Which British government recognized the independence of India. The collapse of India according to the Kosovo scenario. Current religious demographics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

It led to major bloody clashes, in which, according to official figures, about 1 million people died, as well as to mass migrations of the population (about 18 million people, of which almost 4 million "were not found" in subsequent censuses).

The term does not apply to the following events:

1. Background

1.1. Late XIX - early XX centuries.

Major religions of British India as of 1909

Percentage of Muslims as of 1909

Percentage of Hindus as of 1909

Percentage of Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains as of 1909

Main languages ​​according to comp. for 1909 (northern regions)

Population density (1901).

1.2. 1920-1932

The All-Muslim Indian League was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who disapproved of the predominance of Hindus in the Indian National Congress and its secular orientation. Among the first to put forward the demand for a separate state for the Muslims of British India was the writer and philosopher Allama Iqbal, who made such a demand in his 1930 presiding speech at the league congress, pointing out the danger of turning the Hindustan peninsula into a Hindu-controlled state. A similar demand was made by the Assembly of Sindh in 1935. Iqbal, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jowhar and a number of other figures made great efforts to convince M. A. Jinnah, who until that time campaigned for the unity of Muslims and Hindus, to lead the movement for a new Muslim nation. By 1930, Jinnah began to come to the conclusion that in a united India, the fate of minorities (including Muslims) would depend entirely on the Hindus, who dominated the Congress. The League of Muslims, led by Jinnah, received poor results in the local elections in 1937.

1.3. 1932-1942

In 1940, Jinnah made a statement at a conference in Lahore, in the text of which there were very veiled allusions to the creation of a separate "Muslim nation". Although the document did not yet contain territorial claims, it was the territorial claims that became the main point of contention between Muslims and Hindus for the next 7 years. At that time, all Muslim parties did not want the partition of India.

Hindu organizations, such as the Hindu Mahasabha and others, although they also opposed the division of the country, at the same time insisted on a delimitation (power, influence, land, etc.) between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In 1937, at the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha in Ahmedabad, Vir Savarkar stated in his chairman's address:

Most of the leaders of the Indian National Congress were secularists and strongly opposed the demands to divide India along religious lines. Mahatma Gandhi and Allama Mashriqi believed that Hindus and Muslims can and should live in friendship. Gandhi objected to partition, stating that:

For many years, Gandhi and his supporters fought to keep Muslims in the Indian National Congress Party (the mass exodus of Muslim activists from the party began in the 1930s), which irritated both Indian nationalists and Muslim activists (Gandhi was assassinated shortly after the partition of India by the Hindu nationalist N. Godse, who believed that Gandhi pacified the Muslims at the expense of the Hindus). Mutual suspicion was fueled by political and communal leaders on both sides, which erupted during the riots organized by the Muslim League, notably on the Day of Direct Action in August 1946 in Calcutta, when more than 5,000 people were killed and many more injured. As order crumbled throughout northern India and Bengal, pressure mounted from those who desired a political partition of the former colony as a means of avoiding further unrest.

1.4. 1942-1946

Prior to 1946, the definition of Pakistan in the Muslim League's demands was so vague that it could be understood both as a separate state and as a member of the Indian Confederation.

Some historians believe that Jinnah intended to use the threat of partition as a trade item to gain greater independence from India for the Muslim-populated provinces in western British India.

Other historians claim that Jinnah actually saw Pakistan extending even into areas where Hindus were in the majority. At the very least, Jinnah put a lot of effort into annexing Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim principality, as well as Hyderabad and Junagadh, principalities with a predominantly Hindu population but Muslim rulers.

The British colonial administration did not have direct authority over the entire territory of British India: the provinces were administered directly by the British Power, while the "principalities" were governed by numerous power-sharing agreements between them and the British. The British colonial administration consisted of the Secretary of State for India, the Indian Administration (India Office), the Governor General of India and the Indian Civil Service (Indian Civil Service). The registered political parties were as follows: All India Muslim League, Communist Party of India, Hindu Mahasabha, Indian National Congress, Khaksar Tehreek and Unionist Muslim League (the latter was active mainly in Punjab).

2. Section 1947

The two separate countries legally came into existence at midnight on August 15, 1947. The transfer of power ceremony was held the day before in Karachi, which at that time became the capital of the newly formed Dominion of Pakistan, due to which the British Viceroy Louis Mountbatten was able to attend the ceremony in both Karachi and Delhi. Another reason was that the emergence of Pakistan did not look like its separation from sovereign India. Therefore, Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, while India celebrates on August 15. Another reason - purely technical - is that Pakistani time is 30 minutes behind Indian time, so at the time of signing the act in Pakistan it was still August 14, and in India it was already August 15.

2.1. Mountbatten plan

The actual partition between the two new dominions was carried out in accordance with the "June 3rd Plan", also known as the Mountbatten Plan.

The border between India and Pakistan was determined based on the report of the British government commission and was originally called the "Redcliffe line" (after the London lawyer Cyril Radcliffe). Pakistan arose as two unconnected enclaves - East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan proper), between which lay India. Pakistan was formed from territories inhabited predominantly by Muslims, and India - predominantly by Hindus.

On July 18, 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, which completed the formal division. The Government of India Act 1935 was amended to create legal foundations for the existence of the two new dominions. After partition, Pakistan became a new member of the UN. The Indian union, formed from states with a predominance of Hinduism, adopted the name India, which automatically gave it the right to inherit the seat of British India (UN member since 1945) in the UN and become its successor.

625 principalities were given the opportunity to choose which of the two countries to join.

