who are trying to bring back the glorious days Islamic rule, of Mugals and others, on one one hand and on the other hand a group trying to bring back Golden age of Hinduism … When population was close to 40% – 60% it would have been a nightmarish proposition
What is India? India 3300 Yrs back? Is it any way same? Our Identity today is with an idea that was born post 1947 not one that existed 3300 Yrs back.
If that indeed is the case, than partition doesn’t matter, I believe it doesn’t matter to most of us
right Mr. kapur very true desh sabse pehle aata hai
Thank your lucky stars for the partition. Many people blame the Mahatma for this partition..but he was probably a lot more far-sighted than the pseudos from both sides. Can you imagine the practical effects of having the Pakistani and Bangladesh fanatics in India? This is not to say that all of their lot are fanatics, but it is logical to assume that their strength in numbers and expansionist nature, coupled with the passive nature of Hindus, would have turned India into an islamic nation.
All this pseudo talk about unity is quite shallow. Get real, don’t forget that a major portion of religions other than Hinduism existing in India are a result of conversions. All religions are a virus, but some among them are even more divisive and expansionist. True unit consciousness sometimes requires acceptance of external divisions.
It is quite true that several families from different religions lived harmoniously, and continue to do so. This is inversely proportional to the level of pollution in their minds on account of fanatic and divisive belief systems. The main culprit here is the creation of copyrighted gods. Some religions do not believe in idol-worshipping, but they are oblivious to the fact that the idols they create in their mind are far worse.
When acting from the core of our being, we all feel the unity and compassion for each other. But, this core has been clouded by fundamentalism, which thrives on the ego. But that’s just the way it is. If you want a perfect solution, remove this virus of religion and copyrighted Gods, and preach self-realization as the only belief system.
I can say so much here, but in short – for the past 50 years we have been talking “unity”, “peace”, “brotherhood” and “mutual existence”. We have ONE planet with so many countries that improved from nothingness to leading nations in 50 years, and yet all we can do is rant about “peaceful existence”. It shames me to see that a country where the common man pays his sweat, blood and taxes to the service of the nation has to live in below average conditions.
If we stop pretending to “reconcile” differences and just learn to accept and respect each others existence, it will be of more value than making religion a tool for the government of both countries to “divide and rule” on the basis of “differences”.
a muslim is saying this and wow I can’t beleive it..because muslim ppl like these are very very few (u need a superpowerful microscope to find them)..people like these who accept that they had a pre islamic past..which anyone in pakistan will deny rightaway coz they’re thorougly brainwashed..
Shekhar you said that politics divided India..I mean when will you secularists will accept the truth. Just because you’re from west Punjab so you’ve these tales in your mind about good old Lahore days..how about you go more west of Lahore to be precise Swatvastu (Swat), Purishpur (Peshawar)and whole of Afghanistan..the Hindus their felt partition when islam came there not in 47..Punjab , Sindh had the last Hindu population which at present would be like Kashmir situation where the the natives were thrown out of there houses..(they said Kashmir main rehna hain to allah o akbar kehna hain)..
Shekhar please see thing in larger prespective other that your grand father’s tales of Lahore.
and please read this to find out why partition happened (because abrahmic faiths converts and conquers in the name of religion)
http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_why-did-hinduism-never-become-an-organised-religion-like-christianity-or-islam_1294838
A lot of people suffered unspeakable losses during the partition. For that I am sad. However I am not upset about the actual fact of partition. The power brokers from so many numerically strong factions, would never have allowed even a moderately progressive society to be forged within a united India. There would have been been too many people to please and too many factions to displease with every policy decision made.
It is less about religion than it is about economic power and who weilds it.Too many slices of a pie amount to very little for the eaters.
Also historically… before partition, based on all anecdotal evidence it has been less about being Indian first. It has always been, Hindu/Muslim first and Indian next. The few times that folks came together involved struggling against the British. That is all.. for everything else, if they were not actively fighting each other, they were ignoring each other in the name of religion. Lets not kid ourselves about the good old days of the past 1400 years in the Subcontinent. It has not been idyllic and all Indian!
Let the two nations live apart but relatively non acrimonously. For that I will be grateful. I am as proud for being an Indian as the post partition generations are of being Pakistani. They have no desire to be Indian by roots or shoots. And I have no desire to make them Indian since they have thier own identity.
