Historical Interpretation and India's Past: Debates and Legacies

Subjectivity, Objectivity, and Bias in History

• Objectivity

  • The goal of history.
  • But historians say that objectivity is not possible as history is based on interpretation, and hence subjectivity is bound to come.

• Bias

  • Something that is done deliberately.
  • For propaganda.
  • Vested interest, to prove something.
  • This is known as pattern writing.

• Why Subjectivity Enters Historical Writing

  • Social Animal

    • Everyone goes through the process of social interactions.
    • The personality that evolves through social interaction also lies within the historian.

  • Ideology

    • Ideas people incorporate with them.

  • Area of Research

    • When a historian chooses their area for investigation, the moment they choose it out of their own inherent interest, subjectivity obviously enters.

  • Religion

    • For example, Aurangzeb's raids on temples were not because of his fanaticism but due to economic reasons, as other kings also raided temples in other territories.
    • J.N. Sarkar was against Aurangzeb, while Faruqui justifies Aurangzeb's raids; their religion seems to be taken as a reason for their standing.

  • Inference

    • When a certain period of history is silent and lacks evidence, historians tend to answer the gaps while inferring from the trends, also known as "archive positivism."

History as Progress

• Means progressive development of human potentiality.
• How knowledge systems and skills are passed from generation to generation.
• Mastery over the environment, technological advancement, healthcare, HDI, economic development.
• As E.H. Carr says, history is progress with several peaks and troughs.
• The Rig Vedic period was a peak, but the Later Vedic period was a trough with the emergence of caste discrimination and the degradation of women in society.
• This continued till the 6th century BCE with the rise of Buddhism and Jainism and great empires like Magadha.
• The Kushan-Gupta period was a peak, and then a trough because of the decline of this period with feudalism and the decline of the coinage system; the economy was so low people used cowries, and the barter system emerged.
• This continues till the rise of the Mughals with new technological innovations.
• The period of Mughal rule faced another decline with the advent of the British and reached an abyssmally low economy when the British left India.

Historical Evidence

• Criteria for Ascertaining Credibility of Historical Evidence

  • Was the Primary Witness Able to Tell the Truth?

    • Spatial and Temporal Dimension

      • Spatial Dimension: When an incident is observed, where was the observer exactly present, or from what distance were they observing?
      • Temporal: Whether they were exactly there when the accident happened, or for how many minutes, days, or weeks?

    • Competence

      • Whether they are literate/illiterate.

    • Degree of Attention

  • Willingness to Tell the Truth

    • Was the witness biased?
    • In what style was it recorded, like in prose form or in literary form?
    • Most ancient Indian historians wrote in prose form, which led to many interpretations.

  • Independent Corroboration

    • Whatever the observer has written has to be verified by other contemporary sources.
    • In case of similarity, then only can that be put as history.

  • Reputation

    • What is the reputation of the author?

  • No Self-Contradiction

  • Freedom from Contradiction by Other Sources

  • Freedom from Anachronism

    • Putting someone in the wrong date.
    • It should follow chronological discipline.

Politics of History

• History was mostly confined to court poets like Banabhatta, who wrote Harshacharita, but they tended to exaggerate.
• Lacks objectivity.
• Rajatarangini by Kalhana of the 11th-12th century, about Kashmir rule by Shaivite rulers, is a subtle example of objective writing.
• James Mill wrote the first official history in 1820 about the entire history of India.
• James Mill never visited India.
• British historians like William Dalrymple stayed in India for several years and then only produced their work.
• Mill made sharp criticism towards the credibility of Indian scripture history that spoke of the rule of kings for thousands of years.
• His work is an example of pattern writing.
• In 1947, R.C. Majumdar, a nationalist historian, was given a task to write about Indian history, free from any colonial bias, resulting in the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan series of 10-12 volumes.
• Marxist historians critiqued his work on ancient India, as per them, Majumdar exaggerated his writing.
• After 1977, when the Janata government came, a lot of controversies emerged as this government comprised many reactionary elements like Jamaat-e-Islami, RSS, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Around this time till date, Marxist history is dominant. They blame Marxist historians as they were insufficiently critical towards the role of Aurangzeb.
• Some figures like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo Ghosh were not represented properly.
• In the wake of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement from 1991-92 onwards, Rath Yatras started, and in a number of states, BJP came into power.
• Then the National Steering Committee on Education reported that these governments had distorted the history curriculum for political benefits.
• In 1999, NDA came to power, and NCERT books went through serious changes.
• In 2001, Murli Manohar Joshi brought his policy that drastically changed the NCERT curriculum.
• From R.S. Sharma's work, the entire Jainism part was deleted, the beef-eating part, references to the Varna system were deleted, and Ashoka's period was deleted.

