Why the Partition was a good thing

It is understandable that a lot of Hindus regret the partitioning of India. They tend to view it as a sellout by Gandhi. For which reason, he got assassinated.

But looking back, I think it was a good thing to have happened, for India's own good. I have only two regrets regarding the Partition :-

1. It was done in haste, literally uprooting families overnight, which resulted in great hardships to so many families on both sides, with an uncountable number of deaths, and starvation. This probably exacerbated the bitterness Hindus and Muslims had for each other. If some amount of planning had been done (with the help of Mountbatten who was the Viceroy overseeing the independence), the partition could have been accomplished in a phased manner over a period of 3 months or so, with less trauma for everyone concerned.

2. We should have either surrendered Kashmir, or held on to it with no strings attached. I would have preferred the former. Nehru made a grave mistake by going to the UN towards the end of the first Indo-Pak war, and accepting to hold a plebiscite for the people of Kashmir, when there was no compelling reason to have done that. The repercussions of that action haunt us to this day.

But the main point of the article is that the Partition was a blessing in disguise for India. Why? The answer is simple - it relieved the stress of two incompatible civilizations attempting to co-exist.

If the Partition had not happened, India would have spiraled into anarchy the same way a lot of Muslim countries have in recent years. And it would have dragged the rest of the population (Hindus, Jains, Christians) along with it.

Now many might consider the above statement preposterous and presumptuous. I might be accused of endorsing stereotypes regarding Islam and Muslims. But those who really believe that Hindus and Muslims (in large numbers, had there been no Partition) can co-exist are just living in a fool's paradise.

I am sure a lot of people (both Muslims and non-Muslims) are of the opinion that Islam is a peaceful religion per se and the Koran doesn't preach violence contrary to stereotypes. Maybe so. I do not wish to get into theological arguments about Islam. It is rather pointless. Instead one should go by what history has taught us regarding Islamic states. Just look at our close neighbours - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan etc., and the pathetic state they are in. Had the first two been still part of India, it would have surely tested our very existence as a democratic nation. Major riots, if not a full-blown civil war, would have occurred from time to time, and the only way to deal with that would have been a heavy-handed dictatorship.

It is a fact that democracy doesn't work in countries with a significant Islamic population. India is now proud to have had 60 years of uninterrupted democracy (if one could gloss over the excesses of the Emergency). I do not think this would have happened had there been a greater proportion of Muslims. And the separatist movement in Baluchistan would have been India's problem.

And crime rates in major cities would have been much higher. It is also an undisputed fact that Muslims are already over-represented in organized crime in India. Even though Islam prescribes stringent punishment for crimes such as robbery, extortion, murder, and so on, for some perverse reason, it is Muslims who seem to engage in such crimes more than other followers. Had there been no Partition, Mumbai would have become another Karachi, the latter known for its lawlessness and sky-high crime rates.

And the economy would have gone down the toilet. Just like Bangladesh or even Pakistan. The latter's economy is viable only because of heavy aid from the US.

If you are lucky enough to survive in such a situation, you can kiss your fundamental rights and freedom of speech goodbye. For, as I mentioned earlier, the only way to keep the country from spiraling into total anarchy (like Iraq) would be an iron-handed (Hindu) dictatorship. Which is bad in itself.

Actually, I would go on to say that the Partition alone is not enough. India should cut off all diplomatic ties with Pakistan. For those who question why, remember that there is a war of attrition between India and Pakistan happening as of now. This is causing a drain on our country's resources, not to mention innumerable loss of lives of our soldiers. One cannot shake hands as well as engage in a sword-fight at the same time.

And there is very compelling evidence that the ISI was responsible for the Mumbai train blasts. We cannot sit back doing nothing about it.

And the bombing of the Samjhauta Express is just a grim reminder of what would happen with trying to establish "normal" relations between the two countries. Lets face it, this isn't the Eurorail. We are talking of two countries with disparate, incompatible cultures with mutual hatred spanning centuries. Trying to "bridge" the gap is asking for trouble. Big time.