The Demand for Partition of India

Partition of India attracted an unprecedented attention at its fiftieth year of Independence. However, most of the literature is either an exercise in search of alibis or are memoids filled with nostalgic past. Those who try to rationalise the theme often get trapped in their own prisms. As a result, even after tons of literature produced, the topic continues to fascinate. When democracy became the rule of the game and ballot box its arbitrator, political mobilisation of different specificity has became inevitable. In the struggle for power, various facets of human divide were pedagogically sharpened. Political consciousness was built on mutual mistrust and suspicion-groupings and regroupings were forged with contradictory interests. It wont be incorrect to say that the heterogeneity of India manifested itself with the advent of the ballot box. The trial of democracy began with the first elections held in 1936. Ever since, the problem of governance of India too became difficult. The British wanted to establish an Indian federation where the representatives of the Indian dominion and the princely states would come to a constituent assembly to frame the constitution of India. In the transitory phase, when a working arrangement was being evolved, British were to supervise the federation till smooth transfer of power takes place in India. However, the beginning of World War II changed the course of history. This altered the complexion of the Indian history. This study is focused to highlight this enigma of the British empire.

Syed Ali Mujtaba (b. 1962) is currently working as a journalist. “The Demand for Partition of India and the British 1940-45” is his doctoral work done at the South Asia Division, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Mujtaba has an aptitude for academic and research. His research papers have appeared in journals like Strategic Analysis of the IDSA, Journal of South Asia, Jaipur, Polsan Studies Nepal, surfacedin the Political Science Abstracts from Fance. Mujtaba had been to London, Oxford, Cambridge to pursue Research. He presented a paper at the Darwin College, Cambridge. He had also been to the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu (Nepal) to read a paper. Besides, he had attended numerous conferences, seminars, workshops of national and international level. Mujtaba had teamed up with an American scholar, Brnce Vanghan, to do some research papers and popular writings at the JNU. His newspaper writeups have surfaced in all major national and regional dailies of the country. His hobbies include reading, writing and research related activities.