• Controversies of Reduced Content

  • Beef Eating Issue

    • Ancient Indians did eat beef, especially Vedic Aryans were beef eaters.
    • This was deleted in 2001.
    • Rightists said, why to put it in textbooks as it hurts sentiment.
    • The counter was that Vir Sanghvi, editor of Hindustan Times, spoke about “deodorized history,” where the "stinking" parts were removed and only the good ones kept, as a satire.
    • This eating reference can be found in the Rig Vedic period.
    • Cow was an important animal but not a holy animal, but became holy when the Bhagwat cult emerged around the 3rd-4th century in the Later Vedic period.
    • “Gohana” - slayer of cow / also means guest; on the occasion of special guests coming, beef was served as a delicacy.
    • They were not killing the milk cows, but only infertile, old ones.
    • D.N. Jha wrote a book on beef-eating analysis in India.

  • Taj Mahal, a Mausoleum

    • The argument is that it was Tejo Mahalaya and later named Taj Mahal; beneath it, there was a temple.
    • "Green Judge" Justice Kuldeep Singh, due to him, all industries were shifted from around the Taj Mahal to stop erosion.
    • Taj Mahal was created by Ustad Isa / Ahmed Lahori.
    • Taj Mahal has a lot of floral designs that are very unique, especially the lotus, which is important in Hinduism.
    • • The counter is, although it was designed by Persians, it was designed by locals, so they engraved that by their own hand.
      • For 22 years, 22,000 people worked.
    • P.N. Oak wrote “Taj Mahal: An Hindu Monument” around 1960, and it was immediately banned.

  • Qutub Minar

    • Started by Qutb al-Din Aibak in memory of a Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, completed by his successor Iltutmish.
    • The controversy is that it was made by Samudragupta.
    • There is a Mehrauli Iron Pillar that belongs to Chandragupta II; there are some epigraphs belonging to Chandra, and historians believe that this is about Chandragupta II. This pillar was brought down by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in Haryana, and from there, he placed it in the premises of Qutub Minar.
    • In Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, there is also mention of this displacement and other works of the 14th century.

  • Eurocentric Bias: Judging Indian Phenomena from a Western View

    • Like terming Kalidasa as the Shakespeare of India.
    • • Firstly, Kalidasa was a dramatist and poet, but William Shakespeare was a dramatist who elaborately wrote about human nature in vivid description.
      • Like “Life is a tale, told by an idiot.”
      • On the other hand, Kalidasa was a “nature poet,” like his Meghadootam, Ritusamhara, and in his Abhigyanashakuntalam, nature depiction is quite rich.
    • Also, Samudragupta as the Napoleon of India.
    • • Samudragupta never got defeated, but Napoleon did.
    • Terming Kautilya as the Machiavelli of India.

  • Policy of Ashoka and Brahmanical Reaction

    • This reaction is the reason for the decline of the Mauryan Empire.
    • This whole section was deleted as the policy of Ashoka became a point of controversy.
    • That after the victory, he adopted the policy of Dhamma and non-violence; all sacrifices were banned. This led to the rise of the Brahmanical class against the Mauryan Empire, which became one of the reasons for its fall.
    • Rightists critiqued that Ashoka’s pacifist policy made Indians cowardly, and hence Indians could not resist invaders because of this cowardly behavior.
    • In the West, Ashoka was termed as the "Monk Emperor of India," and his policies were praised.

