# Partition of India **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 15, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633 "2003-07-15T13:13:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toscar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f9ae1b/32.png) [@toscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toscar)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/1 "2003-07-15T13:13:30Z")
The sub-continent of India was partitioned in 1947. Would India be more stable had partition not taken place? Was partition by war or politics inevitable? ---
**Author:** ![andy\_fl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@andy\_fl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andy_fl)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/2 "2003-07-15T13:16:08Z")
countdown for move to IMHO ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/3 "2003-07-15T13:22:47Z")
Probably not, as it would of meant communal tensions would be higher than they are even today in Pakistan, Bangledesh (which was orginal part of Pakistan but seperated itself via war) and India. The local ruler of each area was allowed to decide whether his satrapy was allowed to decide whether or their kingdom, province, etc. became part of Muslim Pakistan or Hindu (well more strictly multi-cultural) India. Though thre process wasn’t particularly smooth (i.e. ritoing, millions of refugees)there was no war at the time of partition. ---
**Author:** ![toscar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f9ae1b/32.png) [@toscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toscar)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/4 "2003-07-15T13:38:12Z")
I was in India with the British Army at the time of partition and while we know there was no immediate war there was a tremendous amount of slaughter but my observation in no way answers my question. Broadly I do believe that partition was inevitable even if it did leave problems that still boil over. (Andy: WMYPA? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/5 "2003-07-15T23:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toscar \* > > Would India be more stable had partition not taken place? Impossible to answer IMHO, but I am just a little less cynical than **MC Master of Ceremonies** > [@](#): > > Was partition by war or politics inevitable? Inevitable? No, I don’t think so. More volatile, possibly. Greater relative potential for calamity, probably. But not inevitable. For all its communal tension, when you consider that this is a country with over one billion people, said tension is not _that_ devastating, as worrisome as it is. The worst of it has been confined to couple of districts in particular. By and large India’s Muslim population is well-integrated into the state. And India’s Muslim population is currently #3 in the world ( right behind Pakistan, right ahead of Bangladesh - all three are fairly close in numbers ). A combined nation would be approximately 2/3 Hindu with 800+ million and 1/3 Muslim with ~370 million ( with less than 5% other groups, as opposed to the current 7-8% in India ). Far and away the largest Muslim country on earth ( Indonesia, the current #1, has ~180 million Muslims ). If I sheared off any parts of British India, it would likely have been to give the current west of Pakistan, the Northwest Territories and Baluchistan, to Afghanistan. That at least would have made some ethnographic sense. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/6 "2003-07-17T00:52:47Z")
It should be pointed out that today India has a democratic government with a surprisingly small amount of corruption, given the possibilities for graft in a country of a billion. Pakistan is currently a dictatorship, and the government could hardly have been much less stable over the past twenty years- remaining a part of India (and thus avoiding the Bangladesh war, apart from anything else) would _probably_ have helped, although ethnic tensions would be no smaller. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partition-of-india/188633/7 "2003-07-17T00:56:18Z")
This is more of a debate than a factual question so I’ll move it to GD. bibliophage moderator GQ