As geetika ji mentioned on the other blog, the “evil enablers” are the ones to be blamed who chose to escapists during 1947, if this process of partition was more rigorously implemented, there wud never be so many atrocities committed. Sadly the british bastards knew that this event wud unfold the exact same way history has witnessed it.
My personal belief is, the healing process will begin the moment indus and all of panjab and sindh are annexed back into Bharat’s fold; even if that means absorbing a nuclear cascade.
That was well put, Arnav.
Neeti,thanks for those lines by Neeraj.Trust a poet to capture it so beautifully and in such few words-
“Ab to koyi mazhab bhi aisa chalaya jaye,
Jisme aadmi ko insaan banaya jaye.”
Bahut khoob.
Done is done.
I’m glad NWFP and Swat aren’t our problems.
Not directly, atleast.
This would not have come to pass say ten years later if it had remained one country?
Well said, Shekhar.
It make me really sad when someone tries to argue in favour of partition by saying that ‘look it from this perspective’ or ‘Look it from Hindu/Muslim divide point of view’
Guys!! Grow up!! what perspective you are talking about? Which Hindu/Muslim divide you are talking about?
It is myopic to connect current situation and look it from that ‘perspective’. Has anyone tried to visualize what could have happened if the partitioned has not taken place? Here is the fictional account.
(a) No kashmir dispute in existence;
(b) No war with Pakistan;
(c) S’aadat Hasan Manto would have lived in Mumbai and wrote a few great movies rather than dying alone in Lahore
(d) Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan was an Indian (I would have taken great pride);
(e) Soviets invade Afghanistan. May be India still siding with Soviets than Americans (situation could have been different, roots of India-Soviet Friendship lies in 1971 war, when the idiot nixon refused to cooperate, anyway the war, as i said could not have taken place as there wouldn’t have been anything called ‘pakistan’). India at its north west frontier would have never allowed Americans to create Mujahiddins. May be US Policy dealing with communism in afghanistan would have differed. May be US would have lost interest in Afghanistan altogether.
6. imagine, a world without mujahiddins. India without terror attacks;
…
The list goes on. All I can say is, the partition not only was the turning point in the lives of millions of indians, but also it gave the direction to the World Polity. The ‘perspective’ referred to in a number of responses, would not have existed. Yes I mean it.
Kavita: Look at your sentence, “It would have been a night mare to imagine the population of Pakistan and Bangladesh in Indian confederation”. Judge it in Undivided Indian perspective. Look, there is no pakistan in existence, no bangladesh in existence. They don’t exist. You wouldn’t have invented this argument.
Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim!!! All have only one argument. Guys. look around you, there are already substantial number of muslims. They are your friends, your movie stars. You worship them.
Words like perception, perspective are not that easy to understand.
And Finally, Look at what Shekhar is talking about, ‘1 million dead and 10 million displaced’ and god knows how many raped? Look what he is talking about. He is not here to discuss the political agenda of right wing organisations. And here you are, trying to justify the partition, for the most foolish reasons that can exists (i wouldn’t have cared less if your reasons were sound by the way). Have we turned that inhumane? Can’t you see it from a little more human view. And it will be you, who will complaint about the politicising of 175 deaths (compare to 1 million deaths during partition) in Taj and Trident at Mumbai. You will complaint about politicising of flood relief work in Karnataka and Andhra.
Give me a break!!
Nirupama, trust me NWFP and Swat Valley wouldn’t have been your problems, had india not partitioned, in the same manner, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam, Naxalism etc. is not your problem. You still would have been sitting at the place where you are right now.
mr kapur, partition was necessary in 1947. sometimes you have to lose a much loved limb to stop the cancer from spreading. looks like the surgeon was incompetent since the disease has claimed the rest of the body 62 years later.
There are a lot many collectively shameful events, which, if acknowledged, can go a long way towards the establishment of lasting peace between India and Pakistan.
For instance, the respective intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan have ‘exported terror’ to each other’s countries at various points of time. India played the same role in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and Balochistan that Pakistan has played in Punjab and Kashmir i.e. trained and sent armed insurgents across the border.
However, a large number of Indians tend to overlook the trouble that India made in Pakistan, while blaming Pakistan for ‘exporting terror’ to India and numerous Pakistanis like to do vice versa.
