Territorial claims

Territorial claims: Current boundaries

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Disputed borders are both a cause and a symptom of tensions between big neighbours in South Asia. When the colonial power, Britain, withdrew from India it left a dangerous legacy of carelessly or arbitrarily drawn borders. Tensions between India and China flare on occasion, especially along India's far north-eastern border, along the state of Arunachal Pradesh. In recent years Chinese officials have taken to calling part of the same area “South Tibet”, to Indian fury, as that seems to imply a Chinese claim to the territory. A failure to agree the precise border, and then to demarcate it, ensures that future disagreements may flare again.

Pakistan, too, is beset by difficult borders. Afghanistan, to the north, has long been a hostile neighbour. This is largely because Afghanistan refuses to recognise the frontier—known as the Durand line—between the countries, drawn by the British.

Most contentious of all, however, are the borders in Kashmir, where Pakistan, India and China all have competing claims. By the time of independence, in 1947, it was clear that many Indian Muslims were determined to break off from Hindu-majority India. It fell to a British civil servant, who knew nothing of the region, to draw a line of partition between territory that would become Pakistan and India. Pakistan was given Muslim dominated areas in the far north west, plus territory in the east (which itself got independence as Bangladesh in 1971). The rulers of some disputed areas, notably Kashmir, were told to choose which country to join.

While Kashmir's Hindu rulers prevaricated, hoping somehow to become an independent country, Pakistan's leaders decided to force the issue. Since Kashmir was (and is) a Muslim majority territory, Pakistan felt justified in seeing Pushtun warlords charge in from the north-west of Pakistan, late in 1947, to seize control of Kashmir. In response India, apparently invited by Kashmir's rulers, deployed its national army and stopped the invaders taking Srinagar, Kashmir's capital, located in the Kashmir valley, the most coveted part of the territory. The resulting line of control, by and large, remains the de-facto international frontier within Kashmir and, in effect, is accepted by Paksitan and India. Huge numbers of Indian and Pakistani soldiers remain in Kashmir today as both countries profess to be the rightful authority for the rest of Kashmir.

Complicating matters, China has also extended its influence, and control, over portions of Kashmir, largely with the support of Pakistan, an ally.

The interactive map above allows you to view the various territorial claims from each country's perspective.

INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

The music of India is said to be one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. It is said that the origins of this system go back to the Vedas (ancient scripts of the Hindus). Many different legends have grown up concerning the origins and development of Indian classical music. Such legends go a long way in showing the importance that music has in defining Indian culture.

However the advent of modern historical and cultural research has also given us a good perspective on the field. This has shown that Indian music has developed within a very complex interaction between different peoples of different races and cultures. It appears that the ethnic diversity of present day India has been there from the earliest of times.

The basis for Indian music is "sangeet". Sangeet is a combination of three artforms: vocal music, instrumental music and dance. Although these three artforms were originally derived from the single field of stagecraft. Today these three forms have differentiated into complex and highly refined individual artforms.

The present system of Indian music is based upon two important pillars: rag and tal. Rag is the melodic form while tal is the rhythmic.

Rag may be roughly equated with the Western term mode or scale. There is a system of seven notes which are arranged in a means not unlike Western scales. However when we look closely we see that it is quite different what we are familiar with.

The tal (rhythmic forms) are also very complex. Many common rhythmic patterns exist. They revolve around repeating patterns of beats.

The interpretation of the rag and the tal is not the same all over India. Today there are two major traditions of classical music. There is the north Indian and the south Indian tradition. The North Indian tradition is known as Hindustani sangeet and the south Indian is called Carnatic sangeet. Both systems are fundamentally similar but differ in nomenclature and performance practice.

Many musical instruments are peculiar to India. The most famous are the sitar and tabla. However there are many more that the average person may not be familiar with.

All of this makes up the complex and exciting field of Indian classical music. Its understanding easily consumes an entire lifetime.

