As the British sought to expand their empire
into the northwest frontier, they clashed with the Pashtun tribes that
held lands extending from the western boundary of the Punjab plains
into the kingdom of Afghanistan. The Pashtuns strongly resisted British
invasions into their territories. After suffering many casualties, the
British finally admitted they could not conquer the Pashtuns. In 1893
Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the colonial government
of India, negotiated an agreement with the king of Afghanistan, Amir
Abdur Rahman Khan, to delineate a border. The so-called Durand Line cut
through Pashtun territories, dividing them between British and Afghan
areas of influence. However, the Pashtuns refused to be subjugated
under British colonial rule. The British compromised by creating a new
province in 1901, named the North-West Frontier Province, as a loosely
administered territory where the Pashtuns would not be subject to
colonial laws.
The British maintained their empire in the
Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years. The first 100 years were
marked by chaos and crisis. The Sepoy Rebellion, also known as the
Indian War of Independence, erupted in 1857 and became a widespread
revolt against British rule. After the British quelled the rebellion in
1858, they immediately took steps to maintain control. The British
government officially abolished the Mughal Empire and exiled Muhammad
Bahadur Shah to Burma. In addition, the British government transferred
authority from the English East India Company to the British crown,
establishing direct imperial rule in India. To help consolidate control
the British initiated a series of educational, administrative, and
political processes between 1858 and 1900. English was introduced as
the official language.
The Muslim response to the imposition of
British rule evolved around the ideas and leadership of Sir Syed Ahmad
Khan. In 1875 Sir Syed founded Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now
Aligarh University) because he believed that Muslims could best improve
their social and economic standing by gaining a Western education,
rather than the traditional Islamic education. He encouraged Muslims to
pursue higher education based on the Western model as a way to advance
themselves, and their community, in the new order. He also encouraged
Muslims to seek government jobs and show loyalty to the British Raj. At
the same time he sought British patronage for improving the lives of
the Muslims of India. He demanded a separate Muslim electorate, arguing
that Muslims were at a disadvantage among India’s overwhelming majority
of Hindus. Hindus also were advancing themselves in the new order more
quickly than Muslims, the majority of whom held low socioeconomic
status as farmers and laborers. The emerging educated Muslim groups
found Sir Syed’s ideas inspiring.
In the 1880s the British initiated political
reforms that allowed the formation of political parties and local
government. The Indian National Congress was created in 1885 to
advocate for Indian autonomy from British rule. Many Muslims believed
the organization focused on Hindu interests, however, and in 1906
Muslims formed the Muslim League to represent their interests. Muslims
demanded, and were granted, separate electorates in the Government of
India Act of 1909. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the
national and provincial legislative councils, although the authority of
these legislative councils was severely limited under the British
colonial government. Both Muslims and Hindus demanded autonomy
(self-government), and in 1919 constitutional reforms were introduced
that gave the legislative councils greater authority. However, the
reforms fell short of granting autonomy and did not satisfy political
demands. The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 further galvanized nationalist,
anti-British sentiment.
The concept of an autonomous Muslim state
was publicly proposed during the Allahabad session of the Muslim League
in 1930 by the leading Muslim poet-philosopher in South Asia, Mohammad
Iqbal. He envisioned a system in which areas that had Muslim majorities
would constitute an autonomous state within India. During the next
decade, this concept evolved into the demand for the partition of India
into separate Muslim and Hindu nations, known as the Two Nations
Theory. In 1940 Muslim League president Mohammed Ali Jinnah presided
over the organization’s annual session, held that year at Lahore, in
which the League made its first official demand for the partition of
India. The Lahore Resolution called for an independent, sovereign
Muslim state.
During preindependence talks in 1946, the
British government found that the stand of the Muslim League on
separation and that of the Congress on the territorial unity of India
were irreconcilable. The British then decided on partition and on
August 14, 1947, granted independence to Pakistan. India gained its
independence the next day. They both became independent dominions
within the Commonwealth of Nations. Pakistan came into existence in two
parts: West Pakistan, coextensive with the country’s present
boundaries, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. The two were
separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory.
Forum 
