Sashi Tharoor's outburst against the British, reminds me of our tendency to put the blame for all the miseries of modern India on our English speaking prior occupiers. Many still believe that the British caused the partition of Indian subcontinent. I think, the barrier between the two major communities Hindu and Muslims already existed. The seed of hatred was sown long before the English left, only to be born at the time of their departure. A turbulent pregnancy, only led to the delivery of non-identical twins of Hindustan and Pakistan. It would have happened anyway, British probably sired it and left at the time of delivery. In that context let me present an alternate Indian history, post British relinquishing India.
The eminent Indian writer Khushwant Singh in his autobiography, has written several pages about his stay in Lahore during the pre-partition days and the communal riots that would follow. He was working as a lawyer in Lahore, which was arguably most vibrant city of North India at that time. No one anticipated the vicious communal riots that followed partition (in fact Jinnah offered Khushwant the position of Chief Justice of Lahore High court, thinking that Hindus and Sikhs would be living in Pakistan post partition. It of course never happened ).
Per K. Singh, mental partition existed between the Muslims and Hindu-Sikh community in Punjab, long before the actual partition happened. During his student days in Government College, Lahore, much before the demand for Pakistan got any traction, the Muslim students had their separate mess, cricket and hockey teams. They stayed within themselves, rarely intermingled with their Hindu-Sikh counterparts. Inside the city, except the perfunctory mixing during business transactions, social gatherings of marriages or death, suspicions and rumors galore between the communities.
In the court where Khushwant worked as a lawyer, a Muslim would trust a Muslim lawyer, a Hindu or Sikh otherwise. If the judge happens to be a Hindu or Sikh his decision would invariably go in the favor of their community, same with a Muslim judge. The Muslim dominated Punjab police was openly partisan in West Punjab, the Hindu-Sikh law enforcers sided with their brethren in the eastern part. Khushwant Singh had a close Muslim friend. The environment was so polarized that the unusual friendship between a Sikh and Muslim became the talk of the town.
Considering these circumstances, the partition would have happened anyway. Imagine an alternate history. Nehru agrees to Gandhi's proposal and M A Jinnah is sworn in as the first Prime minister of Independent, undivided India. Soon in a few months he dies of terminal tuberculosis he was long ailing but religiously kept secret (though a pork eating, scotch imbibing Jinnah was hardly religious). Nehru soon fulfills his ambition and is sworn in the 2nd Prime Minister. The contiguous majority areas of present Pakistan and Bangladesh becomes perennial trouble spots. Killing of Hindus and Sikhs in Muslim majority areas is swiftly retaliated in Hindu - Sikh majority areas. The cycles of violence continues unabated, refusing to go away like a stubborn migraine.
British hastily partitioned the nation and left. But they were no more in charge. Nehru dilly dallies to maintain his secular image, thinking that the animosity will miraculously end. But it kept getting worse. Violence goes beyond redemption. Fissures in military, which was the last citadel of discipline, begins to show up along communal lines, A Sikh in Ambala cantonment gets the news of his wife and sister raped and parents roasted alive in Rawalpindi.He goes berserk, killing a dozen of his Muslim colleagues on a shooting spree. Muslims retaliate accordingly.
Mutiny in mililary takes place in Lahore and Dhaka. Gandhijee's fasting and PADYATRA (walking trips) to bolster the communal harmony hardly helps. He is assassinated by a Hindu fanatic (it actually happened). Soon United Nations steps in and urges to hasten the partition. A reluctant Nehru has no option but to oblige. In the year 1957, 10 year after getting its independence and tons of bloodshed India, gets partitioned, with the auspices UN Peace keeping force. The Army general who spearheaded the Muslim revolt was sworn as the first President of Pakistan and ruled them with Iron hand for a long time. India still continued as a democracy but the bad blood refused to wash away.
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