It is not until mistakes on both sides are recognised and accepted as such that there can be hope for permanent peace, I believe.
Dear Shekhar,
God did not intend religions to be an exercise clubs. We all can survive without them…We all have a better way to put people in discipline now, called Laws and constitutions.
But unfortunately, the world does not run in that ideal way. This world is a big trading place with many different shops and companies, we call nations. And in trade you just do whatever is best to keep the profits high. I don’t think that any basic Muslim ,Hindu or anyone is more worried about the fundamental religious things but to the basic necessities in life. As life is not that easy anywhere.
Unfortunately, this world is not the one, what we use to read in the books. All books are fake and doctored, Actually this planet is a big market, where everyone is interested in selling their goods and make profit.
And principal of the bussiness here is that, “I will implement the ideas, which could make my profit better….who die and which company goes out of biz or bankrupt….I simply don’t care.” And this is the answer to the necessity of boundaries and different religions.
A quote by Richard M. Nixon
“In the long term we can hope that religion will change the nature of man and reduce conflict. But history is not encouraging in this respect. The bloodiest wars in history have been religious wars.”
Regards!
Sanjay Malhotra
If we all get what we need to do in our lives, than these things really don’t matter much. People who run politics, policies, Gandhi and many other great people were just above politics and all that mess..
If we improve ourselves, we can solve ourselves and we can bring the country back. It is just plain feeling of simple technology when we send an email or when we call from a cell phone.. brings a convenient feeling — People in those days were very rude b/c they were suffering from hunger, hot summer and somebody dictating their lives b/c they just cannot think what to do next !! every body was religious in their own whether it’s a muslim or a Hindu. the fact that we still talk about religion just amazes the heck out of me..
I would say if we all just think about money — helping people in any way shape or form.. could be a feeling to get somewhere in Life would just make all this better..
The best way to short a short bad line is to draw a bigger line next to it..
Manav
Reading different views on same issue and historic event is such a eye opner and educational process. I will try to educate myself more on this before i even open my mouth on this.
xcellent article there provided by shikhar; nothing can sum up religious fundamentalism better; I urge everyone to click the link given above in shikhar’s post and read,understand,analyze the ground realities xplained by shikhar!!!
I think the squabble about partition and all it fallout is quite unnecessary today. It will only beget regret and loss if we continue delving in it. The point is it has happenend. It happenend 63 years ago. It’s time to move on. It needs to be a part of our national identity and not religious identity because not only Hindus and Muslims but also Sikhs and Christians and Parsis suffered. A nation suffered. A nation’s suffering is larger than its religious community’s suffering. We should be proud of the fact that partition, even though achieved at the cost of so many lives and private individual miseries and losses and sacrifices, has held us in good stead. We have learned to surmount the worst challenge. Look at the other possibilities if it was not a partition like the one we had…like Palestine or Bosnia Herzgovina or any other civil catastrophe. We would be festering in a chaotic quagmire and would be getting played up across the globe without a real solution. So people move on and do not let the partition diatribes abase the sacrifices that we made as a nation or as a people. Its neither a shame or a failure…it is a part of our identity good, bad, shame, failure…we must accept it and learn to deal with it by looking at the positive side of it. God bless India. God bless its people. And God bless the future of India and its people.
question is…when do we stop identifying ourselves with a country and just act and treat others as we would treat ourselves?
be the change we wish to see? how many of us can actually turn the finger and point it towards ourselves?
it all comes back to a learned attitude, no matter where we are from and what shade of skin we have or what money we make or don’t.
unless we change our attitude, beliefs, habits etc…we will go nowhere. we may have more materials things, bigger bank accounts or not…but it all comes back to a basic human kindness and compassion for life, for the self, for the earth…and realise, we ALL do share this world together.
Ghandi had a point…
When someone broke the news to Gandhiji that his son converted to Islam.Gandhiji’s concern was that he should be a good Muslim.
Become a good human being and everything else falls in place.
when U about to die and needs immediate requirement of blood to save your life ,Will you first see if the donor is Muslim or Hindu?
This is really painful for the people who actually suffered.My father till his death used to remember his muslim friends and his village which he had to leave due to partition.It is difficult to assess whose fault was it but I agree that it is collective failure and collective shame.