2.2. Section Geography: Redcliffe Line

Before the Boundary Commission began formal hearings, governments were appointed for the eastern and western parts of the Punjab. The territory of the British province was temporarily divided, based on the predominance of the Hindu or Muslim population in the districts. In both Punjab and Bengal, the Boundary Commission consisted of two Muslim and two non-Muslim judges, chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The purpose of the Punjab Commission was formulated as follows: “To demarcate the boundaries between the two parts of the Punjab, based on the definition of areas with a predominance of Muslim and non-Muslim population. In carrying out this task, other factors should also be taken into account.” Each of the parties (Muslims and Congress/Sikhs) put forward their demands through a council that did not have the right to make decisions. The judges also did not have a mandate to compromise and on all important issues they voted two votes to two, leaving Cyril Radcliffe in charge of making decisions.

2.3. Mass migrations of the population

Immediately after the official partition, a massive "population exchange" between the two states began, which lasted several months. After the official borders were established, about 14.5 million people crossed them, hoping to find relative safety among their fellow believers. According to the 1951 Displaced Persons Census, shortly after partition, 7,226,000 Muslims moved to Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh) from India, while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh). About 11.2 million people or 78% of the total population exchange took place in the west, mostly in the Punjab; 5.3 million Muslims moved from India to West Punjab in Pakistan, 3.4 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan to East Punjab in India.

The newly formed governments were completely unprepared to deal with migrations of this magnitude, leading to widespread violence on both sides of the border. The number of victims, according to various estimates, fluctuates around 500 thousand (according to the minimum estimates - 200 thousand, according to the maximum - about 1 million).

2.4. Punjab

The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947 when, under the Partition of India, the former province of British India Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan. The Muslim western part of the province became the Pakistani province of Punjab, and the eastern part, populated mainly by Hindus and Sikhs, became the Indian state of Punjab. Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims in the east, which was the reason for the mass migration and bloody clashes during the partition. Lahore and Amritsar were at the heart of the conflict, the British did not know whether to make them part of India or Pakistan. In the end, they decided that both cities were part of Pakistan, but due to the lack of sufficient border control, Amritsar became part of India, and Lahore of Pakistan.

2.5. Bengal

The former province of British India, Bengal, was divided into two parts. West Bengal went to India and East Bengal to Pakistan. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1955 and became the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971.

2.6. Sindh

Sindhi Hindus were expected to remain in Sindh after partition, as there had traditionally been good relations between Hindus and Sindhi Muslims. By the time of partition, there were about 1.4 million Hindu Sindhis in Sindh, most of whom lived in cities such as Hyderabad, Karachi, Shikarpur and Sukhur. However, within just a year, about 1.2 million of them were forced to leave their homes and go to India, as attacks on Hindu homes increased as Muslim migrants from Hindu regions arrived in Sindh. Sindhi Hindus suffered the most from the partition, as they lost not only their homes, but also their homeland (unlike the Punjabis, who traditionally lived both on the lands of the future Pakistan and on the lands of the future Hindu state).

3. Refugees

3.1. Punjabi refugees in Delhi

An estimated 25 million people - Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs (according to 1947) - crossed the new borders to find themselves in "their" territories. Estimates are based on comparisons between 1941 and 1951 censuses adjusted for population growth in areas of migration.

The city of Delhi received the largest number of refugees compared to other cities - the population of Delhi grew over the period 1941-1951 from 1 to almost 2 million (Indian censuses of 1941 and 1951). Refugees were settled in various historical and military sites, such as the Old Fort of Purana Qila, the Red Fort, in the military barracks in Kingsway (near the present Delhi University).

Later, more and more permanent houses began to appear in the refugee camps due to the large-scale construction program launched by the Government of India from 1948. Programs were also launched to educate refugees, provide them with jobs, cheap loans to start their businesses, etc. However, refugees in Delhi have benefited much more from these programs than refugees elsewhere.

3.2. Refugees settled in India

Many Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus settled in the Hindu parts of Punjab and Delhi. Hindus originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) settled in East India and North East India, many settled in neighboring states such as West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. Some migrants were sent to the Andaman Islands.

The Hindus of Sindhi were left without a homeland. Their government assumed responsibility for their rehabilitation. Refugee camps were set up for them. However, not a single Sindhi Hindu received the slightest help from the Government of India, and many never received any compensation from the Indian Government.

Many refugees have coped with the "trauma" of poverty. The loss of the homeland, however, had a deeper and more lasting effect on the culture of Sindhi, it can be said that in India it is in decline.

In late 2004, the Sindhi diaspora opposed in a public litigation in the Supreme Court of India to petition the government of India to remove the word "Sindh" from the Indian national anthem (composed by Rabindranath Tagore before partition) on the grounds that it infringed upon the sovereignty of Pakistan.

3.3. Refugees settled in Pakistan

The refugees who arrived in Pakistan - where they were called Muhajirs - came from various regions of India. In particular, a significant number of Punjabis from East Punjab arrived there, fleeing the riots. Despite economic difficulties, difficult living conditions, the Punjabis in Pakistan did not experience problems with cultural and linguistic assimilation - on the contrary, Punjabis still make up an influential majority in Pakistan, although their language has received not a state, but only a regional status. On the other hand, Muslims who came to Pakistan from other parts of India - present-day Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Hyderabad, etc., faced similar problems. The descendants of these non-Punjabi refugees in Pakistan often consider themselves Muhajir, while assimilated Punjabi refugees no longer make this political distinction. Large numbers of Punjabi refugees settled in Sindh, especially in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad. They are united by their refugee status and their native language Urdu, and form a significant political force in Sindh. In the 1970s to support the interests of refugees and their descendants, the Muhajir Movement was formed. Over time, the movement acquired supporters from the local population and was renamed the Muttahid Qaumi Movement; it is currently the most influential liberal party in Pakistan.

4. Consequences

4.1. India and Pakistan

Partition caused widespread violence, but despite this, India and Pakistan made efforts to improve relations. One of the biggest disputes was over Kashmir:

The nuclear arms race continues between India and Pakistan.