  • Jainism

    • The entire reference to Jainism was deleted.
    • Because it opposed Brahmanism.
    • When it emerged in the 6th century BCE, from 24 Tirthankaras, the 1st Tirthankara, also known as the founder of Jainism, was Rishabhanatha.
    • Possibility that Jainism is a very old faith.
    • Known as a Heterodox sect and attacked the orthodox Brahmanical class.
    • Buddha belonged to an agnostic faith as he never rejected nor accepted the existence of God, same with Jainism.

  • Aryan Origin

    • Were Aryans indigenous or foreigners?
    • There are a number of theories.
    • Friedrich Max Müller, a German scholar, also known as a German Indologist (interested in Indian civilization), brought the Aryan Invasion Theory.
    • • He translated all Indian learning from Vedas, Puranas, Dharmasutras, Dharmashastras, and published in more than 30 volumes with the title of “The Sacred Books of the East.”
      • This was in German and later translated into English.
      • The theory states that Aryans belonged to Central Asia and invaded India.
      • Other contemporary theories also support that.
    • The second theory, given by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, supports Max Müller's theory.
    • • In his Mandalay jail in Burma, he authored a book titled “The Arctic Home in the Vedas.” There he said that Aryans belonged to the Arctic region. Tilak was an activist and a revivalist.
      • He also negated the indigenous idea.
    • With time, historians came to a consensus called the Aryan Migration Theory (most recent theory) that states that Aryans migrated to India for the sake of greater opportunity, resources, and pastures.
    • • Because they heard of the land of seven rivers, the “Sapta Sindhu region.”
      • And naturally, they had conflict with the local “Dravidians.”
      • And as a result, Dravidians were sent to the southern part.
    • Rightist theory: Aryans were all indigenous, and it was the same Indus people who were the founders of the Vedic civilization. One of its arguments is worshipping the same deity like Shiva.

    • Evidence

      • Archaeological Evidence

        • One inscription was found in the Asia Minor region of Central Asia called “Boghazköy Inscription” that was tested by Carbon-14 (C14) method and found that it belongs to exactly 1500 BCE, the time Aryans came to India.
        • These inscriptions were about the movements of Aryans.
        • Mentions 5 different branches of Aryans from different parts of the world, 4 coming from Europe and one branch coming from Meluha (India called in ancient times).
        • Aryan features: tall, handsome, like Jats, Pathans.

      • Horse Evidence

        • No horses in the Harappan period; then the mode of transport was bullock carts.
        • Horses were the fastest mode, and hence probably how Aryans were able to defeat the locals.
        • Because if the same Indus people would have continued to the Vedic period, then they must have had horses, but they didn't.
        • In Surkotada, remains of horses haven't met consensus yet.

      • Philological (Science of Words) / Phonetics Evidence

        • There is a phonetic similarity between Sanskrit and English.
        • Like father in English and pitr, mother-matr, brother-bhratr.
        • Maybe different groups of people from the same genus created that group, and due to this, Indo-European similarity is because of the coming of Aryans.
        • Hitler used to term himself as Aryan.
        • There is a similarity between English, German, and Sanskrit.

      • Nature of Civilization

        • If both Indus and Aryan were the same, then why is there a difference in their nature?
        • Vedic civilization is more of a rural civilization, and Aryans were more affluent.
        • Like the grid pattern of Indus civilization is how township was created.

    • Purpose for Discussing Aryans

      • “Outsider as an enemy” theory, the fundamental part of rightist ideology that every outsider was an invader and hence enemy, and they targeted minorities.
      • If it is proved that Aryans were outsiders, then this theory will fall flat.
      • In 2001, when NDA came to power, Raja Ram, the NCERT director, called a press conference and claimed that he got an artifact that he found from an Indus site that depicted horses in it.
      • Later, archaeologists tested it through C14 test and found it forged.