HUM MUSLIM HAIN,
HINDUSTAN MEIN REHATE HAIN
HINDUSTANI HAIN
HINDUSTANI HAIN
SARHAD KE US PAR KI BATEN
HUM SE KYON KARTE HO?
President just remarked on him winning Nobel price, he is surpised and deeply humbled, look it as recognisition of american leadership and feels do not deserve to be in company of these people. He is accepting the award seeing it as recognision of the effort by usa. SO in short he accepted.
Americans feel this award is based on expectations not action and so many of us around the world, as dead line for the ward nomination was just 11days after he took oath. I hope he fulfills the expectations and succeed and keep inspiring the world by his actions.
i see my earlier comment did not make it! ok, let me put it better – partition happens.
Comments on the link posted by Shikhar:
The author Wendy Whoever seems to be a pseudo-intellectual, sexually-starved reject who will turn any gold she touches into stone. This is a major issue in the “westernization” of Hinduism. Some of them will shred to pieces the innocence, dignity and charm of it. This author has no clue what true Hinduism is, nor does she understand the depth of the Hindutva movement.
The epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are like multi-layered movies. At the deepest layer, it is all about non-duality and self-realization. But these shallow posers who call themselves authors and religious experts can only see the layers at their mental level..such as speculating on the sexuality of the characters, why Ravana wore boxers and not briefs, and stuff along those lines.
This pseudo-intellectual author has no clue..how do they even have the puppets to publish books on these subjects with so much authority? There is nothing wrong in an organized Hindutva movement in the world of today, some positive side-effects of which may be in keeping the virus of low-frequency lifestyles such as forced conversions, killing of cows, domestic violence, female subjugation and eating meat out of Indian society as much as possible. Hindutva is environmentally friendly and good for the collective. The biggest paradox is that there is nothing right-winged about the Indian right-wing..they could be considered the most liberal. The pseudo-liberals from the UPA and the Left are the actual right-wingers of India.
Dissatisfaction and the desire of collection give birth to boundries.
Its been 60 years of independence but still we are not able to forget the partition. The partition has created lots of problem and fueled the anger among people which has resulted in terrorism. Due to the partition we are facing huge problem on our border and had several wars.
brahmastra, for the benefit of those who have ‘no clue what Hinduism is about’, could you suggest good books/reading material that can transport them to its deepest layers..? or authors whose writing can enable a good understanding of ‘true Hinduism’?
Nimi ji:
kyon ki hindustan me rehte hue bhi tum log pakistan ko apna watan mante ho, wht has happened in panjab in 80’s and kashmir in 90’s is happening in pakistan currently. Mark my words: the term “hindustani” applies only to saffron religions not abrahamic settlers. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly says that holocaust is a myth and that israel shd be wiped off the face of this planet. He does not even know that sunnis consider shias to be fathwa or least he talks that way, and hence wht needs to be wiped off the planet is islam, the only ignorant, violent and repressive religion in the 4 billion year old planet’s story.
shikhar and brahmastra, i agree with you guys. i have nothing against muslims but we all know for a fact that islam teaches division, war and conflict. that is why there is no region in the world with a substantial influence of islam and no conflict. they go together.
india was just one such region.
regards, shivani
Nimi ji:
plz dont over exert urself on the internet to spread rumours, which son of gandhi converted to islam? try telling this imaginary tale of urs to any gujju n they will promptly chappal ur mouth. Is nimi khanna even ur real name or some phony screen ID to masquerade as a hindu/sikh while u r a patriotic paki/chinki in real life existing at the mercy of indian society’s tolerance.
Damodar, r u a 9 yr old juvenile who does not even know that muslims dont want blood from non-muslims even when they r dying as they just dont want porcine blood 2 flow in their body. Come on diaper boy, dont just post some nonsense just b’coz u have fingers and a keyboard.
can’t agree more with brahmastra, brilliant analysis my friend; kudos to u!!!
Ruchi… I think Obama got this award bcos he is the first black american president. Shekhar should start a topic on how right this award was. I feel it demeans the credibility of the highest recognition in the world. Would like to hear shekhars and others views on this.
kavitha,
The most powerful wisdom is absolutely free. You are probably one of the few lucky ones to know about the links i am posting. If you are seriously seeking spiritual guidance, this has the power to set you free:
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/bookstall/downloadbooks.html
There are books in english and tamil. The Yoga Vasistha contains the teachings that Sage Vasistha imparted on a young Rama when he was lost and confused about the world and his place in it. This core aspect of the Ramayana is not as public as the rest of the dramatics that people are commonly attracted to.