4.2. International relationships

Partition failed to end the enmity between Hindus and Muslims. Over a million Bengali Hindus and Muslims were killed by Pakistani troops during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. Hindus living in Pakistan are being persecuted (see Hinduism in Pakistan, Lahore Temple Demolition 2006). On the other hand, Muslims in India are repeatedly subjected to violence by Hindus: the 2002 clashes in Gujarat are a typical case.

4.3. Current religious demographics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Despite massive migrations during and after partition, the secular and federal state of India still has the third largest Muslim population in the world (after Indonesia and Pakistan). In Bangladesh and Pakistan, also formed as a result of the partition, the percentage of minorities is significantly smaller.

India (population 1095 million according to 2006 estimates compared to 361 million according to the 1951 census)

Pakistan (2005 est. 162 million compared to 34 million in 1951 census)

• 98.0% Muslim (159 million)
• 1.0% Christian (1.62 million)
• 1.0% Hindus, Sikhs and others (1.62 million)

Bangladesh (2005 est. 144 million compared to 42 million in 1951 census)

• 86% Muslim (124 million)
• 13% Indians (18 million)
• 1% Christians, Buddhists and animists (1.44 million)

5. Image in art

A huge amount of historical literature was written about the partition of India, as well as many works of fiction (novels, short stories, poems, poems, plays) in which the pain and horror of the events were reflected.

The Indian subcontinent has experienced the rise of charismatic leaders and successful independence - despite intra-social conflicts.

Discontent and nationalism

Despite India's initial loyalty to Great Britain, with the outbreak of World War I, the hardships that India had to endure as a direct consequence of the conflict entailed a constant increase in discontent in the country. In the 1920s and 1930s the struggle of the Indians for independence from England intensified, and nationalist feelings reawakened. Moreover, although a number of concessions were made by the British - for example, in the form of the Indian Constitution Act of 1919 ("Government o India Act"), which allowed Indians to be part of provincial governments - Britain strongly refused to completely remove itself from control, which led to unrest among the Indian population. Some took the form of peaceful protest, but sometimes there were violent clashes. With the increase in the influx of nationalist ideas, sharp disagreements were again revealed between the Hindu Party (Indian National Congress, INC) and the All India Muslim League (All India Muslim League) - disagreements that before the war were unsuccessfully used by the British to partition Bengal and which were temporarily settled in military years.

Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was a middle-class Indian. He received a law degree in England, after which he defended the rights of Indians in South Africa for more than 20 years, where he himself was discriminated against and opposed it. In 1915 he returned to India, at the end of the First World War he reorganized the Congress and undertook to support national ideas, organizing non-violent resistance actions - strikes, boycotts and tax waivers. In response, the British arrested thousands of Indians, including members of the INC, and Gandhi himself went to jail for 2 years. After his release, Gandhi turned his attention to the most oppressed sections of the Hindu population and pa- I worked with the lower caste - the untouchables; Gandhi encouraged people to return to a simple life.

Above: Lord Louis Mountbatten Earl of Burma (left), the last Viceroy of India, who partitioned India into India and Pakistan, with his wife and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All India Muslim League, after negotiations in New Delhi, India 1947

The politically interested middle class supported him as the Mahatma made the INC an institution for the people, and he was followed by peasants who bowed to him as a saint because he advocated social reforms. In this way, Gandhi managed to rally Hindu Indians towards a common goal - independence. He also tried to achieve unanimity between Hindus and Muslims; however, since 1930, the call for the formation of their own Muslim state in northern India began to sound louder and louder.

Path to Independence

In 1928, at comprehensive negotiations, India and meetings of the INC put forward a demand to provide it with the status of a dominion (the status of an independent society and equal membership in the Commonwealth of Nations), and otherwise threatened to return to mass actions of civil disobedience. After the meeting of the INC in December 1929, at which, shortly before, the elected president, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, demanded full independence, similar actions resumed again throughout India. January 26, 1930 was declared Full Independence Day (“Purna Swaraj”), and from March to April Gandhi led the famous “Salt Campaign”. Together with several companions, in protest against the increase in British salt taxes, he walked 400 km from his ashram near Ahmedabad to the village of Dundee to collect small crystals of salt on the coast - which was forbidden, because by doing so he violated the British monopoly on salt. As a result, Gandhi was arrested again. At the same time, the First Round Table Conference was held in London to resolve the "Indian Question". However, the INC refused to participate in the conference until Gandhi and other spokesmen for the Indian people were released from imprisonment.

In 1931, having been released, Gandhi agreed to stop civil disobedience, and as a return service, according to the Gandhi-Irving Pact, all political prisoners were released. Gandhi went to the Second Round Table Conference as a representative of the National Congress.

However, he was disappointed with the results of the first round of negotiations and in 1932 he decided to reopen the non-cooperation movement. Before 1935, negotiations between the Congress party and the British government came to a complete halt, and under Viceroy Lord Willington, a new Constitution for India was issued that same year - a major step towards the independence of the subcontinent.

After the elections, eleven self-governing provinces were founded, in eight provinces the INC won a tangible majority of votes, in the remaining three provinces coalitions with the Muslim League had to be organized. However, Gandhi, Nehru and many of their other associates were not satisfied with this: only complete independence could fulfill their demands. Meanwhile, many Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, feared that they would soon be overwhelmed by the outnumbered Hindus, so there was a growing desire among them to gain independence, not only from Britain, but also from Hindu-dominated India.

World War II and India

In 1939, as World War II broke out, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow announced India's participation without consulting the provincial governments - causing the INC minister to resign and withdraw any support. However, when the Japanese began to approach the borders of India, Great Britain decided to offer India full independence in exchange for support in the war. As a result, numerous Indian soldiers were mobilized to help Britain and fought alongside the Allies.

