A Vision of United India

Chapter 8

The Second World War

Then, there came the Second World War. The Congress party had to take a decision as to whether it should support the Allies, remain neutral, or oppose them. The Congress party dithered for some time but finally decided to first remain uninvolved and finally, to even oppose the British. This step proved to be disastrous for India. From the occult point of view, it was a very serious mistake that resulted in opening the doors to hostile forces.

The Mother said in May 1941: "The world situation is critical today. India's fate too hangs in the balance. There was a time when India was absolutely secure; there was no danger of her being a victim of Asuric aggression. But things have changed. People and forces in India have acted in such a way as to attract Asuric influences upon her: these have worked insidiously and undermined the security that was there." From then on, the special divine protection that India had always had was breached. Even from the political point of view, it showed a shortsightedness that betrayed a total misunderstanding of world affairs.

When the Second World War broke out, Sri Aurobindo came out publicly on the side of the Allies. Here is what he said:

"We feel that not only is this a battle waged in just self-defence and in defence of the nations threatened with the world-domination of Germany and the Nazi system of life, but that it is a defence of civilisation and its highest attained social, cultural and spiritual values and of the whole future of humanity. To this cause our support and sympathy will be unswerving whatever may happen; we look forward to the victory of Britain and, as the eventual result, an era of peace and union among the nations and a better and more secure world-order."

In a letter to a disciple, he explained the reasons for this support in some detail:

"We [Sri Aurobindo and Mother] made it plain in a letter which has been made public that we did not consider the war as a fight between nations and governments (still less between good people and bad people) but between two forces, the Divine and the Asuric. What we have to see is on which side men and nations put themselves; if they put themselves on the right side, they at once make themselves instruments of the Divine purpose in spite of all defects, errors, wrong movements and actions which are common to human nature and all human collectivities. The victory of one side (the Allies) would keep the path open for the evolutionary forces: the victory of the other side would drag back humanity, degrade it horribly and might lead even, at the worst, to its eventual failure as a race, as others in the past evolution failed and perished. That is the whole question and all other considerations are either irrelevant or of a minor importance. The Allies at least have stood for human values, though they may often act against their own best ideals (human beings always do that); Hitler stands for diabolical values or for human values exaggerated in the wrong way until they become diabolical (e.g. the virtues of the Herrenvolk, the master race). That does not make the English or Americans nations of spotless angels nor the Germans a wicked and sinful race, but as an indicator it has a primary importance Even if I knew that the Allies would misuse their victory or bungle the peace or partially at least spoil the opportunities opened to the human world by that victory, I would still put my force behind them. At any rate things could not be one-hundredth part as bad as they would be under Hitler. The ways of the Lord would still be

Page 47

open-to keep them open is what matters. Let us stick to the real, the central fact, the need to remove the peril of black servitude and revived barbarism threatening India and the world.

P.S. Ours is a Sadhana which involves not only devotion or union with the Divine or a perception of Him in all things and beings but also action as workers and instruments and a work to be done in the world or a force to be brought in the world under difficult conditions; then one has to see one's way and do what is commanded and support what has to be supported, even if it means war and strife carried on whether through chariots and bows and arrows or tanks and cars and American bombs and planes, in either case ghoram karma [a dreadful work, Gita, 3.1].... As for violence etc. the old command rings out for us once again after many ages: "Mayaivaite nihatah purvameva nimittamatram bhava Savyasacin" [By me and none other already they are slain, become only the occasion, O Arjuna, Gita, 11.33]16

In the meanwhile, the Muslim League used the war to consolidate its position. On March 23, 1940, the All-India Muslim League, in a resolution at its historic Lahore Session, demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims in the Muslim majority regions of the subcontinent. The resolution was commonly referred to as the Pakistan Resolution. The Pakistan demand had a great appeal for Muslims of every persuasion. It revived memories of their past greatness and promised future glory. We reproduce extracts from the text of the presidential address by Jinnah at the All-India Muslim League held at Lahore from March 22 to 24, 1940.