  • History & Mythology

    • Tussle regarding Ramayana and Mahabharata.
    • Different versions of Ramayana cast doubt over the actual credibility.
    • But still, there are so many footprints of Ramayana that seemed to be credible.
    • In Badrinath, there is Bheemtal, a good example from Mahabharata.
    • Same with Dwarka; remote sensing data showed a drowned city.
    • The excavator of Dwarka, S.R. Rao, started during the 1970s and got some money. Since the entire city is drowned, he died in 2013.
    • His findings gave pretty evident facts for a city in 10 sq km.
    • Due to lack of excavation, whether that city is Dwarka or something else is not proven.
    • Raghuvamsham, a famous drama of Kalidasa, mentioned 100 lineages of Rama.
    • So if each of them ruled for approximately 25 years, then where is the data for those 2500 years?
    • Rabindranath Tagore said, “Ramayana and Mahabharata should be read in the realm of ideas and moral values.”

  • Varna System Deletion

    • Whatever part was "stinking," the government removed that from history, like Varna or caste system or religions that oppose the dominant religion.
    • The problem was with the caste system and not with Varna.

  • Issue of Periodization

    • Showing only a particular period as entire history showed a communal image.
    • Gandhi critiqued the periodization as it brings communalization.
    • He said if you cannot teach the correct history, it's better not to teach history.
    • When Rajiv Gandhi was PM, our Foreign Secretary was J.N. Dixit. On invitation by his Pakistani counterpart, he went for bilateral talks, and the little daughter of the Pakistani counterpart asked who he was. The Pakistani said he came from India. Hearing that, she started saying "Hindu dog, Hindu dog," as it was taught to her in school, which influenced her.

History's Role in Policy Making

• GATT - General Agreement on Trade and Tariff, made in 1948 after WWII through GATT/Uruguay Rounds.
• Keynesian model, a guiding economic model today.
  • Came as a modification to the free trade model of Adam Smith.
  • This said there needed to be limited government regulation and not be absolutely free as Smith said.
• Indo-China relations.
  • Panchsheel - five disciplines, signed with China and made good relations, but then the 1962 war occurred, leading to degradation.
  • One of the reasons we failed in the Indo-China war is because we failed to understand the Chinese mind.
• Non-Alignment.
  • It's a comprehensive debate that once we became independent, our foreign policy wouldn't be dependent on any other foreign policy.
  • We were imperially dominated by foreign powers and had a strong aversion towards it.
  • This non-alignment remained till the Soviet collapse.
  • India chose a multipolar system.
• Anti-Imperialism: We ourselves were imperially dominated, hence had a natural hatred towards it.
• When Saddam Hussein captured Kuwait, despite having great relations with Iraq, we condemned it.
  • Occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union was also condemned, as was when Israel captured parts of Palestine.
• Anti-Racialism.
  • We were subject to racism.
  • From Cornwallis onwards, the lopsided approach of the Britishers was not to give Indians prominent positions. Also, when Gandhi was thrown out of the train, and the restaurant in the Gandhi movie stated “Dogs and Indians are not allowed.”
  • Supported Nelson Mandela's regime while he was fighting apartheid.
• Anti-Neocolonialism.
  • Debt trap.
  • One Belt One Road Initiative.
  • Sri Lanka's collapse.
  • There is dollar imperialism by the USA and red imperialism by the USSR that followed neocolonialism by pumping money and creating their influence.

• In Domestic Front

  • Policy of Reservation

    • The Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 had reservation of separate electorates.
    • Continued in 1919.
    • First in the Nehru Report 1928 - abolished this idea of reservation on communal lines.
    • In its reply, Jinnah's 14 points came and supported it.
    • The Poona Pact: Gandhi-Ambedkar tussle arose because the British were considering separate electorates for Dalits, which was supported by Ambedkar, and Gandhi, in reply, sat on an anshan (fast).
    • Then Congress agreed for reservation but not giving separated electorates in constituencies, as it would further divide the community.