During the war, Jinnah's demand for a separate Islamic state of Pakistan gained more weight as the British not only agreed to post-war independence but also approved a clause allowing provinces to secede from the federation. Gandhi and Nehru were opposed to these plans: in 1942 they attempted to launch a "Leave India" campaign to challenge Britain to new meetings. And again mass protests of civil disobedience unfolded, Gandhi and Nehru, along with other deputies of the INC, were arrested. The British were confident that the Japanese would soon invade and help the Congress Party to take power.

Independence - division of the country

However, the Japanese never came to India; their surrender followed a few days after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This ended the Second World War. I In 1945, the British government, led by Clement Attlee, decided to give India independence - but on the condition that India retain the structure of the federation, while the INC wanted to see a united India with a centralized government. The All India Muslim League pursued its plan for an autonomous Pakistan with great intensity. After the 1945 elections, the political situation in India reached a stalemate, which led to large-scale uprisings and violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The British tried to resolve the conflict by military intervention, but civil war was already inevitable. On August 15, India gained its independence. Nehru became prime minister, and West and East Pakistan emerged simultaneously (since 1971 - Bangladesh). Three provinces opposed any integration: Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir. The first two were quickly absorbed by India, while the situation in Kashmir looked more problematic. Both Muslim and Hindu influences split the country and led to conflicts that continued until 1949. As millions of Hindus and Muslims fled across the new frontiers and settled in either predominantly Hindu India or Islamic Pakistan, violent conflicts flared up again everywhere. on both sides; many of those who remained in their original places were waiting for death - this was the case in India and Pakistan. Gandhi, who returned to his public work in Bengal, decided to put an end to the violence: he went on a hunger strike, vowing to die of starvation if the persecution of Muslims in India did not stop. This protest bore fruit - but soon after, in January 1948, he was killed by a Brahmin who saw Gandhi as a traitor.

October 28, 1950; Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (left) at the water lily pond in his garden in New Delhi with his daughter Indira Gandhi (right) and her son Rajiv; both served as prime minister after Nehru.
India after independence

After independence, the history of India was characterized by sporadically erupting uprisings. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru successfully ruled as Prime Minister until the end of his days (1964) and led his nation through a period of relative calm and stability. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, succeeded him. She, too, was a strong ruling personality, but she was charged with corruption and in 1978 was placed under arrest for a short time. The following year, she was again elected to the post of prime minister, but in 1984 she died at the hands of Sikh fanatics. The INC remained the dominant political party in India, except for brief periods in the late 1970s, and also in the late 1980s and into the mid-1990s. During these years, the Hindu nationalist party (Bharatiya Janata Party) strengthened its positions, showing a new political force that sought to lead the country; in 1996 she won the elections by a strong margin.

India has a long history of democracy, but that history has always been characterized by tensions between different ethnic and political forces, especially between Hindus and Muslims. Evidence of this is the distrust that exists to this day in relations between India and Pakistan.

The partition of British India in 1947 created violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims and huge refugee flows: up to 6.5 million Muslims crossed from India to Pakistan and up to 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved in the opposite direction. Up to 500 thousand people died due to clashes on religious grounds and subsequent migrations. By the beginning of the 20s of the XIX century. England extended its control over all of India, including territories that later became part of Pakistan. In 1946, a special government mission sent from Britain developed a plan to preserve the integrity of India, providing for regional autonomy for the Muslim population. It was proposed to single out two geographical zones with a predominance of Muslims: one of them was supposed to cover North-West Balochistan, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab and Sindh, the other - North-East Assam and Bengal. The rest of India was seen as a single entity with a Hindu majority. It was recommended to give the central government only minimal rights.

However, this plan, adopted by the League, was rejected by the Indian National Congress, after which the division of British India became inevitable. On August 14, 1947, two new independent states appeared on the political map of the world - India and Pakistan.

India is a federal republic. The head of state is the president. Elected by a college of electors consisting of both houses of parliament and state legislatures for a 5-year term. The legislature is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Council of States (no more than 250 seats, of which 12 are appointed by the president, the rest are elected from the legislatures of states and territories) and the People's Assembly (545 seats, 543 are elected by popular vote, 2 are appointed by the president). Executive power is exercised by the government, headed by the prime minister, who is appointed by the president.

The position of Japan before World War II. Post-war structure of Japan

On November 25, 1936, in Berlin, the governments of Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, the second article of the secret annex to which read: “The contracting parties, for the period of validity of this agreement, undertake, without mutual consent, not to conclude any political treaties with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which would be contrary to the spirit of this agreement." Thus, the question of concluding a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union was actually removed by the Japanese side (at least for some time) from the agenda. The acquisition of powerful allies in the West (soon Italy and a number of other European states that were part of Germany's orbit joined the Anti-Comintern Pact) encouraged Japan to expand its expansion in China and further aggravate Japanese-Soviet relations. In the mid-1930s, the Japanese army general staff began to the planning of operations for the mastery of northern China. In 1935, one such plan called for the formation of a special army that would include the Japanese "garrison army in China, one brigade from the Kwantung Army, and three divisions from the ground forces in the mother country and Korea. The allocated forces were planned to capture Peking and Tianjin. The political goals of the empire were formulated in the document "Basic Principles of State Policy", which, in fact, set out to turn Japan "nominally and in fact into a stabilizing force in East Asia."

The Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin at 2015 September 27, 1940. The following is the text of the pact: “The government of the Great Japanese Empire, the government of Germany and the government of Italy, recognized as a preliminary and necessary condition for a long-term peace to provide each state with the opportunity to take its place in the world, consider the creation of a new order necessary for the peoples in the Great Eastern Asia and Europe could reap the benefits. The coexistence and mutual prosperity of all the nations concerned, express their determination to cooperate mutually and take concerted action in the indicated areas with regard to skills based on these principles. The governments of the three states, eager to cooperate with all powers, are making detailed efforts around the world, full of desire to demonstrate immunity to the whole world, for which the government of the Great Japanese Empire, the government of Germany and the government of Italy have concluded an agreement. "By the beginning of July 1941, the Japanese army , despite the protests emanating from the governments of America and Great Britain, carried out the capture of the southern part of Indochina, and after a short time came close to the Philippines, Singapore, the Dutch Indies and Malaya. In response, America imposed a ban on the import of all strategic materials into Japan and at the same time froze Japanese assets in its banks. Thus, the war that soon broke out between Japan and the United States was the result of a political conflict that America tried to resolve with economic sanctions.

