The journey towards independence and partition in the Indian was marked by complex political negotiations, socio-religious tensions, and the culmination of decades of struggle against British colonial rule. This period witnessed the emergence of key leaders, the partition of British India, and the birth of two separate nations, India and Pakistan.

Demand of Muslim League

Muslim League Resolution: In 1940, the Muslim League had moved a resolution demanding “Independent States” for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country. The resolution did not mention partition or Pakistan. 

• Independent Muslim States: The League asked for an autonomous arrangement for the Muslims of the subcontinent because  from the late 1930s, the League began viewing the Muslims as a separate “nation” from the Hindus. 
• Development of Fear: In developing this notion it may have been influenced by the history of tension between some Hindu and Muslim groups in the 1920s and 1930s and more importantly, the result of provincial elections of 1937. 
• Congress-League Government Rejection: It feared that Muslims may even go unrepresented. The Congress’s rejection of the League’s desire to form a joint Congress-League government in the United Provinces in 1937 also annoyed the League. 
• Failure of Congress: The Congress’s failure to mobilise the Muslim masses in the 1930s allowed the League to widen its social support. 
• Congress Leaders in Jail: However, while the Congress leaders languished in jail, Jinnah and his colleagues worked patiently at expanding their influence. 
• League’s Expansion in Punjab and Sindh: It was in these years that the League began to make a mark in the Punjab and Sind, provinces where it had previously had scarcely any presence.

• Attempt to Bridge Congress-League Gap: In June 1944, with the end of the war in sight, Gandhiji was released from prison and held a series of meetings with Jinnah, seeking to bridge the gap between the Congress and the League.

Wavell Plan

Commitment to Independence: At the end of the war in 1945, a Labour government came to power in Britain and committed itself to granting independence to India. 

• Viceroy Lord Wavell’s Talks: Meanwhile, back in India, the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, brought the Congress, the League, together for a series of talks but failed because the League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of India’s Muslims. 
• Congress’s Rejection of League’s Claim: The Congress could not accept this claim since a large number of Muslims still supported it. 
• Provincial Elections Results: In 1946, elections to the provinces, the Congress did well in the “General” constituencies but the League’s success in the seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular.  
• Persistence of Demand for Pakistan: The political polarisation was complete. It persisted with its demand for “Pakistan”.

Cabinet Mission

Formation of Mission: In March 1946 the British cabinet sent a three-member mission (generally called Cabinet Mission) to Delhi to examine this demand and to agree on a federal system that would keep India together while allowing the provinces a degree of autonomy. 

• Proposal for Federal System: But it could not get the Congress and the Muslim League to agree to specific details of the proposal. 
• Direct Action Day: After the talks broke down, Jinnah called for a “Direct Action Day” on 16 August 1946. 
• Riots in Calcutta: On the designated day, riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several days and resulting in the death of thousands of people. 
• Violence Spreading: By March 1947 violence spread to Bihar, and then across the country to the United Provinces and the Punjab. 
• Forced Migration and Refugee Crisis: Many hundred thousand people were killed and numerous women had to face untold brutalities during the partition. Millions of people were forced to flee their homes. 
• Tragic Consequences of Partition: Torn asunder from their homelands, they were reduced to being refugees in alien lands.

Mountbatten Plan

Replacement of Viceroy Wavell with Lord Mountbatten: In February 1947, Wavell was replaced as Viceroy by Lord Mountbatten and Mountbatten called one last round of talks, but when these too proved inconclusive he announced that British India would be freed, but also divided. 

• Formal Transfer of Power: The formal transfer of power was fixed for 15 August. 
• Independence Day on 15 August: The day was celebrated with gusto in different parts of India.
• Invocation of Mahatma Gandhi: In Delhi, the President of the Constituent Assembly began the meeting by invoking the Father of the Nation – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 

The Last Heroic Days

Gandhi’s Absence on Independence Day: Mahatma Gandhi was not present at the festivities in the capital on 15 August 1947. 

• He was in Calcutta and marked the day with a 24-hour fast. 
• Congress Resolution on Minority Rights: At the initiative of Gandhiji and Nehru, the Congress now passed a resolution on “the rights of minorities”.
• Congress’s Rejection of Two-Nation Theory: The Congress had never accepted the “two-nation theory” but was forced against its will to accept Partition. 
  • It still believed that “India is a land of many religions and many races, and must remain so”. 
• Gandhi’s Role in Promoting Peace: Whatever be the situation in Pakistan, India would be “a democratic secular State where all citizens enjoy full rights and are equally entitled to the protection of the State, irrespective of the religion to which they belong”. 
  • The Congress wished to “assure the minorities in India that it will continue to protect, to the best of its ability, their citizen rights against aggression”. 
• Hope for Unity and Friendship: He also permitted himself the hope “that though geographically and politically India is divided into two, at heart we shall ever be friends and brothers helping and respecting one another and be one for the outside world”.

Gandhi’s Death

At his daily prayer meeting on the evening of 30 January, Gandhiji was shot dead by a young man named Nathuram Godse. 

• Tributes from Political Leaders: Gandhiji’s death led to an extraordinary outpouring of grief, with rich tributes being paid to him from across the political spectrum in India, and moving appreciations coming from such international figures as George Orwell and Albert Einstein. 
• Changing Perceptions of Gandhi: Time magazine, which had once mocked his physical size and seemingly non-rational ideas, now compared his martyrdom to that of Abraham Lincoln. 

Conclusion

Despite Congress efforts and Gandhi’s leadership, socio-religious tensions and the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan led to partition. The Mountbatten Plan divided British India, creating a refugee crisis and marring independence with violence. 

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