Pages for "Indian Classical music"

Fundamentals of Rag - Introduction to the North Indian concept of the rag. Swar (Sur) - The "note". Saptak (The Scale) - Introduction to the scale. Scales and Modes - More advanced material on scales. That - The modes. Jati - The number of notes in the rag. Arohana / Avarohana - Ascending and descending structures. Vadi & Samvadi - Important notes of the rag. Pakad (Swarup) - Characteristic phrases. Samay - Timings Raga / Ragini - The old way of visualising relationships between rags Saptak - The Register Index of Rags - A few common North Indian rags discussed in Chandrakantha.com.   Laharas - A collection of laharas for tabla / pakhawaj solos as well as Kathak dance performances.   Fundamentals of Tal - An introduction to the North Indian approach to rhythm. Avartan - The cycle. Bol - mnemonic syllables Bollywood Film Songs - A breakdown of many popular songs organised by their tals Index of Tals - The common rhythmic patterns in North Indian music. Khali - Waving of the hands. Lay - Tempo. Matra - The Beat Sam - First beat of the cycle. Tali - The claps. Theka - The "Groove". Vibhagh - The measure (bar). Genre - A breakdown of the styles of North Indian music.   Film Songs in Rags - An index of classical based film songs indexed by rag.   Notation - A discussion of the North Indian approach to musical notation

Selected Video:

Dr. N. Ramani performs Rama Kadha Sudha

Indrajit Banerjee: Sitar - Bhairavi Dhun

Shashank

Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana-Thiruvaiyaru

Sarangi Samrat Ustad Sabri Khan Saheb

Devadhi Deva- M S Subbulakshmi

Carnatic - Chitra Veena Ravikiran - Cleveland ( V - 02 )

Tarana : a technical piece of Kathak

*Jay Hind*

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”

If nothing last forever, will you be my nothing?

Wedding Underwater

There was a child at a wedding, he saw the bride wear white. “Mommy”, he asked, “why does the bride wear white?”
“Because its the happiest day of her life.” She answered. The child sat and pondered.

“Then why does the groom wear black?”

*This is meant as a joke, I am not saying that marriage is bad, in most cases anyways.

Every time I see you I want to marry you, then it hits me that we are married.

Marriage is like Boxing. In the beginning they shake hands, but…

Marriage is the only war where you sleep with the enemy

When a newly married couple smiles, everyone knows why. When a ten-year married couple smiles, everyone wonders why

The surest way to be alone is to get married

The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret

In marriage, tears and smiles make the music of life.

Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

*A couple were asked how they managed to stay together for 75 years.

And their reply was:
Because we were born in a time where if things were broken we would fix them not through them away.

                                               Hakunamatata!!!!

Count on me...

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea

I’ll sail the world to find you

If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can’t see

I’ll be the light to guide you

Find out what we’re made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there

And I know when I’m needed

I can count on you like four, three, two, and you’ll be there

‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do

If you toss and you turn and you just can’t fall asleep

I’ll sing a song beside you

And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me

Everyday I will remind you

Find out what we’re made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there

And I know when I’m needed

I can count on you like four, three, two, and you’ll be there

‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do

You’ll always have my shoulder when you cry

I’ll never let go, never say goodbye

You know you can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there

And I know when I’m needed

I can count on you like four, three, two, and you’ll be there

‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do

You can count on me ‘cause I can count on you

Nostradamus and India

EVERYONE in the West, from statesman to crossing-sweeper, is aware of the fame of NOSTRADAMUS, the French-Jewish seer who died more than 400 years ago. The reason for his extraordinary popularity is quite simple. Many predictions published by Nostradamus in 1555 have been completely vindicated by the passage of time. Writing more than 400 years ago, he not only foresaw the two World Wars of the 20th century, but also came close to mentioning Hitler by name!

Earlier on, the French Revolution reached an elimination in 1792, as predicted by him. Incredible ?
Well, it is almost unbelievable. But even the most strident critics have been silenced by the phenomenal accuracy of the French seer. Of the approximately 2,500 forecasts that he published in his poetic "Centuries", no less than 800 have been precisely fulfilled so far. The remainder cover the period upto the year 3797. The track-record of Nostradamus is so perfect that there can be no doubt that the others too will be realised. His "Centuries" are absolutely amazing.