Japan was occupied two weeks after the surrender. At the same time, the United States prevented the creation of zones of occupation of the victorious countries in Japan. Since the correlation of forces between the USSR and Western powers in the Far East was completely different from that in Europe, and the Soviet contribution to the defeat of Japan was made only at the last stage of the Pacific War in the conditions of the Cold War that had actually begun, Moscow was forced to agree with this. As a result, American troops under the command of General MacArthur occupied Japan alone, although they formally represented the interests of all countries that fought against Japan.

By signing an unconditional surrender, Japan thereby at least accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The powers that had defeated Japan were faced with the task of such a post-war settlement in that country as would prevent its revival as an aggressive force. This was possible only through democratization, the elimination of landlordism as a source of samurai adventurism, the dissolution of monopoly groups - zaibatsu as a source of aggression, demilitarization and punishment of war criminals as a warning for the future.

One of the most democratic bourgeois constitutions in the world was introduced in Japan, written by specialists from the Propaganda Department of MacArthur's headquarters and translated into Japanese (Japanese lawyers themselves prepared several extremely reactionary versions of the Constitution, with which the victorious countries could not agree). Not daring to liquidate the institution of Imperial power, the authors of the Constitution limited it to decorative functions. The constitution declares Japan's refusal to solve foreign policy problems by military means and forbids her to have the Armed Forces. The agrarian reform carried out at the insistence of the powers ended the process of defeudalization begun in the Meiji era.

In early July, the "Mount Batten Plan", the new and at the same time the last viceroy of India, who replaced Wavell in this post, was published on the division of India into two dominions - the Indian Union and Pakistan. According to the plan, it was supposed to resolve the issue of dividing Bengal and Punjab on religious grounds by a separate vote of deputies from parts of the provinces with a predominance of Hindu and Muslim populations, to hold a referendum in the North-West Frontier Province and the Sylhet (Assam) district, populated mainly by Muslims, to decide the fate of Sindh by voting in the provincial legislature, divide the Constituent Assembly into constituent assemblies of two dominions, leave the question of the entry of principalities into one of the dominions in the jurisdiction of their rulers.

To carry out the intended goals, a division committee was established under the chairmanship of the viceroy and an equal number of members from the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, as well as departments for the division of the army, finance, and princely affairs. Upon receipt of the voting results, the border commissions began their work. One of them was in charge of the division of Bengal and the separation of the Sylhet district from Assam, the other was in charge of the division of the Punjab. The inaccuracies made when drawing the border line later became the cause of many border frictions and disputes. One third of the population of Bengal and Punjab remained in India, two thirds - in Pakistan. Disagreements also arose in the division of finance, office work and the central administrative apparatus. As a result, Pakistan received 17.5% of British India's banking holdings, 20% of office work and about a third of the army's weapons. As a result of the partition, 90% of the explored mineral reserves, 90% of the mining and manufacturing industries, almost all tea plantations were concentrated in India, and 10% of natural resources and no more than 10% of enterprises were concentrated in Pakistan. However, Pakistan was in a better position in terms of agricultural raw materials and food.

In August 1947, the "Mounbatten Plan" was approved by the British Parliament as the Indian Independence Act. The country entered a new period: on the night of August 14-15, two self-governing dominions arose on the site of the British India colony - the Indian Union and Pakistan, which are members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

The Indian Union included Bombay, Madras, the Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar, the United Provinces, East Punjab, West Bengal and Assam "with a total area of ​​​​3.288 thousand square kilometers and a population of 320 million people. The territory of Pakistan was West Punjab, Sindh, North - Western Frontier Province, Balochistan, East Bengal and Sylhet District of Assam with an area of ​​945 thousand sq. km and a population of 71 million people.

However, the problem of the final definition of the state borders between the two dominions remained unresolved and depended on the development of a formula for joining the principalities to the Indian Union or Pakistan. A specially created department for the affairs of the principalities determined the procedure for the transfer of political power from the princes to the central authorities of both dominions and the dissolution or integration with the formations of the Indian and Pakistani regular armies of the princely military units. The entry of principalities into India or Pakistan, according to the provisions of the Independence Law, depended on the will of their rulers and took place mainly on a confessional basis. Within two years after independence, 555 of the 601 principalities joined India, the rest became part of Pakistan, forming provinces and districts in both states. In the new provinces, which were unions of principalities or separate principalities, legislative elections were held and governments were established. The governors of the provinces, as a rule, were former princes. The process of integration of the principalities with the dominion in a number of regions was difficult and met with resistance, up to the armed one. As a rule, such a situation was typical for regions of India with a high concentration of the Muslim population. The most difficult situation has developed in the principalities of Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir. If the introduction of Indian troops during the year solved the problem of joining the first, then the situation in the second remained unresolved throughout the subsequent period of independent development of India and Pakistan, causing a number of military conflicts between these states and complicating the general situation in the South Asian region.

The Independence Act did not mean that the former colony acquired full sovereignty. It kept Hindustan in the orbit of British interests and gave Britain the right to interfere in the political life of India and Pakistan. British military contingents remained in the subcontinent indefinitely. The financial and economic presence of the metropolis was also preserved. However, the dominions got the opportunity to establish diplomatic relations with foreign states, the first independent national governments were created. The government of India was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, the government of Pakistan by Liaquat Ali Khan; the post of governor-general of India passed from L. Mountbatten to C. Rajagopa-lachari, M. A. Jinnah became governor-general of Pakistan.