"Muslim India cannot accept any constitution, which must necessarily result in a Hindu majority government. Hindus and Muslims brought together under a democratic system forced upon the minorities can only mean Hindu Raj. Democracy of the kind with which the Congress Hall Command is enamoured would mean the complete destruction of what is most precious in Islam. We have had ample experience of the working of the provincial constitutions during the last two-and-a-half years and any repetition of such a government must lead to civil war and raising of private armies as recommended by Mr. Gandhi to Hindus of Sukkur when he said that they must defend themselves violently or non-violently, blow for blow, and if they could not, they must emigrate. Mussalmans are not a minority as it is commonly known and understood. One has only got to look around. Even today, according to the British map of India, out of 11 provinces, four provinces, where the Muslims dominate more or less, are functioning notwithstanding the decision of the Hindu Congress High Command to non-cooperate and prepare for civil disobedience. Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of a nation and they must have their homelands, their territory and their state. We wish to live in peace and harmony with our neighbours as a free and independent people. We wish our people to develop to the fullest our spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people. Honesty demands and vital interest of millions of our people impose a sacred duty upon us to find a honourable and peaceful solution, which would be just and fair to all. But at the same time we cannot be moved or diverted from our purpose and objective by threats or intimidations. We must be prepared to face all difficulties and consequences, make all the sacrifices that may be required of us to achieve the goal we have set in front of us.

Page 48

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the task before us. I fear I have gone beyond my time limit. There are many things that I should like to tell you, but I have already published a little pamphlet containing most of the things that I have said and I have been saying and I think you can easily get that publication both in English and Urdu from the League Office. It might give you a clearer idea of our aims. It contains very important resolutions of the Muslim League and various other statements. Anyhow, I have placed before you the task that lies ahead of us. Do you realise how big and stupendous it is? Do you realise that you cannot get freedom or independence by mere arguments? I should appeal to the intelligentsia. The intelligentsia in all countries in the world have been the pioneers of any movements for freedom. What does the Muslim intelligentsia propose to do? I may tell you that unless you get this into your blood, unless you are prepared to take off your coats and are willing to sacrifice all that you can and work selflessly, earnestly and sincerely for your people, strengthen your organisation and consolidate the Mussalmans all over India. I think that the masses are wide-awake. They only want your guidance and your lead. Come forward as servants of Islam, organise the people economically, socially, educationally and politically and I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by everybody".

This statement of Jinnah brings out clearly the line of argument and action that he proposed to follow.

The next day the Lahore resolution or the Pakistan resolution was passed.

'Lahore Resolution' or 'Pakistan Resolution'

Originally the word 'Pakistan' was not mentioned in the 'Lahore Resolution', but the Hindu and the British Press dubbed the Lahore Resolution as the Pakistan Resolution. Quaid-e-Azam accepted it and the word 'Pakistan' became synonymous with the Lahore Resolution. The Lahore Resolution subsequently known as 'Pakistan Resolution' was presided over by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The resolution was moved by Mr. Fazlul Haq, the chief minister of Bengal, and seconded by Chaudhry Khaliq uzzaman.

On Mar. 23, 1940, Muslim League held its Annual session at Lahore under the Presidentship of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The Quaid-e-Azam in his Presidential address made a detailed survey of the Indian political situation and asserted that India had never been united. For centuries, it had been divided between Muslim India and Hindu India and so would it remain in the future. The customs, traditions and the entire mode of civilization of these two people were different. They were different not only in their religious beliefs, but their entire outlook of life bore a different imprint. There were more shades of dissimilarity than similarity. He said: "The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither intermarry nor inter-dine together and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions." The stage was now set for the demand of a separate independent homeland for the Muslims of India. The Muslim public opinion following the Congress rule in the Muslim minority provinces felt that the rights and privileges of Muslims could not be protected under a parliamentary form of government.

The Lahore session of the Muslim League was convened when the memory of the Khaksar tragedy in the Punjab was still fresh. The Quaid-e-Azam cancelled all the programmes of public pomp and show. The session was held in the open space of Minto

Page 49

Park (now Iqbal Park) under the enlarging shadows of the minarets of the Badshahi Masjid and the Lahore Fort. Lakhs of people from all over India gathered at Lahore to pay homage to their leaders and listen to the fateful decision, the All India Muslim League was to make. On Mar. 23, 1940, in a packed pandal, Maulvi Fazl-ul-Haq, the chief Minister of Bengal, moved the following resolution:

The Resolution:

"While approving and endorsing the action taken by the council and the working committee of the All-India Muslim League as indicated in their resolutions dated the 27th of August, 17th and 18th of September and 22nd of October 1939 and 3rd of February 1940, on the constitutional issue, this session of the All India Muslim League emphatically reiterates and the scheme of Federation embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, is totally unsuited to this country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.".

