India-Pakistan Partition: Lahore... The history of this city is tumultuous. From Ghaznavids, Mongols, Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs to the British. This city has changed its attire dozens of times over a thousand years. Battles, attacks, riots... This city has been ravaged repeatedly, though those who ravaged its soil have faded into history; yet, the city has preserved its zest. Hence, they say, this is not just a city, it's an addiction, with an intoxicating spirit in its air.
Writer Asghar Wajahat, by naming his play ‘Jin Lahore Nai Vekhya O Janmya Hi Nai’ (One who hasn’t seen Lahore isn’t born), attempted to bring back the essence of Lahori culture, kinship, and affection that seemingly dried up during the partition. Asghar Wajahat wasn't alone, writers like Rajendra Bedi, Krishan Chander, and Saadat Hasan Manto have also portrayed the human emotions during the country's division in their works.
In 1947, Sir Cyril Radcliffe drew lines on the map of undivided India, and along with it, marked creases in the lives of millions that never faded. For those whose mornings began with prayers in Amritsar and evenings in the markets of Lahore, the mere distance of 50 kilometers became an everlasting journey. This divide kept festering as a wound in history.
The Shared History of Punjab Split in Two
On August 17, 1947, it was formally declared that Lahore was separated from Punjab. It's said that at that time, no complete city was coming to Pakistan's share, so Lahore fulfilled that gap. Along with this, Punjab's shared history split into two, giving rise to the terms Chadde Punjab and Lehnde Punjab. To Hindi speakers, understanding its meaning can be a bit challenging. Lehnde Punjab refers to Pakistan's Punjab, while Chadde Punjab refers to the portion of Punjab that came to India.
What is the script behind the separation of Lahore from Punjab? Who are its characters? Let’s flip through those documents when history was writing our current story.
Lahore is a beautiful city located on the banks of the Ravi and Wagah rivers. The mention of Lahore brings to mind Lord Ram's son Luv, who, according to legends, founded and nurtured this city. Then it brings to mind King Ranjit Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. If we talk about science, two Nobel laureates hailing from this city were connected with India – Dr. Har Gobind Khorana and Dr. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Now think, how did the passing of this shared heritage Lahore into Pakistan bring about feelings for the people of Punjab and India?
As soon as India began opposing British rule, Lahore due to its nature stood as its epicenter. It was the city from where the Congress declared the Complete Independence slogan. On December 31, 1929, the annual session of the All India Congress was held in the then capital of Punjab, Lahore. In this historic session, Congress prepared the declaration of ‘Complete Independence’ and declared it as its main goal.
Lahore Became a Pivotal Point in the Indian Subcontinent
However, within 11 years, the Muslim League cemented its position in Indian politics. It's ironic that the Lahore where Congress demanded Complete Independence in 1929, the same Lahore saw the Muslim League present the Lahore Resolution on March 23-24, 1940. This resolution demanded autonomous and sovereign provinces for Muslims in the northwest and eastern part of British India. This very demand of the Muslim League soon emerged as a demand for a separate nation named Pakistan. Thus, Lahore had long become an originating point for the Indian subcontinent’s freedom even before independence.
In 1945, elections were held in Britain, resulting in Winston Churchill's defeat and the Labor Party's Attlee taking power. Consequently, elections were held in British India as well. By this time, it was clear that the Indian National Congress held the stance of complete independence for the entire India, where the center remained powerful. In contrast, the Muslim League was steadfast on the partition of India.
Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed, born in Lahore in 1947 and a political science professor in Sweden, states that
by this time, the Sikhs of Punjab had also clarified their stance. They didn’t want the partition of India based on religion, but if partition were to happen, they intended to join India with Sikh majority districts of Punjab.
According to Ishtiaq Ahmed, at that time in Punjab, out of 29 districts, 12 were non-Muslim majority.
The Government Was Formed with 88 Seats, Out of Which 86 Were Reserved for Muslims
In his book ‘The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned, and Cleansed’ published by Oxford University Press, Ishtiaq Ahmed extensively narrates the events of that time. Elections were held in Punjab, where the Legislative Assembly had 175 seats. Out of these, 86 seats were reserved for Muslims, while 88 seats were needed to form a government. At that time, Muslims constituted 57 percent of Punjab’s population. The question is, in an assembly where the government could be formed with 88 seats, how were 86 seats reserved for one community?