The liberation of British India led to a change in the geopolitical situation in the South Asian region and had a decisive impact on the fate of neighboring states. The development of political events in these countries cannot be considered in isolation from the Indian national liberation movement, the most powerful and organized, capable of shaking the foundations of the British colonial empire, which for two and a half centuries exercised control over all the constituent parts of South Asia. Following the peoples of British India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which had been a colony of Great Britain since the beginning of the 19th century, gained independence. The Ceylon Independence Act came into force on February 4, 1948.

The events in India largely contributed to the democratization of the social and political life of Nepal and the intensification of the struggle against both the despotic rule of the Rana clan and the continuing pressure of the British, contrary to the Treaty of 1923, which confirmed the formal independence of this state, which in fact was considered by them as a kind of raw material appendage. British India. After gaining independence, India concluded a "Treaty of Peace and Friendship" with Nepal, which annulled all agreements between Nepal and the British colonial authorities and proclaimed its state sovereignty. The “Friendship Treaty” concluded between India and Bhutan stipulated non-interference in internal affairs and the exercise by the Indian side of jurisdiction in matters of foreign policy. The names of the most authoritative political parties - the Ceylon National Congress and the Nepalese National Congress - testify to the influence of the Indian national liberation movement on these countries. At the same time, the desire of the countries of the South Asian region to develop intra-regional political and economic ties was objectively hampered by a number of factors: different levels of socio-economic development, different types of established political cultures, territorial claims, and the natural fear of small states of India's dominance in the region.

Plan
Introduction
1 Background
1.1 Late 19th - early 20th centuries
1.2 1920-1932
1.3 1932-1942
1.4 1942-1946

2 Section 1947
2.1 Mountbatten plan
2.2 Geography of the section: Radcliffe line
2.3 Mass population migrations
2.4 Punjab
2.5 Bengal
2.6 Sindh

3 Refugees
3.1 Punjabi refugees in Delhi
3.2 Refugees settled in India
3.3 Refugees settled in Pakistan

4 Consequences
4.1 India and Pakistan
4.2 Foreign relations
4.3 Current religious demographics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

5 Depiction in art

Bibliography

Introduction

Partition of India Partition of India listen)) - the division of the former British colony of British India into the independent states of the Dominion of Pakistan (August 14, 1947) and the Indian Union (August 15, 1947). This event led to major bloody clashes, in which, according to official figures, about 1 million people died, as well as to mass migrations of the population (about 18 million people, of which almost 4 million "were not found" in subsequent censuses).

The term does not apply to the following events:

secession of Ceylon (separate colony since 1798, independence since 1948)

secession of Burma (separate colony since 1937, independence since 1948)

Separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971

territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir

the formal existence of Sikkim as a "state under the sovereignty of India" in 1947-1975 (then entered India as the 22nd state)

· the independence of Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives (having long-standing ties with India, they were never included in British India), and their borders were not affected in any way by the consequences of the partition.

1. Background

1.1. Late XIX - early XX centuries.

· Major religions of British India as of 1909

· Percentage of Muslims as of 1909

· Percentage of Hindus as of 1909

· Percentage of Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains as of 1909

· Main languages ​​according to comp. for 1909 (northern regions)

· Population density (1901) .

The All-Muslim Indian League was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who disapproved of the predominance of Hindus in the Indian National Congress and its secular orientation. Among the first to put forward the demand for a separate state for the Muslims of British India was the writer and philosopher Allama Iqbal, who made such a demand in his 1930 presiding speech at the league congress, pointing out the danger of turning the Hindustan peninsula into a Hindu-controlled state. A similar demand was made by the Assembly of Sindh in 1935. Iqbal, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jowhar and a number of other figures made great efforts to convince M. A. Jinnah, who until that time campaigned for the unity of Muslims and Hindus, to lead the movement for a new Muslim nation. By 1930, Jinnah began to come to the conclusion that in a united India, the fate of minorities (including Muslims) would depend entirely on the Hindus, who dominated the Congress. The League of Muslims, led by Jinnah, received poor results in the local elections in 1937.

In 1940, Jinnah made a statement at a conference in Lahore, in the text of which there were very veiled allusions to the creation of a separate "Muslim nation". Although the document did not yet contain territorial claims, it was the territorial claims that became the main point of contention between Muslims and Hindus for the next 7 years. At that time, all Muslim parties did not want the partition of India.

Hindu organizations, such as the Hindu Mahasabha and others, although they also opposed the division of the country, at the same time insisted on a delimitation (power, influence, land, etc.) between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In 1937, at the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha in Ahmedabad, Vir Savarkar stated in his chairman's address:

Most of the leaders of the Indian National Congress were secularists and strongly opposed the demands to divide India along religious lines. Mahatma Gandhi and Allama Mashriqi believed that Hindus and Muslims can and should live in friendship. Gandhi objected to partition, stating that:

For many years, Gandhi and his supporters fought to keep Muslims in the Indian National Congress Party (the mass exodus of Muslim activists from the party began in the 1930s), which irritated both Indian nationalists and Muslim activists (Gandhi was assassinated shortly after the partition of India by the Hindu nationalist N. Godse, who believed that Gandhi pacified the Muslims at the expense of the Hindus). Mutual suspicion was fueled by political and communal leaders on both sides, which erupted during the riots organized by the Muslim League, notably on the Day of Direct Action in August 1946 in Calcutta, when more than 5,000 people were killed and many more injured. As order crumbled throughout northern India and Bengal, pressure mounted from those who desired a political partition of the former colony as a means of avoiding further unrest.

Prior to 1946, the definition of Pakistan in the Muslim League's demands was so vague that it could be understood both as a separate state and as a member of the Indian Confederation.