For Hindus especially, Nostradamus ought to be a hero of immense cheer. The Frenchman never visited India. In point of time, his forecasts were published well before Akbar became the Moghul ruler in Delhi. But, despite the great distance of time and space, Nostradamus clearly foresaw the rise of a mighty all conquering Hindu nation. Its birth is close at hand. The seer predicts that a resurgent India will burst forth upon its former oppressors and destroy them completely. The beginning of this terrible revenge will be in the seventh month of 1999.

Meanwhile, he predicts, after seven years of furious warfare, the Moslems will be totally wiped out. There will be no trace left of either Mecca or Medina. Somanath will be avenged a billion times over. The creed of Muhammad will vanish forever. The European countries who despoiled India will not be let off either. Flames will engulf Rome as Hindu soldiers advance on Paris overcomming the barrier of the Alps. The Pope will fly from his lair. Much of Europe will repudiate the false tenets of Christianity. The ancient sway of Hinduism will be restored. Vedic chants will again fill the air.

Does this all sound like a fairy-tale? To convince the skeptics it is best to quote the prophetic quatrains of the "Centuries". It must always be borne in mind that they were first published in 1555. Two copies of that edition are still preserved in the French National Library in Paris. Their genuineness cannot be disputed. Moslem murderers and their Western patrons will find the following forecast particularly hard to stomach:

Quatrain 75, Century X
Long awaited, he will not take birth in Europe, India will produce the immortal ruler, Seeing wisdom and power of unlimited scope, Asia will bow before this conquering scholar. As if this were not a sufficient warning to fanatics, Nostradamus makes his meaning still more explicit in the following :

Quatrain 96, Century X
The religion of the name of the seas triumphs, Against the fanatics of the Khalif's adalat, The murderous creed of the false alefs, Between the Hindus and Christians will be caught. This prophecy need a little explication. In geography, one finds the Hindu Maha Sagar (the Indian Ocean in English). Hinduism is the only religion with a sea (an ocean, rather) named after it. The Moslem fanatics believe that the Shariat or Koranic law with its sexual licence is God-given or Khalif's adalat. The Koran itself opens with the letter alef (A) in Arabic. Both Hindus and Christians have suffered at the hands of Moslems and seek revenge. Lebanon is a foretaste of things to come. The Nostradamian quatrain spells the doom of the murder-creed.

If this interpretation should sound far-fetched, consider yet another prophetic quatrain :

Quatrain 50, Century L
From the peninsula where three seas meet, Comes the ruler to whom Thursday is holy, His wisdom and might all nations will greet, To oppose him in Asia will be folly. South India is the only peninsula in the entire globe where three seas meet a point and stretch away.
The great Hindu leader who will wipe out our enemies will hence be a south Indian who offers worship on Thursdays. It is easy to see why Nostradamus specifically mentions Thursday as the holy day. It is only Hindus who consider Thursday sacred. Moslems pray on Friday; Jews bow before God on Saturday; Christians bawl hymns on Sunday at church.
Nostradamus is making it clear here that the conqueror will be a Hindu from South India. He will bind Asia together under his rule. The Hindu leader, however, will not be a tyrant. He will be ruthless with the Moslem fanatics. But he will win over the communists by persuading them of the timeless varieties of Hinduism. Russia will become India's ally:

Quatrain 95, Century III
The creed of the Moor will perish, Followed be another more popular still, The Dnieper will be the first to relish, The wisdom which imposes its will.

The Moslems are often called Moors by Europeans owing to the nearness of Morocco with its Moslem faith. Incidentally, the Dutch who landed in Ceylon also called the Lankan Moslems as Moors. Even today, the Lankan Moslems are officially designated as Moors.