  • Land Reforms and Issue of Naxalism

    • Not achieved but still a severe issue today and a cause of Naxalism spread. Only Kerala, Bengal, and some states were able to apply land reforms.
    • Problem of Naxalism from the Zamindari system by Cornwallis, from Naxalbari, Bengal.

  • Indian Tribal Policy

    • Heavily influenced by the past.
    • In the 18th-19th century, there were hundreds of tribal uprisings against the British state.
    • For tribals, the forest is like a mother, and when the Forest Act and law passed, it harmed their livelihood.
    • From Santhal Rebellion, Kol Rebellion, and many others arose because their livelihood was at stake and they had no other option.
    • As per India's policy now, a non-tribal cannot buy land in a tribal area because this is the area where tribals lost their land in the past.
    • • Even if corporates get that land, it will be on lease.
    • The second policy is that tribal identity has to be preserved.

  • MGNREGA

    • After independence, people were dying of hunger; MGNREGA was introduced to stop such deaths.
    • Similar to PDS (Public Distribution System).

The Indian Freedom Struggle Legacy

• Democracy and Constitutionalism

  • Representative democracy.
  • Beginning from the 1861 Indian Councils Act.
  • Envisaged to include Indians in government to make good policy and connection with people so that no new revolt would arise.
  • INC in 1885, when it was a movement, then democratic culture became part of ours; every year, members of the working committee were chosen.
  • Acts of 1919 & 1935.

• Civil Liberty

  • Fundamental Rights are the cornerstone of civil liberties.
  • Right to dissent.
    • There is a myth that Gandhi was the unquestioned leader of the Indian struggle; there were times when his proposals were not passed or passed by few votes.
    • Non-Cooperation Movement: 1300 in support and 900 against. He couldn't convince everyone.
    • WWII: Gandhi's proposal to support the British to fight against Nazis, then the Quit India Resolution.
    • Quotes by Gandhi.
    • In 1922, after non-cooperation: “We must first make good the right of free speech and free association; we must defend these elementary rights.”
    • Nehru said, “If civil liberty is suppressed, a nation loses all vitality and becomes incapable of anything substantial.”
  • In 1931, the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights was adopted, firstly by the Nehru Report, then by the Constitution.

• Non-Violence

  • Withdrew non-cooperation because of violence.
  • No first use of nuclear policy.
  • Culture of assassination was prevalent in opposition.
  • 1975 - Emergency.

• Rights of Minorities

  • Special provisions for the protection of their rights, culture, and language.

• Economic Legacy

  • Social capitalism.
  • Self-sufficiency.
  • Globalization, as the Indus Valley Civilization had overseas trade in Sumeria. It's about the spread of culture and ideas as well.
  • We are economic critics of colonization as per our economic theory, economic policy, etc., like the Drain of Wealth Theory, Marxist.

• Self-Reliance

  • Green Revolution, White Revolution, Blue Revolution, Pink Revolution, Yellow Revolution, Make in India.
  • From the impact of the 1947 famine, food riots.
  • Imported PL-480 from the US.
    • Public Law 480 (PL 480), also known as the Food for Peace Act of 1954, was a US program that provided food aid to developing countries.
    • Were very rotten.
  • Green Revolution by M.S. Swaminathan, became self-reliant and exported and stopped import of rice from the US.
  • White Revolution by Verghese Kurien - earlier New Zealand, Denmark were largest producers, now it is India.

• Gandhian Economy

  • Villages need to be developed.
  • 90% people in 1947 were in villages.
  • Cottage industry central to village economy.
  • Promoting handicrafts - trade fair of Delhi, Pragati Maidan, every state's pavilion.
  • Khadi - symbol of freedom struggle; government provides subsidy too.
  • He had a debate because of this with Nehru, as he wanted rapid industrialization.
  • Gandhi said he was not against it but did not want machines to replace humans; there should be a balance between village and industrialization.