Some historians believe that Jinnah intended to use the threat of partition as a trade item to gain greater independence from India for the Muslim-populated provinces in western British India.

Other historians claim that Jinnah actually saw Pakistan extending even into areas where Hindus were in the majority. At the very least, Jinnah put a lot of effort into annexing Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim principality, as well as Hyderabad and Junagadh, principalities with a predominantly Hindu population but Muslim rulers.

The British colonial administration did not have direct authority over the entire territory of British India: the provinces were ruled directly by the British authorities, and the "principalities" - on the basis of numerous power-sharing agreements between them and the British. The British colonial administration consisted of the Secretary of State for India, the Indian Administration (India Office), the Governor General of India and the Indian Civil Service (Indian Civil Service). The registered political parties were the following: All India Muslim League, Communist Party of India, Hindu Mahasabha, Indian National Congress, Khaksar Tehreek and Unionist Muslim League (the latter was active mainly in Punjab).

2. Section 1947

The two separate countries legally came into being at midnight on August 15, 1947. The transfer of power ceremony was held the day before in Karachi, which at that time became the capital of the newly formed Dominion of Pakistan, due to which British Viceroy Louis Mountbatten was able to attend the ceremony in both Karachi and Delhi. Another reason was that the emergence of Pakistan did not look like its separation from sovereign India. Therefore, Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, while India celebrates on August 15. Another reason - purely technical - is that Pakistani time is 30 minutes behind Indian time, so at the time of signing the act in Pakistan it was still August 14, and in India it was already August 15.

2.1. Mountbatten plan

The actual partition between the two new dominions was carried out in accordance with the "June 3rd Plan", also known as the Mountbatten Plan.

The border between India and Pakistan was determined based on the report of the British government commission and was originally called the "Redcliffe line" (after the London lawyer Cyril Radcliffe). Pakistan arose as two unconnected enclaves - East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan proper), between which lay India. Pakistan was formed from territories inhabited predominantly by Muslims, and India - predominantly by Hindus.

On July 18, 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, which completed the formal division. The Government of India Act 1935 was amended to create the legal basis for the existence of the two new dominions. After partition, Pakistan became a new member of the UN. The Indian union, formed from states with a predominance of Hinduism, adopted the name India, which automatically gave it the right to inherit the seat of British India (UN member since 1945) in the UN and become its successor.

625 principalities were given the opportunity to choose which of the two countries to join.

2.2. Section Geography: Redcliffe Line

Before the Boundary Commission began formal hearings, governments were appointed for the eastern and western parts of the Punjab. The territory of the British province was temporarily divided, based on the predominance of the Hindu or Muslim population in the districts. In both Punjab and Bengal, the Boundary Commission consisted of two Muslim and two non-Muslim judges, chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The purpose of the Punjab Commission was formulated as follows: “To demarcate the boundaries between the two parts of the Punjab, based on the definition of areas with a predominance of Muslim and non-Muslim population. In carrying out this task, other factors should also be taken into account.” Each of the parties (Muslims and Congress/Sikhs) put forward their demands through a council that did not have the right to make decisions. The judges also did not have a mandate to compromise and on all important issues they voted two votes to two, leaving Cyril Radcliffe in charge of making decisions.

2.3. Mass migrations of the population

Immediately after the official partition, a massive "population exchange" began between the two states, which lasted several months. After the official borders were established, about 14.5 million people crossed them, hoping to find relative safety among their fellow believers. According to the 1951 Displaced Persons Census, shortly after partition, 7,226,000 Muslims moved to Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh) from India, while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh). About 11.2 million people or 78% of the total population exchange took place in the west, mostly in the Punjab; 5.3 million Muslims moved from India to West Punjab in Pakistan, 3.4 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan to East Punjab in India.

The newly formed governments were completely unprepared to deal with migrations of this magnitude, leading to widespread violence on both sides of the border. The number of victims, according to various estimates, fluctuates around 500 thousand (according to the minimum estimates - 200 thousand, according to the maximum - about 1 million).

2.4. Punjab

The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947 when, under the Partition of India, the former province of British India Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan. The Muslim western part of the province became the Pakistani province of Punjab, and the eastern part, populated mainly by Hindus and Sikhs, became the Indian state of Punjab. Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims in the east, which caused mass migration and bloody clashes during the partition. Lahore and Amritsar were at the heart of the conflict, the British did not know whether to make them part of India or Pakistan. In the end, they decided that both cities were part of Pakistan, but due to the lack of sufficient border control, Amritsar became part of India, and Lahore of Pakistan.

2.5. Bengal

The former province of British India, Bengal, was divided into two parts. West Bengal went to India and East Bengal to Pakistan. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1955 and became the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971.

Sindhi Hindus were expected to remain in Sindh after partition, as there had traditionally been good relations between Hindus and Sindhi Muslims. By the time of partition, there were about 1.4 million Hindu Sindhis in Sindh, most of whom lived in cities such as Hyderabad, Karachi, Shikarpur and Sukhur. However, within just a year, about 1.2 million of them were forced to leave their homes and go to India, as attacks on Hindu homes increased as Muslim migrants from Hindu regions arrived in Sindh. Sindhi Hindus suffered the most from the partition, as they lost not only their homes, but also their homeland (unlike the Punjabis, who traditionally lived both on the lands of the future Pakistan and on the lands of the future Hindu state).

3. Refugees

3.1. Punjabi refugees in Delhi

An estimated 25 million people - Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs (according to 1947) - crossed the new borders to find themselves in "their" territories. Estimates are based on comparisons between 1941 and 1951 censuses adjusted for population growth in areas of migration.

The city of Delhi received the largest number of refugees compared to other cities - the population of Delhi grew over the period 1941-1951 from 1 to almost 2 million (Indian censuses of 1941 and 1951). Refugees were settled in various historical and military sites, such as the Old Fort of Purana Qila, the Red Fort, in the military barracks in Kingsway (near the present Delhi University).