The Dnieper is a great river in southern Russia. The seer's forecast seems to suggest that Russia will be the first among Communist countries to abandon Marxism in favour of Hinduism. The Red comrades in our midst will doubtless throw up their hands in horror at the mere idea. But Riencourt, the French writer, quotes a prophecy made by Ramakrishna Parmahamsa shortly before his death which strongly supports the French seer's prediction. Shri Ramakrishna declared that his next birth would be to the north-west of India. In other words, he will be reborn in Russia as a Hindu holy man! Communism is certainly a more popular creed than Islam. But both will be alike vanquished by resurgent Hinduism.
Russia will be greatly benefited by its alliance with the Hindu Rashtra. Nostradamus describes Russia's good fortune :

Quatrain 26, Century V
The Salvic folk will be on the winning side, And rise to the highest point, They cast off their paltry ideological guide, The mountain-army crosess the sea in an expidition joint. As the Hindu troops sweep through the Middle East avenging former wrongs, the Russian army in the Caucasus mountains will link up with them. The paltry ideological guide who will be abandoned is Karl Marx. The sea to be crossed is either the Mediterranean or the Black Sea.

Inevitably, the question crops up: Are such things possible? Here is a convincing reply to prove the seer's clairvoyance :

Quatrain 77, Century III
In October seventeen twenty-seven, The Afghans and Turkey will score, Areas lost by Iran, Christians beseech heaven, Against Moslems shedding innocent gore.

This event took place exactly 172 years after the publication of the forecast by Nostradamus in 1555.
An agreement was made by Afghanistan and Turkey in October 1727, dividing up Iran. Christian communities which came under Turkish misrule were brutally treated in Georgia and Armenia (both now in U.S.S.R). Nostradamus had never been out of France except for a brief visit to next-door Italy. Yet he foresaw what the Afghans and the Turks would do in Iran in October 1727! This is truly an amazing prediction by any reckoning. None of the parties concerned had ever heard of Nostradamus.

Let us now return to the Hindu holy-war.

Quatrain 59, Century III
The empire of Islam by Hindus overthrown, The majority of Moslems will succumb, To radio-active fall-out by India blown, Making Muhammad forever silent and numb. Interestingly, in his prose-introduction to the "Centuries", the seer dwells at some length on the destruction of Islam and Mecca. The city will be smashed up in such a way that all those who enter it will sicken and die. The only interpretation of this forecast is that there will be radioactive fall-out in the area.
Nostradamus declares that the Hindus will be engaged in the task of revenge for seven years from the seventh month of 1999. Intrestingly, even Islamic texts predict doom in the 15th century of their religion. After the destruction (annihilation would be the exact word) of Islamic power, the Hindu leader will march on the Europe. Both Egypt and Israel will rally to his standard. The Hindu leader with Hebrew leaning, Marches on Rome and its allies, His ships sail from Libyan mooring, The Bible-chanting clergy dies.

This tremendous onslaught will be bloody. In yet another forecast Nostradamus remarks that the Hindu army will lose 2,50,000 men. But victory will be attained. It will be decisive.

Smile :<)

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean 

it.

The Window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should hehave all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence.

The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away--no words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

Moral of the story:

The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice...it is a positive attitude we consciously choose to express. It is not a gift that gets delivered to our doorstep each morning, nor does it come through the window. And I am certain that our circumstances are just a small part of what makes us joyful. If we wait for them to get just right, we will never find lasting joy.

The pursuit of happiness is an inward journey. Our minds are like programs, awaiting the code that will determine behaviors; like bank vaults awaiting our deposits. If we regularly deposit positive, encouraging, and uplifting thoughts, if we continue to bite our lips just before we begin to grumble and complain, if we shoot down that seemingly harmless negative thought as it germinates, we will find that there is much to rejoice about.

All-India Muslim League (AIML) And The Formation of Pakistan

The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was established on December 30, 1906, at the time of British colonial rule to protect the interests of Muslims. Later it became the main vehicle through which the demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims was put forth.

The Indian National Congress (INC) was perceived by some Muslims as an essentially Hindu organization where Muslim interests would not be safeguarded. Formed in the year 1885, the INC did not have any agenda of separate religious identity. Some of its annual sessions were presided over by eminent Muslims like Badruddin Tyabji (1844–1906) and Rahimtulla M. Sayani (1847–1902). Certain trends emerged in the late 19th century that convinced a sizable group of Muslims to chart out a separate course. The rise of communalism in the Muslim community began with a revivalist tendency, with Muslims looking to the history of Arabs as well as the Delhi sultanate and the Moghul rule of India with pride and glory. Although the conditions of the Muslims were not the same all over the British Empire, there was a general backwardness in commerce and education. The British policy of “divide and rule” encouraged certain sections of the Muslim population to remain away from mainstream politics.