"It further records its emphatic view that while the declaration dated the 18th of October, 1939, made by the viceroy on behalf of his Majesty's government is reassuring in so far as it declares that the policy and plan on which the Government of India Act, 1935 is based will be reconsidered in consultation with the various parties' interest and communities in India. Muslim India will not be satisfied unless the whole constitutional plan is considered de novo and that no revised plan would be acceptable to the Muslims unless it is framed with their approval and consent".

"Resolved that it is the considered view of this session of the All-India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principles. That geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute 'independent states' in which the constituted units shall be autonomous and sovereign".

"That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural economic, political, administrative and other rights of interests in consultation with them and in other parts of India where the mussalmans are in a minority adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for them and other minorities for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interest in consultation with them".

"This session further authorises the working committee to frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic principles, providing for the assumption finally, by the respective Regions of all powers and such other matters as may be necessary".

Let us now see what the attitude of the Congress and, in particular of Gandhi, was to Jinnah. Gandhi said that if Jinnah wanted a separate state, it must be given. Otherwise, there would be civil war.

Here again is what Sri Aurobindo had to say on this issue in May 1940:

Page 50

SA. Have you read what Gandhi has said in answer to a correspondent? He says that if eight crores of Muslims demand a separate State, what else are the twenty-five crores of Hindus to do but surrender? Otherwise there will be civil war. (A disciple :) I hope that is not the type of conciliation he is thinking of. SA. Not thinking of it, you say? He has actually said that and almost yielded. If you yield to the opposite party beforehand, naturally they will stick strongly to their claims. It means that the minority will rule and the majority must submit. The minority is allowed its say, "We shall be the ruler and you our servants. Our harf [word] will be law; you will have to obey. " 17

The Cripps Proposal and the Quit India Movement

The next important event that hastened the creation of Pakistan was the rejection of the Cripps Proposals. What exactly were the Cripps proposals?

The war, which had started in 1939, was now continuing in full rage. By the summer of 1940, Germany had conquered all those who were against them in the European continent except England. England now stood alone. The Congress Working Committee held a meeting in July 1940 and demanded "an immediate and unequivocal declaration of the full independence of India, which will enable it to throw its full weight into the efforts for the effective organisation of the defence of the country". In response to this, the Viceroy made an offer known as the August Offer. While reiterating the offer of Dominion Status, he agreed that the writing of an Indian constitution was the primary responsibility of Indians themselves. He, therefore, offered to set up a constitution making body after the war. As for the present, he suggested that there would be an increase of Indians in the Governor-General's Council; also a war-advisory council would be established. The Congress rejected the offer, saying that it was too little and too late. After the rejection, the Congress resorted to a Civil Disobedience Movement on a small scale; it was restricted to an individual and not to a mass Satyagraha. In 1941, the campaign picked up some momentum but met with very little success. The British Government arrested and convicted over 20,000 persons.

By the end of 1941, the war took a very serious turn. The Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbour, joined the Axis powers against Britain. Very soon they overran Singapore, which had been considered impregnable; next came the turn of Malaysia and soon after they entered Burma, thus coming to the doorstep of India. The impending threat of a Japanese invasion of India loomed large. The Viceroy made a public appeal for a united national front, but it fell on deaf ears. At the same time, there was a section of English opinion led by Mr Amery, the Secretary of State that was openly with the Muslim League. But the enlargement of the Governor-General's Executive Council without the approval of the Muslim League stiffened its attitude. It passed a resolution stating that any fresh declaration, which affected the demand for Pakistan or proceeded on the basis of a Central Government with India as one single unit and Mussulmans as an all-India minority would be strongly resented by the Muslims. The Muslim Press rang with cries such as: "Pakistan is our demand and by God we shall have it". The Hindu Mahasabha challenged the threat and like the Congress demanded full independence, but unlike the Congress it was ready to cooperate with the British in the war effort. The British government, partly realizing the inevitability of India's future independence and partly under American pressure to secure her support during the war, sent Sir Stafford Cripps to

Page 51

India in March 1942, with a proposal for Dominion Status after the war, as a first step towards full independence.

