Revolutions Case

The 20th century has witnessed an enormous amount of destruction, revolutions and changes in the lives of regular human beings. The use of atom bombs, the invention of Henry Ford's Model T and the economic rise of many different powers exemplify the pace of the 20th century. However, one of the biggest events (or revolution to some) was the split of India into two (eventually 3) parts. India, known for its richness in culture, traditions and history split into two, with the creation of Pakistan. The partition of India and Pakistan "was accompanies by the largest mass migration in human history of some 10 million," (Bates, Hidden Story of the Partition, BBC). Currently, Pakistan is heard all over television stations and online reports, with the main concern of it harboring international terrorism, alongside its border with neighbor Afghanistan. What many people are not informed of, are the milestones that led to the state's current predicament. A nation that started off fairly secular, with a thriving middle class economy, is now almost in ruins filled with corruption, poverty and in some areas terrorism. The examination of a country who even still has been mostly secular, to a country that thrived on military dictatorship and corruption is not understood in the western world. Pakistan today has changed from what it once was, and what it was intended to be.

Firstly, it is important to examine what led to the creation of Pakistan. The British Empire had ruled India for over 300 years, with their expanding empire, which eventually led them to India. Prior to the invasion of the British, Hindus, an overwhelming majority, coexisted with the Muslims quite peacefully and vice versa. However, during the turn of the 20th century, more problems erupted between the two. "By the middle 1920's, those [relations] achieved a remarkable capacity to disrupt the course of social and political life," (Thursby, page 1). As the social issues grew between the leading majority, and the minority of Muslims, "Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League, wished the demand of a separate state," (Bates, Hidden Story of the Partition, BBC). Prior to this demand, Jinnah was a prime leader of Hindu-Muslim unity in India, as was his good friend Mohandas Gandhi. However, Jinnah and other representatives from the Indian Muslim community felt that the growing violence between the two would lead the Muslim minority to be in harm towards the overwhelming Hindu majority.

Continuing this further, this led to the eventual split between members of the Muslim League, who represented the Indian Muslims and the mainstream political parties of India. Gandhi called for Hindu-Muslim unity for a single state. Jinnah, however, called on for a separate state. Although it was Gandhi who preached for a single state, and Jinnah who called for a state based on theology, the placement of the two is quite misplaced. Gandhi used religion as a tool. Gandhi's, "influence over the Indian masses with 'Satyagrahah (representing the Hindu Peasants in clothing)," (Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi, www.bbc.org) showed his theology in practice, even though it was more idealistic than religious. Jinnah however, wanted religion to be absent from politics, and called on for a secular state of Pakistan. His fear of Muslims becoming second-class citizens, and possible victims of genocide, prompted his movement for the call for a secular state.

Currently, Pakistan does not follow the idealistic thought, which was once called the Republic of Pakistan. In, "1956 Pakistan [proclaimed] itself an Islamic Republic," (Pakistan profile, www.bbc.co.uk) under the military rule of General Ayyub Khan. This, itself, became Jinnah's most feared thought, as the country was slowly and steadily approaching an Islamic agenda. Sadly, Jinnah passed away a year after Pakistan's creation in 1948. However, the Pakistan of the 1950's