The INC, although secular in outlook, was not able to contain the spread of communalism among Hindus and Muslims alike. The rise of Hindu militancy, the cow protection movement, the use of religious symbols, and so on alienated the Muslims. Syed Ahmed Khan’s (1817–98) ideology and political activities provided a backdrop for the separatist tendency among the Muslims. He exhorted that the interests of Hindus and Muslims were divergent. Khan advocated loyalty to the British Empire. The viceroy Lord Curzon (1899–1905) partitioned the province of Bengal in October 1905, creating a Muslim majority province in the eastern wing. The INC’s opposition and the consequent swadeshi (indigenous) movement convinced some Muslim elites that the congress was against the interests of the Muslim community. A pro-partition campaign was begun by the nawab of Dhaka, Khwaja Salimullah Khan (1871–1915), who had been promised a huge amount of interest-free loans by Curzon. He would be influential in the new state. The nawab began to form associations, safeguarding the interests of the Bengali Muslims. He was also thinking in terms of an all-India body. In his Shahbag residence he hosted 2,000 Muslims between December 27 and 30, 1906.

Sultan Muhammad Shah, the Aga Khan III (1877–1957), who had led a delegation in October 1906 to Viceroy Lord Minto (1845–1914) for a separate electorate for the Muslims, was also with Salimullah Khan. Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (1837–1907) of the Aligarh movement also was present in Dhaka. On December 30 the AIML was formed. The chairperson of the Dhaka conclave, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk (1841–1917), declared that the league would remain loyal to the British and would work for the interests of the Muslims. The constitution of the league, the Green Book, was drafted by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar (1878–1931). The headquarters of the league was set up in Aligarh (Lucknow from 1910), and Aga Khan was elected the fi rst president. Thus, a separate all-India platform was created to voice the grievances of the Muslims and contain the growing influence of the Congress Party. The AIML had a membership of 400, and a branch was set up in London two years afterward by Syed Ameer Ali (1849–1928).

The league was dominated by landed aristocracy and civil servants of the United Provinces. In its initial years it passed pious resolutions. The leadership had remained loyal to the British Empire, and the Government of India Act of 1909 granted separate electorates to the Muslims. A sizable number of Muslim intellectuals advocated a course of agitation in light of the annulment of the partition of Bengal in 1911. Two years afterward the league demanded self-government in its constitution. There was also change in leadership of the league after the resignation of President Aga Khan in 1913. Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948), the eminent lawyer from Bombay (now Mumbai), joined the league.

Driving Out The British

Hailed as the ambassador of “Hindu-Muslim unity,” Jinnah was an active member of the INC. He still believed in cooperation between the two communities to drive out the British. He became the president of the AIML in 1916 when it met in Lucknow. He was also president between 1920 and 1930 and again from 1937 to 1947. Jinnah was instrumental in the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between the congress and the league, which assigned 30 percent of provincial council seats to Muslims. But there was a gradual parting of the ways between the INC and the AIML. The appearance of Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) on the Indian scene further increased the distance, as Jinnah did not like Gandhi’s noncooperation movement.

The short-lived hope of rapprochement between the two parties occurred in the wake of the coming of the Simon Commission. The congress accepted the league’s demand for one-third representation in the central legislature. But the Hindu Mahasabha, established in 1915, rejected the demand at the All Parties Conference of 1928. The conference also asked Motilal Nehru (1861–1931) to prepare a constitution for a free India. The Nehru Report spelled out a dominion status for India. The report was opposed by the radical wing of the INC, which was led by Motilal’s son Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964). The league also rejected the Nehru Report as it did not concede to all the league’s demands. Jinnah called it a parting of the ways, and the relations between the league and the congress began to sour. The league demanded separate electorates and reservation of seats for the Muslims. From the 1920s on the league itself was not a mass-based party. In 1928 in the presidency of Bombay it had only 71 members. In Bengal and the Punjab, the two Muslim majority provinces, the unionists and the Praja Krushsk Party, respectively, were powerful. League membership also did not increase substantially. In 1922 it had a membership of 1,093, and after five years it increased only to 1,330. Even in the historic 1930 session, when the demand for a separate Muslim state was made by President Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), it lacked a quorum, with only 75 members present.

