What role did Hindu-Muslim tension play in the partition of India?

In the 20th century, Hindu-Muslim tension played a vital role in the partition of British India. While Hindu Indians dominated the central and eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, Muslim Indians dominated the western part of the region (in what is now Pakistan).

What is the relationship between Hinduism and Islam in India?

Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim expansion into the Indian Peninsula threatened the Hindu way of life. In time, some Indians converted to Islam. Throughout the Modern Age, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus coexisted within a fragile system, with violence often breaking out between the two groups.

Did Muslims and Hindus ever peacefully coexist in India?

While Muslims and Hindus did peacefully coexist in many parts of India for a long time, the two groups could, and did, turn against each other as a result of the economic, social, and military conflicts of the age. Now, unfortunately this conflict didn’t go away with the end of the medieval world.

How did the creation of Pakistan affect India and Muslims?

India and Pakistan still butt heads frequently, and unfortunately, the creation of Pakistan didn’t end the tensions between Muslims and Hindus in India itself. In many ways, they only got worse. The creation of Pakistan drew a line through Indian society suggesting that Hindus and Muslims were really different people who could not coexist.

How did the Hindu and Sikh faiths react to the partition?

Most individuals of the Hindu and Sikh faiths were opposed to the partition of India (and its underlying two-nation theory ), as were many Muslims in that country (these were represented by the All India Azad Muslim Conference ).

What was the role of All India Conference in the partition?

All India Conference of Indian Christians opposed the partition of India, as well as the creation of separate electorates based on religion; it supported swaraj and helped to secure to rights of minorities in the Constitution of India. All-India Jamhur Muslim League was erected “in 1940, to oppose Jinnah’s scheme of Pakistan”.

How did the partition of India affect the British Raj?

The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj, i.e. Crown rule in India. The two self-governing independent Dominions of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 15 August 1947.