• Indigenous Capital

  • Concern since the struggle.
  • Exploitation by finance capital. First, export own raw material, then import finished goods, so double exploitation.
  • Tata Nano migration from Bengal to Gujarat.

• Agrarian Relations

  • 1948 Abolition of Zamindari Act came.
  • Ceiling laws came.
  • Only 3 success stories in West Bengal, Kerala, and to some extent, Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Land reforms were not successful; due to this, Naxalism arose as a challenge.

• Policy of Direct and Systematic State Intervention

  • Keynesian model.
  • CCI, SEBI, RBI, IRDA: Regulators to regulate the behavior of the sector companies.

• Against Economic Imperialism

  • We are against any form of imperialism.
  • Due to this, we oppose neocolonialism.
  • BRICS nations oppose dollar domination.
  • The 1931 resolution adopted an economic program; this shaped our economic policy, such as the 5-year plan from the Soviet model.

• Social Justice

  • Reservation, women's reservation.
  • Linked to the 19th century, such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, acts like the Widow Remarriage Act, Sarda Act, Consent Act, Child Marriage Act, Sati prohibition.
  • Slavery abolished in the 1850s; it's a punishable offense.
  • Child labor, caste trauma.
  • Dalits have two categories: Dalits and Mahadalits.
    • Dalits do not marry Mahadalits.
  • Sabarmati provision to clean their own washroom.
  • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Temple Entry Satyagraha.
  • Raja Ram Mohan Roy was kicked out by his mother from home because he was against Sati.
  • Constructive programs conducted by Congress.
    • Like poverty eradication.
    • Khadi, village development.
  • Egalitarianism.
  • Compulsory free education as social justice.
  • Aurobindo's model of integral education.
  • Tagore's idea: Visva-Bharati and Santiniketan combined Western education + Gurukul model. Studying under trees and surrounding students.
  • Wardha Scheme of Education (Gandhi) emphasized basic education and vocational training and self-reliance, not looking at the state.
  • Opposition to all forms of discrimination, oppression of gender, caste.

• Secularism

  • Delink religion from politics.
  • INC remained secular.
    • People from different communities headed it, like Badruddin Tyabji, Annie Besant, Abul Kalam Azad, A.O. Hume.
  • Opposition to communalism.
    • But failed to create a strategy against communal forces, but now part of our polity.

• United India

  • Integration of 600 states.
  • Song, flag, emblem, self-reliance, Patel, Charkha.

• Foreign Policy and Internationalism

  • All parts of our vision of independence.
  • NAM policy part of this vision.
  • Anti-racial, neo-colonial, anti-imperial.

• Politics of Demonstration

  • Satyagraha.
  • Kisan fasts till death (e.g., 56 days).
  • Picketing, boycotts.

• Means and Ends Debate

  • Should means also be right, and ends also?
  • For Gandhi, both are important; for Marx, etc.

• Accommodative Politics

  • Like multiparty structure.
  • During the Indian freedom struggle, INC was an umbrella organization, and under this, different groups existed as they had a common cause.
  • This comes as a legacy to India.

Legacy of the Partition of India

• Refugee Crisis

  • Government policy to resettle them in Punjab and Bengal.
  • Bengal and Punjab underwent partition, while the rest of India experienced it, as noted by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya.

  • Radcliffe Boundary Award

    • Government policy of rehabilitation in eastern and western regions.
    • The criteria for dividing Punjab and Bengal.
    • The majority-minority ratio.
    • The region having a Muslim majority would go to Pakistan.
    • Displaced approximately 18 million people, where Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were displaced.