After coming back from London, Jinnah again took the mantle of leadership of the league. The British had agreed to give major power to elected provincial legislatures per the 1935 Government of India Act. The INC was victorious in general constituencies but did not perform well in Muslim constituencies. Many Muslims had subscribed to the INC’s ideal of secularism. It seemed that the two-nation theory, exhorting that the Hindus and Muslims form two different nations, did not appeal to all the Muslims. The Muslims were considered a nation with a common language, history, and religion according to the two-nation theory.

In 1933 a group of Cambridge students led by Choudhary Rahmat Ali (1897–1951) had coined the term Pakistan (land of the pure), taking letters from Muslim majority areas: Punjab P, Afghania (North-West Frontier Province) A, Kashmir K, Indus-Sind IS, and Baluchistan TAN. The league did not achieve its dream of a separate homeland for the Muslims until 1947. It had been an elite organization without a mass base, and Jinnah took measures to popularize it. The membership fees were reduced, committees were formed at district and provincial levels, socioeconomic content was put in the party manifesto, and a vigorous anti-congress campaign was launched. The scenario changed completely for the league when in the famous Lahore session the Pakistan Resolution was adopted on March 23, 1940. Jinnah reiterated the two-nation theory highlighting the social, political, economic, and cultural differences of the two communities. The resolution envisaged an independent Muslim state consisting of Sindh, the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, and Bengal. The efforts of Jinnah after the debacle in the 1937 election paid dividends as 100,000 joined the league in the same year.

There was no turning back for the league after the Pakistan Resolution. The league followed a policy of cooperation with the British government and did not support the Quit India movement of August 1942. The league was determined to have a separate Muslim state, whereas the congress was opposed to the idea of partition. Reconciliation was not possible, and talks between Gandhi and Jinnah for a united India in September 1944 failed. After the end of World War II, Great Britain did not have the economic or political resources to hold the British Empire in India. It decided to leave India finally and ordered elections to central and provincial legislatures. The league won all 30 seats reserved for Muslims with 86 percent of the votes in the elections of December 1945 for the center. The congress captured all the general seats with 91 percent of the votes. In the provincial elections of February 1946, the league won 440 seats reserved for Muslims out of a total of 495 with 75 percent of the votes.

Flush with success, the Muslim members gathered in April for the Delhi convention and demanded a sovereign state and two constitution-making bodies. Jinnah addressed the gathering, saying that Pakistan should be established without delay. It would consist of the Muslim majority areas of Bengal and Assam in the east and the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan in the west. The British government had dispatched a cabinet mission in March to transfer power. The league accepted the plan of the cabinet mission, but the league working committee in July withdrew its earlier acceptance and called for a Direct Action Day on August 16.

The league joined the interim government in October but decided not to attend the Constituent Assembly. In January 1947 the Muslim League launched a “direct action” against the non–Muslim League government of Khizr Hayat Tiwana (1900–75) of the Punjab. Partition was inevitable, and the new viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900–79), began to talk with leaders from the league as well as the congress to work out a compromise formula. On June 3, 1947, it was announced that India and Pakistan would be granted independence. The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British parliament in July, and the deadline was set for midnight on August 14–15. The demand of the league for a separate state was realized when the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was born on August 14.

On August 15 Jinnah was sworn in as the first governor-general of Pakistan, and Liaqat Ali Khan (1895–1951) became the prime minister. The new nation had 60 million Muslims in East Bengal, West Punjab, Sind, the North-West Frontier Province, and Baluchistan. After independence the league did not remain a major political force for long, and dissent resulted in many splinter groups. The Pakistan Muslim League had no connection with the original league. In India the Indian Union Muslim League was set up in March 1948 with a stronghold in the southern province of Kerala. The two-nation theory received a severe jolt when East Pakistan seceded after a liberation struggle against the oppressive regime of the west. A new state, Bangladesh, emerged in December 1971. In the early 21st century more Muslims resided in India (175 million) than in Pakistan (159 million).

Q3