The Separation of India and Pakistan: An Unavoidable Path or a Mirror of Religious Ambitions?

Some decades ago, I read in TIME magazine that Pakistan is the only country in the world created by an idea—a eccentric genius, Jinnah. As the Jinnah cart transformed into a juggernaut, crushing all opposition to the two-nation theory, there was no other way. The best solution was to aid complete migration of Hindu and Sikh populations to India and that of all Muslims to Pakistan to free Muslims from the 'tyranny of the Hindu majority'. However, this bastard seemingly feigned ignorance of Muslim invaders' centuries-long genocidal actions against Hindus.

Despite Nehru's advocacy for communal unity, Separation became the outcome of two individuals' ambitions. The result of an action cannot be changed at the last moment. India was moving towards partition from long ago, with the formation of the Muslim League. Congress Party and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on the other hand, were fighting for all Indians against the British.

The Roots of Separatism and the Influence of Religion

However, what sparked the demand for Pakistan was a political party based solely on religion, fighting for Muslims only, which led to the separation of India and Pakistan. This separatism was born much earlier, but we often failed to recognize the underlying separatism by speaking of superficial Hindu-Muslim unity. In fact, the unified culture of India was divided into three exclusive cultures of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians after the arrival of Islam and Christianity about 1000 years ago.

Both Islam and Christianity are inherently divisive religions. Hinduism, on the other hand, has failed to assimilate them into the all-embracing Hindu culture due to their inherent separatism. Moreover, Hindus were not the rulers but the ruled, historically. Before the arrival of the British, Muslims ruled India for 800 years, so they did not need to separate. On the other hand, after independence from the British, Muslims would come under the rule of a Hindu-majority India, which was unacceptable to Muslims and their leaders. It was in places with a Muslim majority that this belief was the strongest, and this psychology led to the partition of India in 1947.

Nevertheless, the seeds of partition were planted long ago, primarily by the Islamic invasion. Muslims' sense of Islamic identity was stronger than their sense of Indian identity. This historical partition resulted in a stronger Islamic identity, which manifested through Mohammad Ali Jinnah and led to the creation of Pakistan. For this inherent separatism to come to an end, the strength of nationalism must be greater than religious identity. Our nationalism must outweigh religious identity in the present, or it may lead to further partitions, as in the case of Kashmir.

Our quest for understanding must be impartial. We must study history to draw the right conclusions. In contemporary India, we must end this separatism. Strengthening our nationalism and ensuring that it supersedes religious identity is key to preventing further partitions.