Who was responsible for the partition of India? Traditionally the blame has been placed on Pakistani founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah. But: "A controversial new book by a senior politician from India's Hindu nationalist party suggests that Mr Jinnah, a secular man who drank and smoked but rarely visited the mosque, has too long been demonised by Indian society. Furthermore, it argues that he only raised the prospect of a separate Pakistan with independence leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi as a bargaining tool and that it was the inflexibility of Jawaharlal Nehru, the man who became independent India's first prime minister, that ultimately led to the division of the sub-continent." Interesting stuff. Read it here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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Surely the Brits can share in some of the blame, too.
That reminds me; I have to pick up my Jinnah jacket at the dry cleaners.
Surely they can, but ultimately the responsibility lies with inhabitants of the subcontinent. By 1945 the British were ready to cut and run and would have accepted any deal.
This was the deal that was presented to them so they acquiesced. Radcliffe had nightmares about the result until his death.
This is one of my favorite topics. Thank you, The Awl, you guys continue to amaze and delight.