India's Partition: Process, Strategy and Mobilization (Oxford in India Readings: Themes in Indian History)

A collection of essays analyzing the events leading to the partition of India and to the birth of Pakistan, this book argues against the theory that "Muslim separatism" was the cause behind the cataclysmic event, India's partition, and the subsequent birth of the two nations. Hasan outlines the reasons behind the sudden rise of the Muslim League from a relatively insignificant position to that of being the strongest representative of the Muslim community in India. He ascribes it to a series of miscalculations on the part of the ministries with the League and its claim of being the sole mouthpiece of the Indian Nationalist opinion. The first four chapters of the book include extracts from the speeches and writings of Nehru, Jinnah, Azad, and Gandhi. Then there are essays, by noted historians in the field, which look at issues such as the political representation of Muslims; the organization and groups and of the rural elite in local and national level politics; the constitutional design and personal charisma of Jinnah in relation to the demand for Pakistan; and the rejection of "community consciousness" among Muslims as the driving force behind the formation of Pakistan.