Analyse the reasons for the 1947 partition of the South Asian sub-continent into India and Pakistan.

The partition of the South Asian sub-continent into India and Pakistan was one of the most crucial events in both countries histories. There was exceeding tensions in India between the two main political parties; the Indian National Congress, with predominantly Hindu based support and members and the Muslim League formed later as protest against the minority Muslim population and their overlooked rights. Violence and bloodshed between Hindu and Muslim population had become increasingly severe and forced the decision surrounding partition to be made quickly before it escalated any further. Furthermore, the British intention to leave India was a ticking clock forcing the two parties to come to a decision quickly rather than be granted independence only to be left in a civil war. However, the social and economic barriers between Muslims and Hindus also furthered the support for partition
Tensions between the Muslim League and Congress led to the League’s increasing insecurity of being disadvantaged by having a single Indian nation dominated by Hindus and that their interests would not be accounted for. The Muslim League felt increasingly isolated which led them to push harder for the partition of India. Much of this sense of isolation was set about by the actions of Congress. For instance, in the 1937 elections the Congress won majorities in seven of eleven provinces in which no Muslim cabinet ministers were appointed unless they were members of Congress and relinquished their loyalty to the Muslim League. The Congress flag was flown from public buildings and parliaments opened with the singing of the Hindu national anthem. Hindu values were said imposed in institutions such as schools where children were made to “worship the portrait of Gandhi and that attempts were