Source: aajtak
Winning this election was crucial for Congress to prove that the Muslim League did not represent Muslims, while the Muslim League needed to show the opposite. Ultimately, election results surfaced. Despite its claims, the Muslim League couldn't secure a majority but won 73 seats, reinforcing Jinnah's divisive intentions. Congress secured 50 seats, the Punjab Unionist Party got 18, and the Akali Dal, 23.
After negotiations, under Congress's help, Sir Khizr Tiwana of the Punjab Unionist Party formed a coalition government. However, this government struggled. During World War II, Congress didn't support the British government, while Jinnah and the Muslim League were favoring the British monarchy. Historian Ishtiaq Ahmed describes how the Muslim League exploited Muslim emotions in these elections, which were communally polarized. Slogans were raised against the family of the Sikh leader of the Punjab Unionist Party, Sir Khizr Tiwana.
During this time, another aspect emerged. Congress had already announced the end of Zamindari once independence was achieved, angering many landlords in Punjab and Bengal, who subsequently joined the Muslim League. Ishtiaq Ahmed mentions that during this election, India’s Communist Party sent their Muslim cadres to campaign in favor of the Muslim League, raising slogans of class struggle, promising liberation from Hindu and Sikh landowners in a socialist Islamic Pakistan.
Muslims of Lahore Refused to Acknowledge the Elected Government
The government was formed, but Lahore and the entire Punjab remained charged. Jinnah's inflammatory speeches, British conspiracies, and Muslims dreaming of an Islamic Pakistan kept Punjab smoldering. Punjab's Muslims swayed by the rhetoric of the Muslim League refused to acknowledge this government.
Source: aajtak
Within a year and a half, by 1947, the fate of the Indian subcontinent was to be decided. Before this, in August 1946, Jinnah gave the call for Direct Action Day, resulting in violent riots in Calcutta, Bihar, Noakhali in East Bengal, and Bombay. On January 24, 1947, the Muslim League declared peaceful protests in Punjab, urging its followers not to recognize the Khizr Tiwana government.
This call by the Muslim League had a widespread effect. Muslims took to the streets. Riots broke out, and numerous arrests followed. Lahore was beginning to simmer. Professor Ahmed candidly states that slowly the Muslims of Lahore started harassing Sikhs and Hindus. Panic and an unknown fear crept into the hearts of Hindus and Sikhs.
On February 20, 1947, Attlee’s government announced the transfer of power to Indians by June 1948. This heightened the excitement in cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Bombay, Calcutta, and Lahore.
Professor Ahmed notes that on February 24, 1947, a Muslim League procession surrounded a Sikh constable and killed him. Mob action had started in Punjab. What began as a political movement for the Muslim League turned into a purely religious agenda. On March 2, 1947, Sir Khizr Tiwana resigned. Being the capital of Punjab, Lahore was the center of all these activities.
Ishtiaq Ahmed states,
"On March 3, Sikh leader Master Tara Singh emerged from the Punjab Assembly. He shouted 'Death to Pakistan' and declared that they would never allow Pakistan to be made. He drew his sword. That evening, Sikh and Hindu leaders met in Lahore's Old Anarkali's Kuri Bazaar, proclaiming that they would not allow the formation of a Muslim League government in Punjab.'
Following Khizr Tiwana's resignation, the Governor once again invited the Muslim League to form a government.
Lahore Burnt on March 4, 1947
On March 4, 1947, Sikh and Hindu students gathered near a college in Lahore. The principal of Government College called the police. Police firing led to the deaths of several Hindu and Sikh students. By the evening of March 4, law and order in Lahore had crumbled. Rioters were acting at will. The Muslim League was fanning the flames. In several areas with Muslim minorities, they too were attacked. At that time, Lahore's population was 60% Muslim, with Sikhs and Hindus making up 40%. However, in wealth and assets, Sikhs and Hindus were affluent. Modern Lahore was a testament to the success stories of Hindu businessmen. During the riots, it wasn't as though all Muslims were attacking Hindus, or that Hindus were being attacked everywhere. Sometimes, stories emerged that bolstered faith in human brotherhood. For a few weeks, Lahore remained silent.
Riots erupted in Amritsar in April and by May, Lahore was once again ablaze. Ishtiaq Ahmed notes that
Muslim hooligans from Amritsar sent bangles and henna to Lahore’s Muslim thugs saying that while they were driving Hindus and Sikhs out, Lahore's Muslims were being idle.
Violence erupted again in Lahore. This time, prominent Hindus and Sikhs were targeted, including the family of Sir Ganga Ram. Sir Ganga Ram is known as the Father of Modern Lahore. Despite this, his family was attacked. The descendants of Dayal Singh Majithia, who founded Dayal Singh College, were attacked. Their families fled. By May, Lahore's influential Hindu residents had begun leaving the city. By May, it was clear that the Muslim League was winning the battle for Lahore. Hindus and Sikhs started organizing for their safety.