The Cripps Mission

The proposals that Sir Stafford Cripps brought with him may be summarised as follows: In order to achieve the earliest possible realisation of self-government, a new Indian Union would be created with the full status of a Dominion. This would mean that India would be 'associated with the United Kingdom and the other Dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown, but equal to them in every respect in no way subordinate to them'.

Immediately after the war, India would be free to frame its own constitution. Until then, a new Executive Council would govern the country; the British would retain control of the defence of India as part of their world war effort, but the task of organising the military, moral and material resources would be the responsibility of the Government of India in cooperation with the peoples of India.

Here is an extract from the speech given by Sir Stafford Cripps on Mar. 30, 1942: "First of all you will want to know what object we had in view. Well, we wanted to make it quite clear and beyond any possibility of doubt or question that the British Government and the British people desire the Indian peoples to have full self-government, with a Constitution as free in every respect as our own in Great Britain or as of any of the great Dominion members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In the words of the Draft Declaration, India would be associated with the United Kingdom and other Dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown but equal to them in every respect, in no way subordinate in any aspect of its domestic or external affairs.

The principle on which these proposals are based is that the new Constitution should be framed by the elected representatives of the Indian people themselves. So we propose that immediately after hostilities are ended, a constitution-making body should be set up consisting of elected representatives from British India and if the Indian States wish, as we hope they will to become part of the new Indian Union, they too will be invited to send their representatives to this constitution-making body, though, if they do, that will not, of itself, bind them to become members of the Union. That is the broad outline of the future.

There are those who claim that India should form a single united country: there are others who say it should be divided up into two, three or more separate countries. There are those who claim that provincial autonomy should be very wide with but few centrally controlled federal services; others stress the need for centralization in view of the growing complexity of economic development.

These and many other and various ideas are worthy to be explored and debated, but it is for the Indian peoples, and not for any outside authority, to decide under which of these forms India will in future govern herself.

So we provide the means and the lead by which you can attain that form of the absolute and united self-government that you desire at the earliest possible moment. In the past we have waited for the different Indian communities to come to a common decision as to how a new Constitution for a self-governing India should be framed and, because there has been no agreement amongst the Indian leaders, the British Government has been accused by some of using this fact to delay the granting of freedom to India. We are now giving the lead that has been asked for and it is in the hands of Indians and Indians only,

Page 52

whether they will accept that lead and so attain their own freedom. If they fail to accept this opportunity the responsibility for the failure must rest with them."

This was followed by protracted negotiations with all the parties. The Congress rejected the offer because it doubted Britain's declared intention to share executive power. Another reason for the rejection was the clause that permitted the provinces to secede from the proposed union. In addition there was Gandhi's pacifism, which proved to be a stumbling block. Gandhi called the proposals 'a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank'. On the other hand, the Muslim League too was not satisfied because it was not agreeable to the creation of one Indian Union; it wanted the possibility of the creation of more than one Union. The Cripps Mission thus ended in failure.

However, Sri Aurobindo took a totally different position. As seen earlier, he supported the Allies in the war, and when the Cripps offer was made, he sent Cripps the following message.

"As one who has been a nationalist leader and worker for India's independence, though now my activity is no longer in the political but in the spiritual field, I wish to express my appreciation of all you have done to bring about this offer. I welcome it as an opportunity given to India to determine for herself, and organise in all liberty of choice, her freedom and unity, and take an effective place among the world's free nations. I hope that it will be accepted, and right use made of it, putting aside all discords and divisions.... I offer my public adhesion, in case it can be of any help in your work."

The next day, on April 1, Cripps replied with the following telegram: "I am most touched and gratified by your kind message allowing me to inform India that you who occupy a unique position in imagination of Indian youth, are convinced that declaration of His Majesty's Government substantially confers that freedom for which Indian Nationalism has so long struggled."

