The Great Exodus: The Economic, Social, and Cultural Costs of the Partition of India .

Abstract

The Partition of India refers to the division of the British colony of India into two independent nation-states, India and Pakistan in 1947. This paper has explored the core social conflicts that gave rise to the Two Nation theory and eventually caused the partition of India. Religious divides were often a result of British policies that were designed to achieve this outcome and were often fueled by political differences between major figures in the independence movement. The shortterm impact of the partition in terms of the loss of life and property and trauma combined with its long-term contribution to the deterioration of the social fabric in the Indian subcontinent have been contrasted with its ideological justification. This paper has sought to identify commonalities and links between polarizing political narratives that existed amongst both Hindus and Muslims during the time of partition with the rhetoric of contemporary right-wing populist leaders and parties in India to bring attention to the potential harms of religious nationalism in the Indian subcontinent.