  • Mountbatten Plan

    • Also known as the 3rd June Plan, as it came on this day in 1947.
    • Signed by leaders from 3 communities: Nehru, Jinnah, and Sardar Baldev Singh.
    • Provision: all Muslim-majority provinces (Bengal, Punjab, Sindh, NWFP) would merge with Pakistan.
    • A provision for a referendum in North West Punjab.
      • This was inserted as this entire province was anti-Jinnah.
      • Once they knew that they were going to be a part of Pakistan, they disagreed and chose to form an independent state, and hence this referendum was held to ask the population.
      • This referendum was boycotted by Frontier Gandhi (Abdul Ghaffar Khan) and the region was captured by Pakistan.
      • This region still continues rebellious tendencies.
    • Majority-minority ratio would be the criteria for division of territory.
    • Provision for a referendum in the Sylhet region in Bengal, because of its rebellious tendency; as per this, the Hindu majority came to India, and the Muslim one went to Pakistan.
    • Provision for the constitution of a Boundary Commission for partition.

  • Radcliffe Boundary Award

    • In 4 weeks' time, Cyril Radcliffe had to divide the territories of Punjab and Bengal.
    • In such a short time, with his steno, map, and scale, he created a line and parted it.
    • Ramachandra Guha writes that when Radcliffe was leaving India, he burned all his papers and said that no one was going to love him in India due to the bloodshed.

    • Controversies of the Award

      • Gurdaspur (Punjab), Nadia, and Murshidabad (Bengal).
        • All Muslim majority but given to India.
        • Jinnah said this award was heavily tilted towards India.
        • Gurdaspur had 50.2% Muslims but was given to India as Gurdaspur is the only land linked to Jammu and Kashmir.
        • Nadia - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born, a religious region; and Murshidabad - a prominent place.
        • He accepted the Congress' argument about the importance of the Murshidabad and Nadia river system for the survival of the Hooghly and gave the whole of Murshidabad to West Bengal.
      • Date.
        • Radcliffe submitted his report on August 12th, but the government delayed this intentionally, as after independence, people on the border were claiming their side, which led to bloodshed.
      • Divided homes.
        • People lost relatives, family members, and friends because of the division.
        • At the time of division, people thought this division was temporary.
        • If Radcliffe took a natural line, it would be much more pragmatic.
      • Delinked a lot of canals from their water controlling stations.
        • As most irrigated regions of Punjab went to Pakistan, but their water controlling regions stayed in India.
        • Which led to the Indus Water Treaty.
      • In Bengal, most jute-producing areas went to East Bengal.
        • And factories remained in Bengal.
        • Calcutta was the city of dreams for undivided Bengal; when divided, loss occurred.

    • Consequences

      • 18 million displaced.
      • Loss of property.

  • Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy Concerning Punjabi Refugees

    • East Punjab received 45% of the population, but irrigated land was reduced to 30%, and the rest went to West Punjab as it had canal colonies.
      • Led to food crisis.
    • Evacuee property.
      • Hindu and Sikh properties: when they came to Indian Punjab, they left roughly 67 lakh acres of land, but Muslims who went to Pakistan left only 47 lakh acres of land.
      • Vidyavati had almost 10,000 acres of land in Pakistan but came to India.

    • Policies

      Temporary Phase

      • Refugee camps - Temporary settlement camps from 1947-49.
        • Became congested.
        • In Delhi, areas like Lajpat Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, Okhla, were refugee camps then.
      • Providing evacuee property.
      • Food loans.
        • Government gave loans at zero interest.
        • Loans provided to artisans to set up professions, also for wells for cultivation.
      • Categorizing to give avenues of opportunities.
      • Healthcare.
      • Psychological rehabilitation.
        • People who knew each other, friends, from the same family, village had to be put together to make them feel safe.