The June 3, 1947 Declaration of the Partition Plan
The ominous date was June 3, 1947. Congress was stiff for a united India, but the Muslim League was openly indulging in violence. In the meantime, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, revealed the plan to partition India on June 3, 1947. Known as the Mountbatten Plan, it announced the division of undivided India into two parts: Hindustan and Pakistan.
Areas with Hindu majorities would go to India, and Muslim-majority areas to Pakistan. Accordingly, Eastern Bengal and Northwestern Punjab were to be split. At that time, Punjab comprised 29 districts, 12 of which were predominantly Hindu and Sikh, while 17 were Muslim-majority.
Back in Lahore, the violence by the Muslim League had reached a barbaric state. The city was engulfed in communal flames. On the night of June 20-21, Shah Alami, a predominantly Hindu locality, was set ablaze. It is said to have been incited by the local thug Billa Jatt, upon the magistrate’s bidding. Over 100 people were killed. The following morning, thousands of Hindus and Sikhs began fleeing the city. Trains arriving from Lahore to Amritsar were filled with corpses. They realized Lahore was slipping away from their grasp.
If you visit Lahore today, you will find a vibrant city full of life and history, but its partition stories continue to resonate throughout the Indian subcontinent.
In the scorching heat of June, Radcliffe Arrived
When the time came to draw the line to partition Punjab, the British entrusted the task to an official who had never set foot in India, let alone Punjab. His name was Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Naturally, the British had always viewed Indian sensibilities with negligence and recklessness, appointing a British lawyer to this task, which they neither understood nor were suited for.
Sir Cyril Radcliffe arrived in India amidst the unbearable heat on June 8, 1947, with just a few weeks to complete his assignment. It wasn’t just the political temperature that was high, but the stupendous heat waves in Punjab peaked as well. The cold-weather-acclimatized Radcliffe had little leisure to tread Lahore's scorching grounds.
Radcliffe Himself Admitted that Field Surveys in June Were Practically Impossible
With assistance from two Indians, Mehr Chand Mahajan and Teja Singh, and two Pakistanis, Din Muhammad and Muhammad Munir, Radcliffe somehow managed to complete his work. On August 12, he handed over a sealed envelope containing the new map of India and Pakistan to Mountbatten. However, Mountbatten didn’t wish for the populations of India and Pakistan, celebrating their independence on August 14 and 15, respectively, to be struck by the shock that the new map would unleash. Therefore, this map was made public on August 17, 1947.
With the stroke of an Englishman’s pencil, Lahore was eternally separated from Punjab. And with it, once again commenced the era of bloodshed, savagery, and perhaps the largest known displacement in human civilization.
What was the Reason for Giving Lahore to Pakistan?
Renowned journalist Kuldip Nayar, born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan), knocked on Radcliffe’s door in London in 1971 and questioned the illogical lines of partition. He inquired about the reasoning behind giving Lahore to Pakistan.
Kuldip Nayar
in his book
Scoop! Inside Stories From The Partition To The Present
, mentions this conversation with Radcliffe.
During the conversation, Radcliffe told Nayar that he had almost assigned Lahore to India when he realized that Pakistan was left without a major city. Calcutta was already aligned with India.
Barry Facts were Overlooked to Assign Lahore to Pakistan
In the midst of their discussion, Kuldip Nayar asked Radcliffe that people in Pakistan accused him of being biased toward India. Radcliffe replied,
"They should be grateful as I gave them Lahore, going against the facts, which was suitable to be a part of India. Anyway, I favored Muslims more than Hindus."
In Lahore, Hindus held most of the assets. They paid more taxes, and the control of banking, business, education, and agriculture lay with Sikhs and Hindus. Natural justice pointed towards Lahore being part of India. However, diplomacy rarely aligns with fairness.
Kuldip Nayar’s conversation with Radcliffe further clarifies the entire scenario,
"I had 10-11 days to draw the boundaries. During that time, I took an aerial survey just once. I didn’t even have maps of the regions. I saw that Hindus held more assets in Lahore. But I also realized that at this time, Pakistan didn't have a major city. I took Lahore out of India and gave it to Pakistan. People might see it as right or wrong, but it was my constraint."
Was the decision on Lahore Radcliffe’s compulsion, mistake, or deceit? History rarely provides opportunities to correct such decisions.