Sri Aurobindo, in addition, sent a personal messenger to the Congress to urge them to accept Cripps' proposal; he also sent a telegram to C. Rajagopalachari, in which he said: "... Appeal to you to save India. Formidable danger, new foreign domination when old on way to self-elimination."

Sri Aurobindo's advice was ignored: "He has retired from political life, why does he interfere?" said Gandhi to Duraiswamy Iyer, Sri Aurobindo's messenger. Although Nehru and Rajagopalachari favoured acceptance of Cripps' offer, Gandhi found it unacceptable because of his opposition to war. Had Cripps' proposal been accepted, the Partition and the blood bath that followed might have been averted.

Sri Aurobindo gave reasons for accepting the proposals.

First, Hitler represented an Asuric force and his victory would be good neither for India nor for the world.

Second, this offer was made chiefly to the Congress party and it was an opportunity for it to handle the communal problem.

Third, while the British were in India, Indians would be administering the country with their support from behind the scenes. That would have meant that a very large number of Indians would have been trained in administration.

Fourth, he said that by participating in the war effort, almost a million soldiers would be trained in the very thick of war and fighting in the thick of war was the best experience; and if the British decided to back out of the agreement after that, there would be a very large number of Indians who could take up arms against the British.

Page 53

Fifth, he said that when one has to choose between a known enemy and an unknown enemy, it was better to choose the known enemy. Because if the Germans or Japanese won the war, there was no guarantee that India would get freedom. The Indians would only change their masters and knowing the British, knowing the background of their history, with all their shortcomings, they had generally a democratic approach to life and second, the Indians knew them well having fought them for almost 200 years.

The Quit India Movement

As a result of the failure of the Cripps Mission, Gandhi's attitude towards the British changed radically. He was convinced that the presence of the British in India was an invitation to the Japanese to invade India. He suggested that the safety and interest of both Britain and India "lie in orderly and timely British withdrawal from India". He believed that with the withdrawal of the British, the danger of a Japanese invasion would disappear. At this time, differences emerged between Nehru and Gandhi. Nehru believed that India must fight with Britain against Fascism, while Gandhi felt that all ideas of cooperation or friendly understanding between Britain and India must end. On June 7, he wrote: "I waited and waited until the country should develop the non-violent strength necessary to throw off the foreign yoke. But my attitude has now undergone a change. If I continue to wait I might have to wait till doomsday. For the preparation that I have prayed and worked for may never come and in the meantime I may be enveloped and overwhelmed by the flames that threaten all of us. That is why I have decided that even at certain risks, which are obviously involved, I must ask the people to resist the slavery." On Jul. 14, 1942, the Congress Working Committee passed the Quit India resolution. It renewed the demand that British rule should end in India immediately, and gave the assurance that it was agreeable to the stationing of the armed forces of the Allies in India. It pleaded with Britain to accept the very reasonable demand, failing which it would be reluctantly compelled to utilise all the non-violent strength for the vindication of its political rights and liberty. On August 8, the Congress Working Committee endorsed the Quit India resolution. Gandhi announced to the people of India, 'I am not going to be satisfied with anything short of complete freedom. We shall do or die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt.' The next morning he and all other Congress leaders were arrested. Immediately after the arrests, Jinnah issued a statement deeply regretting that the Congress had declared war on the Government, unmindful of all interests other than its own, and appealing to Muslims to keep completely aloof from the movement. This position of Jinnah further endeared him to the British Government.

The news of these arrests led to violent popular demonstrations, which soon spread over the whole of India. Spontaneous acts of protest in the form of hartals, strikes and processions took place. From August 11, the situation deteriorated. There were concerted outbreaks of mob violence, arson, murder, and sabotage, most of them being directed against the railways, telegraphs and against the police. These outbreaks occurred simultaneously in widely separated areas in the provinces of Madras, Bombay and Bihar. So serious was the situation that parts of the country were completely cut off and British rule virtually ceased to exist. The cult of non-violence had come to an end once for all, never more to figure as a potent force in India's freedom struggle.