      Permanent Phase (1949 onwards)

      • Allotment of land.
        • For this, the government took help from the Panchayat.
        • Given to only rural refugees, where in front of the entire village, those refugees had to state their land, and then their claimed land was verified by co-villagers.
        • The landless ones were given some land to grow some livelihood.
        • For this allotment, two criteria were used:
          • Standard Acre.
            • Brought by ICS Tarlok Singh, Director General of Rehabilitation of Punjab, who brought these two concepts.
            • One standard acre would be considered, which could produce 4-5 quintals of produce, as land fertility of the west was different.
          • Graded Cut.
            • We didn't have much land as claimed.
            • Up to 10 acres, there was a provision for a 25% cut, meaning that if someone asked for 10 acres, they would get 7.5 acres.
            • Kept increasing on higher claims.
            • At 10 acres - 25%, 30 acres - 30% reduction, 40 acres - 40%, more than 1000 acres - 95% reduction.
        • Land was allotted on a family basis, where all people would work together, hence they had big holdings.
        • One reason to choose Punjab for the Green Revolution is such big holdings; when cultivation had to be intensive, it would be on big holdings.
        • East Punjab got large holdings, and further lands were consolidated.
      • Need for water.
        • Bhakra Nangal Dam was built - the largest dam till date.
        • In 1948 by Nehru.
        • Nehru - “Dams are going to be the temple of modern India” when he inaugurated this dam.
        • Completed 1963.
        • This dam had the potential to generate the Green Revolution not only for water but also in electricity generation, which led to the tubewell revolution.
        • Further, this irrigated millions of acres of land.
        • The then food-deficient region became the food basket of the country.
        • Use of HYV (High-Yielding Variety) seeds was in use for cultivation.
      • Massive investment in agriculture led to a massive boom in the Green Revolution.
      • One of the drawbacks.
        • Termed Green Revolution as a "watermelon" where green from outside but red inside, i.e., environmentally hazardous.
        • One is heavy use of pesticides and chemicals that led to an increase in cancer.
        • Another is salinization of water that led to lessening of soil fertility.
        • Hundreds-thousands of acres of forests were destroyed to build the dam.
        • Led to serious impact on flora and fauna.
        • This dam caused a lot of security threat, that is, any harm to this dam, then the entire north region will be under 8 feet of water.
        • Arundhati Roy termed this dam as worse than the nuclear bomb.

  • But the Scene in Bengal Was Different

    • Refugee Crisis in Eastern India

      • When refugees came, the Nehru-Liaquat Pact was signed.
      • Where in a joint declaration, protection of minorities was promised, but still, they continued to come.
      • The Great Exodus in Eastern India.
        • In the case of Punjab, it was a one-time flow, but not in Bengal.
        • This continued throughout the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and till date.
        • This partition left 12 million non-Muslims in Bangladesh.
        • And they decided to stay there, and after some time, they were persecuted, and hence wanted to come to India, which aggravated the crisis.
        • In Bengal, the “Bhadralok” class, who belonged to the upper class, educated middle class.
        • This Bhadralok class, when they got info about partition, were the first batch of people who came to India.
        • In Bengal, there was already high demographic density and little place to settle.
        • In 1958, the DDA scheme was brought out - Dandakaranya Development Authority.
        • The Dandakaranya region of Madhya Pradesh was selected for resettlement; tribals already lived in the region.
        • This policy failed, as the region had very porous soil and didn't fit paddy cultivation, ecologically contrasted hot humid region, had conflict with tribals.
        • When this policy failed, people who went there started returning back to Bengal as they had a hard life to live in that terrain.
        • Communists headed the protest movement for refugees, and they became their vote bank.
          • Bengal and Kerala were the only two communist-ruled regions for decades.
      • Legacy left to Bengali culture.
        • Led to the rise of a new woman, who belonged to the working class.
        • This created a Bengali diaspora throughout the country.
        • As a result of partition, Calcutta is the most congested megacity in the country. West Bengal also had a concentrated demographic situation.
        • In Uttarakhand, more than 55,000 families settled successfully.
        • In Andaman Island, thousands of families settled, and in Tripura.

  • Between Punjab and Bengal

    • Out-migration was lacking in Bengal, but in Punjab, out-in migration was balanced.
    • Punjabi refugees were accepted in Haryana, Delhi.
    • In Punjab, migration was a one-time process, but in Bengal, it continued through the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.