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloads/yoga_vasishta_sara.zip
A few other gems:
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloads/self_enquiry.zip
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloads/who_am_I.zip
I AM THAT:
http://www.maharajnisargadatta.com/I_Am_That.pdf
ASHTAVAKRA GITA:
http://www.realization.org/page/doc0/doc0004.htm
All the best!
Friends ,
This is Kali yuga – the age of quarrels and needless violence and life based largely on sexuality.
People have lost roots , knowledge of roots , the truth about Indian history.
Vedic civilization was Global till 5000 yeats ago – after the death of Krishna and the great battle , the people of the world settled in their respective regions – we see that the Mayans ( of the Maya Danav fame) were sent away of ships to sail West by Emperor Parikshit ( Abhimanyu’s son through princess Uttara).
While Emperor Yayati’s descendents ( Yavanas ) were given the portions of Greece. At that time , the Island of Kurma ( tortoise island ) = now called America was inhabited by Danavas.
The entire world , thus was just one vast vedic empire . Divisions happened later and the lack of oversight of Mother of the world , Vedabhumi Bharat , led to creation of exclusivistic and violent religions, apart from numerous secret societies and dark paths.
Now , India is in a state of division (Khand). It will become Akhand (Undivided) Bharat , with a Vedic identity.
Whether it will happen peacefully threough economic growth or violently due to a showdown war with China-Pakistan complex , will remain to be seen.
I myself see a Vedic ( not Secular) Indian state regaining its cultural and geographic landscape – from Tibet in the North to Vietnam in the east , From Kashmir to Sethu/Lanka in the south , and right upto Sindh in the west.
India that does not feel proud and good about its own identity ( Vedic) and provide leadership to the world , a secular India is not worth the unification effort.
Ignorant and divisive minds cannot understand the Dimentional shift on Earth that a United and Vedic India will bring about.
Pankaj,
Obama is the most pro-banking , pro wall street president yet.
He was elected to shut up the liberal media – which in turn is in the grips of the bankers anyway.
Obama is a stigma – all bluster with no effect – the effect, if any, is in the minds of people who wanted change , who wanted social justice.
Obama had a ‘ Shutiing up’ effect on people. That is his only purpose and why he was allowed to become president by the Cabal.
shekhar the fact is that what has happened has happened. however sad it is
there are whole lot of indians and pakistanis born way past the partition era who can never even think in terms of the other nationality as the same as theirs. It is not their fault, as the nostalgia of the writer of this peice in understandable also. Shame however hard to accept is the truth and that is the most important. It has already happened and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
It is not India’s shame-it is India’s pride. That the indian leaders were able to understand the insecurity and selfishness of their muslim brethren and gave them what they wanted.
How do you know the situation would not have been worse if not for the partition?
Maybe it is the partition that has saved India. The only shame is in the inabilty to accept the truth and deal with the situation
So the fact is that things change and we, all of us, have to view ourselves as part of the whole world-wether indin pakistani american or afghanistani or australian. We are all fellow human beings and that is the shift in consciuosness and thats all that matters
Physical boundaries cannot hold us together, only humanity and compassion can
i used to think that the colonial policy about divide and rule was a cliche – till i had occasion to look at original british official documents at the national archives.was amazed to see for myself how pitching one group against the other, sabotaging any move for harmonious existence was a basic policy with the oppressors.
‘Can you imagine the practical effects of having the Pakistani and Bangladesh fanatics in India?’
for once i agree with brahmasra!the harm was already done by the colonzers. gandhi realised that a divided house will not survive.
Good Evening Shekhar…Psst I know long time…
My Grandfather in peshawar…was saved by muslims during partition, he was covered in a burkha n taken to safety…
.
My experience with muslims has been more lovable than hindoos…
.
I could never understand why we made this religion if it was meant to divide us…
.
Need no religion I say!!
.
Cheers!
Pankaj i do agree with you 100% , it’s like i can get best social worker award. i kind of lost respect for the people who give it. i think in some way he is also embarresed by it.