Cornel: Was it not the case that, Jinnah and Mountbatten worked closely together to create Pakistan? And is it not the case that Nehru and Gandhi were opposed to the split?
RKN : The answer to the first question is "yes", but they worked closely only after Nehru had turned down the proposals to keep the subcontinent undivided. It's a popular belief in India that Nehru and Gandhi were against the partition and Jinnah insisted on it. Historical evidence now suggests that though it was Jinnah who made the demand first, he was later willing to accept a confederation of Hindu and Muslim majority areas, but Nehru firmly opposed the idea. The stand of Gandhi on this issue is not yet clear. jc: >From my info, it appears that RKN understanding of the matter is closer to the truth than Cornel's. Some points: 1. Surely, it would be in UK's interest to keep a hold of British India....by pointing out (and perhaps exacerbating) the Hindu-Muslim divide. 2. Nehru wanted to be the FIRST Prime Minister of India. The issue of religion should NOT have come up IF every citizen was to be equal. 3. Nehru's insistence may have rekindled the images of discrimination against Muslim students in W. Bengal - the reason for the development of the Univ of Dacca(Dhaka). 4. Also being rekindled would have been the Massacre of Urdu ...a language FROM the subcontinent. Both the neo-Hindiwallas(from British India) and the neo-Urduwallas(from independent Pakistan) decapitated and reinvented the languages presently usurping the names Hindi and Urdu. [ Allegedly Pure Konkniwadis, please take note ] In any event, as there was NO general elections were held in India until 1952., and in Pakistan ~1970 Nehru was in effect a non-elected Prime Minister of India, and Jinnah of Pakistan. Pity that no one took cognisance of the fact that Jinnah was an ill man - and had very little time to live. ALL those lives disrupted and lost during that brutal Partition ...for the sake of what? the Pride of being the FIRST Prime Minister of India ..or preventing a chap with a Muslim Sounding Name from being the FIRST Prime Minister of India? Was there NO other peaceful way to solve a political disagreement? jc please visit "NEW" on The Goan Forum at http://www.colaco.net Recommended Goa related sites 1. http://www.goa-world.com 2. http://www.SuperGoa.com _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