Later, more and more permanent houses began to appear in the refugee camps due to the large-scale construction program launched by the Government of India from 1948. Programs were also launched to educate refugees, provide them with jobs, cheap loans to start their businesses, etc. However, refugees in Delhi have benefited much more from these programs than refugees elsewhere.

3.2. Refugees settled in India

Many Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus settled in the Hindu parts of Punjab and Delhi. Hindus originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) settled in East India and North East India, many settled in neighboring states such as West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. Some migrants were sent to the Andaman Islands.

The Hindus of Sindhi were left without a homeland. Their government assumed responsibility for their rehabilitation. Refugee camps were set up for them. However, not a single Sindhi Hindu received the slightest help from the Government of India, and many never received any compensation from the Indian Government.

Many refugees have coped with the "trauma" of poverty. The loss of the homeland, however, had a deeper and more lasting effect on the culture of Sindhi, it can be said that in India it is in decline.

In late 2004, the Sindhi diaspora opposed in a public litigation in the Supreme Court of India to petition the government of India to remove the word "Sindh" from the Indian national anthem (composed by Rabindranath Tagore before partition) on the grounds that it infringed upon the sovereignty of Pakistan.

3.3. Refugees settled in Pakistan

The refugees who arrived in Pakistan - where they were called Muhajirs - came from various regions of India. In particular, a significant number of Punjabis from East Punjab arrived there, fleeing the riots. Despite economic difficulties, difficult living conditions, the Punjabis in Pakistan did not experience problems with cultural and linguistic assimilation - on the contrary, Punjabis still make up an influential majority in Pakistan, although their language has received not a state, but only a regional status. On the other hand, Muslims who came to Pakistan from other parts of India - present-day Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Hyderabad, etc., faced similar problems. The descendants of these non-Punjabi refugees in Pakistan often consider themselves Muhajir, while assimilated Punjabi refugees no longer make this political distinction. Large numbers of Punjabi refugees settled in Sindh, especially in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad. They are united by their refugee status and their native language Urdu, and form a significant political force in Sindh. In the 1970s to support the interests of refugees and their descendants, the Muhajir movement was formed. Over time, the movement acquired supporters from the local population and was renamed the Muttahid Qaumi Movement; it is currently the most influential liberal party in Pakistan.

4. Consequences

4.1. India and Pakistan

Partition caused widespread violence, but despite this, India and Pakistan made efforts to improve relations. One of the biggest disputes was over Kashmir:

· The first Indo-Pakistani war in 1947: with the support of Pakistani troops, tribal leaders organized an invasion of Kashmir, which had previously been ceded to India by the decision of the ruler of the principality, Hari Singh, despite the fact that the majority of the population of the principality were Muslims. The UN decision did not satisfy either side.

· The Second Indo-Pakistani War of 1965: armed groups, supported by Pakistani troops, invaded the Indian part of Kashmir. The result is mixed, with most sources saying India won.

· The third Indo-Pakistani war of 1971: after India supported the supporters of the independence of Bangladesh, which broke away from Pakistan, the latter launched air raids on India in response. In response, India seized 13,000 sq. km of Pakistani territory, which were later returned as a gesture of goodwill.

· Kargil war: May-July 1999, Pakistani troops and militants invaded the Indian part of Kashmir, when posts were not set up high in the mountains. India has reclaimed all the lost territory.

The nuclear arms race continues between India and Pakistan.

4.2. International relationships

Partition failed to end the enmity between Hindus and Muslims. Over a million Bengali Hindus and Muslims were killed by Pakistani troops during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. Hindus living in Pakistan are being persecuted (see Hinduism in Pakistan, Lahore Temple Demolition 2006). On the other hand, Muslims in India are repeatedly subjected to violence by Hindus: the 2002 clashes in Gujarat are a typical case.

4.3. Current religious demographics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Despite massive migrations during and after partition, the secular and federal state of India still has the third largest Muslim population in the world (after Indonesia and Pakistan). In Bangladesh and Pakistan, also formed as a result of the partition, the percentage of minorities is significantly smaller.

India (population 1095 million according to 2006 estimates compared to 361 million according to the 1951 census)

80.5% Indian (839 million)

13.10% Muslim (143 million)

2.31% Christian (25 million)

2.00% Sikhs (21 million)

1.94% Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, etc. (20 million)

Pakistan (2005 est. 162 million compared to 34 million in 1951 census)

98.0% Muslim (159 million)

1.0% Christian (1.62 million)

1.0% Hindus, Sikhs and others (1.62 million)

Bangladesh (2005 est. 144 million compared to 42 million in 1951 census)

86% Muslim (124 million)

13% Indians (18 million)

1% Christians, Buddhists and animists (1.44 million)

5. Image in art

A huge amount of historical literature was written about the partition of India, as well as many works of fiction (novels, stories, poems, poems, plays) in which the pain and horror of the events were reflected.

Bibliography:

1. Bharadwaj, Prashant, Khwaja, Asim Ijaz and Mian, Atif R., "The Big March: Migration Flows after the Partition of India" . Available at SSRN.

2. Sword For Pen, TIME Magazine April 12, 1937

3. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Sikkim.

4. Nasim Yousaf: Hidden Facts Behind British India's Freedom: A Scholarly Look into Allama Mashraqi and Quaid-e-Azam's Political Conflict

5. V.D.Savarkar, Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya Hindu Rasthra Darshan (Collected works of V.D.Savarkar) Vol VI, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 296

6. Jalal Ayesha Jalal The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, The Muslim League and the Demand Pakistan. - Cambridge University Press, 1985.

7. Thomas RGC, Nations, States, and Secession: Lessons from the Former Yugoslavia, Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 5 Number 4 Fall 1994, pp. 40-65, Duke University Press

8. (Spate 1947, pp. 126-137)

9. Death toll in the partition

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