The British Government crushed the movement ruthlessly using all the machinery of modern warfare at their disposal. These methods included machine gun firing and even aerial bombing. Tens of thousands were arrested and the police used the most bestial

Page 54

methods to quell the uprising. By the end of September, the movement had been more or less crushed and the British regained control over the whole of India. The Quit India movement had ended in a total failure. The question then arose as to who was responsible for the terrible violence and the sufferings that followed; a prolonged correspondence between Gandhi and the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, took place each blaming the other. Gandhi, not getting a satisfactory response, went on a fast from Feb. to Mar. 2, 1943 but it was not clear what the fast was about. This was followed by a terrible famine in Bengal and parts of Orissa, Bihar and Madras in which over three million persons died; this famine was the result of the Government's scorched earth policy.

This one act of the Quit India Movement by the Congress party changed the whole situation. The British government was under a moral obligation to Jinnah and the Muslim League to satisfy their demands, for after all they had come to their help in a time of distress. One would not be wrong to say that this one step of the Congress led to the formation of Pakistan. For Jinnah, there was no looking back after that.

Direct Action

One of the first steps that Jinnah took after this was to force the hands of the British government by resorting to direct action. The whole purpose was to prove that Hindus and Muslims would not be able to live together. He explained that the participation of the Muslims in the proposed constitution making machinery was fraught with danger. He said that while the British had machine guns to enforce their will and the Hindus the weapon of civil resistance, the Muslims alone remained defenceless. It followed that they must bid good-bye to constitutional methods and prepare for self-defence and self-preservation by resorting to direct action. August 16 was fixed as the day for Direct Action. While the tension was building up, the Viceroy decided on August 12 to invite the Congress to form the interim government. That proved to be the last straw for Jinnah. Nehru invited Jinnah to participate in the interim government but he declined the invitation. At that time, the president of the All-India-Jamaitul Ulma-I-Islam, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, declared that no power on earth could crush the Muslims. 'Living he is a Gazi and killed in action he is a martyr'.

In Calcutta, August 16 began with public demonstrations, hartals and the hoisting of the Muslim League flag. Soon clashes broke out and spread to the whole city. Utter confusion prevailed in the city and the hooligans had a field day indulging in stabbing, killing, arson, looting and criminal assaults on women. The mob fury continued for four days with the government standing by and proving to be utterly ineffective in dealing with the situation. It is estimated that thousands were killed, tens of thousands injured, lakhs left homeless and property worth crores of rupees destroyed. Bengal was then under the Muslim League and the Chief Minister was Suhrawardy. The Statesman wrote: 'this is not a riot. For three days the city concentrated on unrestrained civil war. Upon whom the main guilt for it rests is manifest. Where the primary blame lies is where we have squarely put it - upon the Provincial Muslim League Cabinet and particularly the Chief Minister.' The rioting soon spread to other parts like Noakhali and Tipperah where the Muslims were in a majority. The Hindus were butchered mercilessly and the Hindus in Bihar retaliated. All in all, it was a sordid story of horror and cruelty. This was the way Jinnah had chosen to prove his point: Hindus and Muslims could not live together.

At the same time, there was a planned and systematic attack by Muslims on the Sikhs in East Punjab. This attack was of a diabolical character and lasted for months starting from

Page 55

December 1946. The Muslim population of the Punjab, in order to cow down the Sikhs, resorted to a total campaign of murder, arson, loot and abduction of women. The Sikhs had to go through this experience for months and millions of them were forced to quit their homes. What is not very well known or fully borne in mind is the fact that this tragic migration was the last culminating episode in a conspiracy that had been hatched for more than a decade before it actually occurred. It was the conspiracy of the Muslim League to establish a Muslim State without the encumbrance of any non-Muslim populations. .

To sum up:

(a) The Muslim League agitation had as its aim the overthrow of the Coalition ministry, and clearing the way for the achievement of Pakistan,

(b) H. M. G. Statement of Feb. 20, 1947, declaring that power would be transferred in India in default of one Central Government, in some areas to the existing Provincial Governments, made it imperative for the League to capture power and to establish its own Government in the Punjab at all costs, so that such a Government should be able to receive power independently of a Central Government of India;

(c) The "Victory Day" of Mar. 2, 1947, was used by the League for making provocative speeches, and whipping up the passions of the Muslim masses against all who might oppose Pakistan;

(d) Not being able to get the cooperation of a single Hindu or Sikh inside the Provincial Assembly, the Muslim League decided upon capturing power by waging a war on the minorities in the Punjab;

(e) For this purpose, the Riots of March 1947 were started, and they occurred simultaneously in Lahore, Amritsar, Jullundur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur and other districts, the aggressors in all places being Muslims;

(f) These riots were no ordinary riots, but were a war of subjugation and conquest in which the Muslim people, the Muslim police and Muslim officials worked in perfect unison, and brought widespread death, destruction and uprooting to Hindus and Sikhs in a dozen districts, killing many thousands and uprooting about a million, before the month was out.

