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Hasan Raza

Professor Sahaab Bader Sheikh

PAMSA 201

30 July 2024

Imagining Pakistan: The Colonial Legacy

The creation of Pakistan in 1947 is a historical event that continues to spark debate and

reflection. For decades, the narrative surrounding the partition of India has been shaped by

various political and historical perspectives, often overlooking the nuanced realities of the time.

Popular beliefs have been debunked, yet the marketed idea of Pakistan persists, making it

challenging to envision its origins differently. This essay aims to delve into the early politics of

India, focusing on the pivotal role of British intervention in fostering a divide that was arguably

artificial.

After the 1857 revolt, the British decided to formally step into Indian politics replacing

the company. The British, at that time, exercised India to its fullest, making use of resources

and strategic location for their wars across the globe. British exceptionalism was the new world

order which meant that they kept all the political power to themselves and would not let

Indians be a part of the civil bureaucracy. As for the economy, exports began to increase, and

the British would shift the gold standard from 1872-1893 which depreciated the value of Indian

currency. The divide and conquer strategy were employed again after the revolt with the British

giving concessions to princes and census was placed to reserve seats in the government for
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different castes of Muslims and Hindus. This pit religious communities against each other and

due to the varying degrees of colonial patronage, political identity became synonymous with

religion. The Morley-Minto reforms of 1905 institutionalized the separation between Hindus

and Muslims through separate electoral seats connecting them to the higher powers. This tactic

employed by the British also muzzled ideas for a united nationalist movement by fragmenting

Indian society. Despite the attempts to prevent any form of unity for Indians, there were

religious revivals that strengthened oppositions against the British impositions such as modern

medicine and the revision of the legal consent age.

With the Muslims struggling with the idea of modernity with the British Raj, Sir Syed

Ahmed Khan put forth the idea to accept British education without their ideals. He did so with

the Aligarh Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, which allowed them to see the

British eye to eye and at the same time, guard Muslim ideals. The clash between tradition and

modernity (as Sir Syed was met with opposition by the Ummah, them sticking to the idea of a

global Muslim community) was a key point in the Muslim approach to community as Sir Syed

attempted to take advantage of the situation to raise a voice for the Muslims in the Indian

National Congress. While at this time anti-colonialism was on everyone’s mind in Congress, the

approaches towards liberation were based on the imposed majority-minority dynamic,” (Bose,

2017). The educated Hindu ’communal patriot’ had turned Hinduism into an effective symbol

for mass mobilization and Indian ’nationality’ but refused to give a quarter to the Muslims

unless the latter quietly shuffles off his individuality and becomes completely Hinduized.” The
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Muslims were further alienized during the Swadeshi Movement (1905-1908) when the refusal

of agrarian work led to poor Muslim peasants to revolt against the zamindars. Punjab was the

main center for Muslim support and in regions where Muslims were in minority, even weighted

seats were no use. To avoid Hindu majority in politics, many gave in to the idea of Pakistan out

of fear.

The first World War led to massive changes in the political atmosphere in India and the

high noon of colonialism began to show its cracks. The British began exploiting Indian economy

by pulling much of India’s financial reserves to boost theirs. This led to severe economic

repercussions and famines. However, it also led to a softer hand which allowed the Indians to

secure many of their local industries, primarily the textile industry. In 1919, in response to the

riots and protests, the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms aimed to give concessions to the Indians

by giving some power to regional leaders while keeping the main administrative powers in the

center. Despite this, the economic situation after the war made it difficult for the British to

maintain the fiscal states of colonial India. During this late 19th century, Gandhi entered the

political scene with peaceful, non-cooperation movements in response to the Montagu-

Chelmsford reforms and the Rowlatt Act. At the same time, there was deep unrest within the

Indian Muslims due to the British attitudes towards attacks towards their mosques. Fueled by

the Khilafat Movement, the Muslims joined forces with the idea of Gandhi’s Swaraj to pose a

real threat. Gandhi believed the Muslims to have as much right over the subcontinent and

united them in non-cooperation as a political tool with Muhammed Ali’s Khilafat movement to
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win seats in Congress in 1920. This unity, however, fell short as tensions started to bubble up

when in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the movement became more of Hindu purity socialism and

the Muslims had their Tablighs. While there have been attempts at Hindu-Muslim unity, it

rarely survives due to the lack of safety for the Muslim minorities. For this reason, there was

the All-Indian Muslim League led by Muhammed Ali Jinnah who aimed to cooperate with

Congress only after the voice of Muslims would be safeguarded. The security of the Muslim

minority had always been at risk and the risk of overwhelming majoritarianism from Congress

further exacerbated this need for a separate Muslim homeland.

The 2nd World War brought about inflation and shortage of commodities, sending

Bengal into a famine between 1943-1944. The British still refused to send food to the Indians,

which led to serious political confrontations and the Quit India movement in 1942, which the

Muslims participated in sparingly. The movement did affect the British and the terms of

independence were finally open to be discussed, causing ideas of unity to settle into division

and conflict for power. The creation of Pakistan was based on many factors and not just

Jinnah‘s Two Nation Theory as there had been contradictions in Congress and internal issues

that alienated most of the minorities. With Congress’s majoritarian tendencies and class

divisions within themselves, the Muslims began to seek political unity within regional powers as

the reforms gave more power to them. The All-India Muslim League played a minor role in

Muslim independence until the last moment as Muslims tried to grasp onto a unified front. The

Lucknow Agreement in 1916 had denied Muslims of popular representation which led to more

unrest. By 1934, Jinnah entered back into the League but gained minimal support even from
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Muslim majority areas. By aligning with causes that resonated broadly with Indian Muslims, the

League managed to maintain its relevance across different provinces.” The Cripps mission of

1942, offering provinces and not communities the right to opt out of the Indian union, nearly

succeeded in bringing out the basic contradictions in Jinnah’s demands.” (Bose, 2017). The

mission, however, succeeded in alienating the Muslims and non-Muslims. After this, the

strategy for the League was to capitalize of the fear of exclusion from power and play into the

economic interests of Muslims.

The creation of Pakistan was a complex event influenced by British colonial strategies,

economic exploitation, and religious fragmentation. British policies of divide and rule,

particularly through institutional reforms and separate electorates, deepened Hindu-Muslim

divides. Despite attempts at unity, deep-seated fears of majoritarianism and economic

exclusion drove Muslims towards seeking a separate homeland. The political maneuvering by

the All-India Muslim League and Jinnah capitalized on these fears, culminating in the partition.
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Bibliography

Bose, S., & Jalal, A. (2017). Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy (4th

ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315106076