Key Figures and Events in Indian Independence and Partition

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Assassinated in 1948 by the RSS

Jawaharlal Nehru

Indian statesman. He succeeded Mohandas K. Gandhi as leader of the Indian National Congress. He negotiated the end of British colonial rule in India and became India's first prime minister (1947-1964).

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Indian Muslim politician who founded the state of Pakistan. A lawyer by training, he joined the All-India Muslim League in 1913. As leader of the League from the 1920s on, he negotiated with the British/INC for Muslim Political Rights

Sarojni Naidu

A poet and Congress leader, was a strong advocate for women's rights and Hindu-Muslim unity, she was not a key decision maker in Partition. From Hyderabad

Abul Kalam Azad

President of Congress from 1940-46. Muslim against partition and two-nation theory. Thought that Hindus and Muslims could live together in an independent India. Became Union of India's minister of education

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

An ideologue of Hindu Nationalism and formulated the idea of Hindutva. Influenced groups like the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha which opposed Muslim wish for Pakistan

Cyril Radcliffe

A British lawyer who was appointed all responsibility to divide borderlines between India and Pakistan (did a terrible job in 5 weeks)

B.R. Ambedkar

An anti caste leader and architect of the Indian Constitution and supported seperate electorates for Dalits and was ambivalent about partition. Argued Muslim separatism had deep roots and criticized Congress' majoritarian tendencies

Sardar Patel

Popularly known as the Iron Man of India. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. A statesman of integrity, he played a quintessential role in helping India garner independence from the British rule. Prioritized administrative efficiency over humanitarian concerns such as refugee resettlement and communal policing.

Viceroy Mountbatten

viceroy of India with a command to oversee the British withdrawal. Accelerated the withdrawal deadline from June 1948 to August 15, 1947. Remained India's first Govenor-General until June 1948

Subhash Chandra Bose

Leader of the Indian National Army (INA). Had support of Nazis and Japan aimed to liberate India through armed force. Influenced revolutionary thought in both India and Pakistan.

Sa'adat Hasan Manto

A celebrated Urdu short story writeer who chronicled fiction on the human cost of Partition. Wrote Toba Tek Singh and Khol Do, as accounts of trauma during Partition. Faced censorship

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

A revolutionary Urdu poet from Pakistan and wrote on sorrow, lost, and betrayal of Partition. Supportive of Pakistani founding ideals, but was critical of political trajectory and authoritarianism.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Was a Pashtun freedom fighter and leader of the nonviolent Khudai Khidmatgar. Opposed partition and was later marginalized in Pakistan,

Muslim League

an organization formed in 1906 to protect the interests of India's Muslims, which later proposed that India be divided into separate Muslim and Hindu nations

Indian National Congress

A movement and political party founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government. Its membership was middle class, and were perceived as Hindu-Majoritarian by Muslim leaders

(RSS) Rashtriya Svayam Sevak Sangh

Right wing nationalist Hindu Org. founded in 1925 and the longest running fascist org in the world, RSS envisioned India as country exclusively for HIndus and assassinated Gandhi

Unionist Party

Secular party in Punjab led by landlords supported by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and resisted both Congress and Muslim league but collapsed under communal pressure by the 1947 elections

Hindu Mahasabh

Conversative Hindu nationalist party that opposed both the Muslim league and Congress seculaism. Against Pakistan and also resisted Muslim political aspirations and fostered majoritarian ideologies.

Akali Dal

A Sikh political party meaning "Army of the Immortals" who demanded more Sikh control in the Punjab region/separate Sikh homeland.

Khasars

A Muslim paramilitary movement founded by Allama Mashriqi, the Khasars aimed to create a disciplined Muslim society. Supported independence but opposed Jinnah and the League's idea of Pakistan

Kudai Khidmatgar

Red Shirts, this nonviolent Pashtun movement led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan opposed both British rule and Partition. Allined with Congress and suffered greatly during and after Partition.

Persian (Farsi)

Court and literary language of the Mughal Empire and earlier Muslim dynasties in South Asia for over 6 centuries. Was replaced by English by Britain in 19th century

Hindi

Modern standardized form is written in Devanagari script and became official language of the Indian Union after independence.

Urdu

A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s. Evolved in North India and was declared Pakistan's National lang. after Partition. Language tensions in East Pakistan as Bangla spoke Bengali.

Punjabi

language spoken mostly in rural Pakistan and seldom written down. Was mother tongue of many affected by Partition's violence.

Bengali

Major language of Bengal, this region split into West Bengal and East Pakistan in 1947. Deep Hindu and Muslim contributions after partition the imposition of Urdu as Pakistan's national lang. led to massive protests in East Pakistan.

English

Language of administration, higher ed, and elite political discourse in colonial India after British conquest. Lingua Franca between movements.