Showing posts with label detail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label detail. Show all posts

Saturday, 17 November 2012

Events that Led to the Partition of 1947 - In Detail


Imperial Entities of India

You must be thinking that going into too much detail does not suit my blog aim; I agree to that but it is necessary that we Pakistanis should know how Pakistan came into being. If you don't have much time hover over to the end of the post and click any of the two links to know the history in a narrative form or google for a video that explains all.

These are the major events that took place and contributed in the creation of two sovereign states of Pakistan and India.

June, 1757 – Battle of Plassey 

The Battle of Plassey established the British East India Company's dominance over the Indian subcontinent.  The Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal and installed a puppet ruler, enabling British business ventures in the region and allowing The Company to control trade from the national to the local level.  The Company operated its trade out of Mumbai, which grew to be the commercial centre of India.

1857 - War of Independence - End of the Great Mughal Empire


August 2, 1858 – British Parliament passes India Act

Because the Company controlled most of India by 1858, the India Act effectively transferred that control to the British crown.  This period of British rule is often referred to as the Raj. In the two years prior to the India Act, the Indian people mounted a bloody rebellion, but were ultimately defeated.  Throughout the British colonization, tensions ran high between the European power and the conquered Asian nation.

Great Britain prospered greatly from their colonization of India.  To keep money flowing into the British economy, the imperial power imposed regulations and taxes that stifled Indian industrial and commercial growth.

Approximately two fifths of the subcontinent remained outside British rule, though the ruling independent principalities typically cooperated with British if offered economic incentives.  

1885 – Indian National Congress is founded

The Indian National Congress was often able to govern the subcontinent by consensus.  However, in the years leading up to independence, the administrative body was split by factionalism.

1906 – The Muslim League is founded

The Muslim League was founded in 1906 to give a voice to under-represented Muslims, who, at the time, comprised approximately 20 percent of the population.