So, from Mar. 5, 1947 onwards, the constitutional game was up, and for the Hindus and Sikhs it became a sheer struggle for life against a fierce and well-planned Muslim onslaught - well-planned because the Muslim League had a fighting corps (the Muslim League National Guard), an ample stock of weapons, both sharp-edged and fire-arms, and a plan of attack with the connivance of police and officials.

It had now become clear that India would be divided and that the British would withdraw soon. Several small regions sought sovereignty. It was decided that Atlee's deadline of June 1948 be advanced to August 15, 1947. V.P. Menon proposed the TWO-DOMINION of INDIA and PAKISTAN plan that was accepted by Mountbatten and by Nehru on May 11, 1947. On June 2, 1947, the Menon-Mountbatten plan was accepted by Nehru, Kripalani and Patel on behalf of the Congress, by Baldeo Singh on behalf of the Sikhs, and by Jinnah on behalf of the Muslim League.

The Status of the Princely States

The British had divided what makes up the present Bangladesh, India and Pakistan into several segments. About 40% of this territory came under 'British India' over which alone the British Parliament could legislate. The British Parliament did NOT legislate for the

Page 56

remaining 60% of the territory that was ruled by the princes, the maharajas, and the Nizams, and they reported to the Viceroy. There were nearly six hundred of these princely states.

The Indian princely states were left free to decide if they would stay independent or join one of the two countries. The British Government's ruling, contained in His Majesty's Government's statement of Jun 3, 1947, was clear: "...the decision announced about the partition relates only to British India (seven provinces) and that their policy towards the Indian (princely) states.. .remains unchanged". There was no provision to influence the destiny of the princely states with regard to any communal factor, which was the governing factor for the partition only of 'British India' over which alone did the British Parliament legislate. The future of the nearly six hundred princely states was thus completely, exclusively and irrevocably to be determined by their monarchs.

Sardar Patel led a brilliant campaign that got most of the princely states to take quick and correct decisions. These princely states were encouraged to accede to either Pakistan or to India as per the wishes of their rulers. It was expected, naturally, that the rulers would keep in mind the interests of their subjects. Given the treatment meted out to the Muslims from India who went to Pakistan, any State, it was obvious, would opt only for accession to India. Pakistan was conceived and formed as a Muslim state. India was not formed as a Hindu state. Most of the princely states acceded to one or the other country in a very dignified way, governed by simple logistics. However, there were some exceptions. We shall deal with them in the later part of the book.

On Aug.15 1947 India got her independence. At the stroke of midnight, Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous speech. We quote from the speech: "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity".

At the same time Sri Aurobindo gave a message to the nation: Here is an extract from the message:

"August 15th, 1947 is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a new age. But we can also make it by our life and acts as a free nation an important date in a new age opening for the whole world, for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity. India is free but she has not achieved unity, only a fissured and broken freedom.... The old communal division into Hindu and Muslim seems to have hardened into the figure of a permanent political division of the country. It is to be hoped that the Congress and the nation will not accept the settled fact as forever settled or as anything more than a temporary expedient. For if it lasts, India may be seriously weakened, even crippled: civil strife may remain always possible, possible even a new invasion and foreign conquest. The partition of the country must go - it is to be hoped by a slackening of tension, by a progressive understanding of the need of peace and concord, by the constant necessity of common and concerted action, even of an instrument of union for that purpose. In this way unity may come about under whatever form-the exact form may have a pragmatic but not a fundamental importance. But by

Page 57

whatever means, the division must and will go. For without it the destiny of India might be seriously impaired and even frustrated. But that must not be."18

Page 58