GANDHI OR LORD MOUNTBATTEN?
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, commonly known as Lord Mountbatten was responsible for the Partition of India, whereas Mahatma Gandhi has strongly opposed the idea for the Partition of India, perceiving it as hindering his dream of unity among Indians of all religions.
LORD MOUNTBATTEN – LEAD THE PARTITION:
In February 1947, Mountbatten was appointed as Viceroy and Governor-General. He was the last Viceroy who oversaw the process of Partition of India into India and Pakistan. He has announced the partition plan on June 3, 1947 and decided the date of Independence as 14th’August’1947 for Pakistan & 15th’August’1947 for India. He played a main role by declaring that British had decided to transfer power to the Indian and Pakistani governments by mid-August 1947. The ‘Princely States of India,’ not directly ruled by British, were given a choice of which country to join. Those states whose Prices failed to join either country or chose a country at odds with their majority religion, such as Kashmir and Hyderabad, became the focus of bitter dispute. With Lord Mountbatten, Sir Cyril Radcliffe and Mohammed Ali Jinnah led the idea of Partition successfully.
FACTORS THAT LED TO THE PARTITION OF INDIA:
- Mountbatten’s Plan
- Two-Nation Theory
- Withdrawal Of Law and Order
- Province Elections (1937)
- Pakistan Resolution
- Escalating Religious Tensions Between Muslims and Hindus and so on.
MAHATMA GANDHI – ANTAGONIST OF PARTITION :
Mahatma Gandhi was a Freedom Fighter who strongly opposed the idea of partition and tried to stop it but still took place. According to him, Islam was a religion of brotherhood of humankind and not for segregation. Hence, he concluded that the demand of Pakistan by Muslim-League was Un-Islamic and sinful. To his mind anyone who’s favoring partition were antagonists of both Islam and India. He always had a vision for India to be a peaceful place where Hindu and Muslims lived in harmony. With Mahatma Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan equally opposed the idea of Partition till the very end.
IDEA OF PARTITION:
In 1924, version of two-nation theory as “a clear Partition of India into a Muslim India (now Pakistan) and a non-Muslim India (now India)” geared up by Arya Samaj leader Lala Lajpat Rai.
