Gandhi Punjab and the Partition (An Old and Rare Book)

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Da S. L. Malhotra deserves compliments for completing the four-volume project on Gandhi and Punjab which was undertaken by the Panjab University during the Gandhi Centenary Year. In this way an institution engaged in advanced academic pursuits pays its homage to the Father of the Nation. These volumes highlight Gandhiji's technique of resolving social conflicts, Furthermore, they throw light on the contribution made by the people inhabiting West Punjab (now Pakistan), Punjab and Haryana (in India) to the freedom movement led by Gandhiji.

The present volume, which is fourth and final in the series, is of great significance in the history of our country because it relates to the Muslim League's demand for the partition of the country that posed a challenge to Gandhiji's view of human relations, his concept of religion and his view of the future of India. I am sure this volume will be of great interest to the reader.

This is the fourth and last volume of our project "Gandhi and Punjab". The first volume entitled "Gandhi and Punjab" covering the period between 1919 and 1922 examines the interaction between Gandhi and the Punjab leadership besides studying the response of the people of this province to the social and political movements led by him. The second volume entitled "Gandhi-An Experiment with Communal Politics" studies the state of politics in the Punjab between 1922 and 1931 and the role played by Gandhi in helping the leadership of this province to solve their communal and political problems. Besides analysing the political controversies that rocked this province, it studies the role played by the Punjab in the first phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement. The third volume bearing the title "From Civil Disobedience to Quit India" covers the period from 1931 to 1942. While assessing the extent of participation of this province in the subsequent phases of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the Individual Satyagraha and Quit India Movement, it studies the political forces in the province that favoured or impeded the growth of these movements.

The present volume covers the last phase of Gandhi's struggle for the independence of the country and Hindu-Muslim unity. Though India attained freedom, his cherished dream of keeping India united through his programme of Hindu-Muslim unity eluded him. Consequently the years immediately before independence witnessed hectic political activity in the country and Gandhi's heroic fight against the forces that challenged his view of nationalism. It was the most controversial period of Indian history as the League's demand for Pakistan and the communal riots that followed from it rocked the country. Punjab acquired an important place in all-India politics during these years as it held key to Pakistan. Though Gandhi was not directly involved in Punjab politics at this time, his political moves to arrive at a settlement with the League and the British for the freedom of the country without dividing it had serious repercussions in this province. The Congress and the non-League leadership of the province, therefore, watched his moves and sought his support for the success of their political programmes and policies.

The object of this volume is to study these events with a view to assessing the role Punjab played during this crucial period of Indian history in the context of League's demand for the partition of the country. This study, therefore, may be helpful in seeking answers to two fundamental questions:

(1) Was Pakistan inevitable ?

(2) Why did Gandhi fail to prevent partition?

The study is mostly based on the records of National Archives of India, Indian National Congress, Private Papers of Congress leaders and British administrators, Newspapers, Journals, Reports and Documents, Reminiscences, autobiographies and biographies of political leaders who had been in touch with the political developments in the country during this period. The publication of the documents from the India Office Records on Transfer of Power and the events leading up to it by the British Government has been of great help to me in the completion of this volume.

I am, therefore, indebted to the libraries that have allowed me to use their material especially, National Archives of India, New Delhi, Gandhi Memorial & Museum Library, New Delhi, Nehru Memorial & Museum Library, New Delhi, Dwarka Das Library, Lajpat Bhawan, Chandigarh and Panjab University Library, Chandigarh.

My special thanks are due to the Vice-Chancellor of my University, Prof R. C. Paul for his encouragement to carry on this work as well as for providing necessary grants for the completion of this project.