Why Was There a Prtition in India in 1947

Why was there a partition in India In 1947?

To understand why there was a partition in India it is first important to understand the ongoing conflict between the Hindus and the Muslims that had been going on in India for centuries. The Muslims first started to expand into India in the years 712-14 at ‘The Conquest of Sind’ where the Arab Muslim general Muhammad Bin-Qasim conquered Sind and later conquered West Punjab up to the Kashmir foothills and advanced as far as Kanauj; and by around 1200 the Muslims had conquered most of India[1]. There was always separation between the Hindus and Muslims mostly because in traditional Hindu society there was a very strict hierarchical structure separated in ‘castes’ and a person’s caste is determined by his/her birth and cannot be changed [2] and all foreigners fall into the caste of the untouchables or ‘Malechha’ (barbarians) and are considered polluted [3]. A Hindu was allowed no interaction with anyone outside of his/her caste and was not allowed to marry outside of their caste; eat with anyone outside of their caste and attend social functions with anyone outside of their caste[4]. According to the Muslim scholar Al-Biruni who visited India and wrote extensively about India and its people and history said that (when referring to Hindu views on foreigners): ‘All their fanaticism is directed against those who do not belong to them – against all foreigners. They call them Malechha, i.e. impure and forbid having any connection with them, be it by inter-marriage or by any other kind of relationship, or by sitting, eating or drinking with them, because thereby they would be polluted. They would consider as impure anything which touches the fire and water of a foreigner… They are not allowed to receive anybody who does not belong to them even if he wished it or is inclined to their religion. This renders connection between them quite impossible’ [5]. Therefore, the unwillingness of the Hindus to accommodate any outsiders as...