Common impression in India and the world is that Atlee and Labor Party were good and wanted to give independence to India after WW II, but due to differences among Indian leaders, they had to divide the country. This belief is based on British version and is totally false. History books written in Britain, US, and even in India are based on this version. The truth is England did NOT want their raj to end in India. Atlee, Cripps, Labor Party and Churchill wanted British raj to continue in India. The British propagated this version to hide their guilt. One million Indians were killed and 12 million were forced to migrate leaving their homes where they had lived for centuries due to British plan to partition India. This false version of Indian history is very injurious to India. It is high time that we learn our true history, so that we can defend ourselves and will not repeat old mistakes. Independence was not due to good will of England but due to balance of military force.

To understand the history of 1946-1948 period, it is necessary to know a few ideas. Mao said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. This has been always true in the past, is true even now and will remain so in future. Idealism has no place in politics, which concerns with power - how to get it and how to use it after getting it. An imperial power rules by the policy of "divide and rule". Previously an imperial power ruled the subject country directly and exploited it. As this became unpopular, imperialism changed its form into neo-imperialism. Divide and rule became "divide and dominate." The imperial power does not rule directly but through appointed ruler and exploits the subject country. The US developed this method of neo-imperialism in the 19th century in South America. The South American countries were politically and internationally free. The invisible empire was economic. It exploited and dominated. The invisible empire is not resented, as people do not see it, as is the case with political domination.

Gandhiji used to describe the British policy of divide and rule as monkey justice from an Aesop's fable. This fable is about two cats, which were fighting for the just division of a loaf of bread and went to a monkey to divide it justly between them. The monkey deliberately divided the bread into two unequal pieces. When the cat with smaller piece objected, the monkey took a big bite from the bigger piece, so that it became smaller. The other cat objected now and the monkey kept on taking bites from the bigger piece, till the cats found that the monkey had eaten all the bread while pretending to divide it equally.

When Viceroy Linlithgow's replacement was considered in 1943, Prime Minister Churchill wanted his trusted lieutenant, Eden as Viceroy. Churchill told Eden on April 21, 1943 that "what a calamity it would be to win the war and lose India." Eden opposed the idea because he felt once he was out in India; he could not be considered Churchill's successor. Churchill agreed with Eden on this point and after lot of arguments dropped the idea. Churchill selected General Wavell in stead in June 1943 to hold the status quo in India till war end. Then Wavell was Commander-in Chief of British Indian Army. This shows the British had no intention of leaving India. Labor Minister in Labor government wanted Libya for Britain in the discussion of disposal of Italian colonies in the meeting of big powers, even though the British government had declared earlier that Britain did not want any new colony after the war,

When Viceroy Wavell went to London, he met Bevin and Alexander on December 21, 1945. He writes that Bevin like everyone else hated the idea of leaving India, but Bevin had no alternative to suggest. Bevin said that America was very much worried about India and did not want England to leave India. Wavell replied that US had changed its policy, now they could hardly expect British to face another Palestine in India, because it suited American commercial interest that Britain should remain in India. All this proves that the British and even US did not want the raj to end in India.

There were many reasons put together why Britain had to give India independence. Gandhiji's Satyagrah movements in 1920s and 1930s, the widespread Quit India movement in 1942, formation of Indian National Army by Subhas Chandra Bose in South East Asia, trial of I.N.A officers, then mutiny of Indian navy and air force, sending of Indian army to Indo-China and Indonesia to take surrender for Japan, expansion of Indian army to 2.5 lacs to fight expected Japanese invasion of India made Wavell realize that he could not trust the loyalty of Indian army and England could not rule India militarily. To control India militarily, British policy had been to have one British soldier to two Indians in the Indian Army. This changed due to wartime expansion from 210,000 troops to 2.5 million, making Indian Army preponderantly Hindu with number of British troops remaining at 70,000. Moreover England had become very weak economically and militarily after war end. Only one year after it's declaration of war against Germany in September 1939, it found it had spent most of its gold and dollar reserves. It had to depend on the US for money and arms to carry on the war. Britain's worldwide empire was based on naval supremacy. After the war the British Navy was not the strongest. Atom bomb appeared as a weapon of war, but Britain had no atom bombs. Naval ships could be destroyed by aeroplanes.

Hence Wavell made a blue print of Pakistan in December 1945 and sent it to Secretary of State for India in a most secret letter. This letter has been now made public. The letter reveals that partition was necessary to protect British interests in Asia and NOT Muslim interests as believed in India and Pakistan. Aim was to protect Near East from Soviet expansion to Indian Ocean and oil wells there. The English had been working on creation of Pakistan since 1888.

The Cabinet Delegation was sent to India in March 1946 ostensibly to help Indians to become free but really to make Indians agree to Partition. To further this aim, the English made Jinnah start communal riots to prove that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together and the country had to be divided. One million lives were lost in communal riots during 1946 - 1947. Though the British were powerless to control India, they had enough power to create trouble before leaving. Indian navy was much weaker than Royal Navy, which could blockade India and prevent import of many necessary items. To defeat Congress demand for a free united India, they threatened that if Congress did not agree to partition they would leave India in more than 500 pieces. Sardar Patel had become in charge of Home in the provisional government in September 1946. He read all secret government papers and found how the British were intriguing to make India very weak before departure. He decided that it was better to accept India in two parts rather than in more than 500. In December 1946, he made V.P. Menon make a blue print of partition, which was different from Wavell's partition plan. It was this plan, which was ultimately adopted in August 1947. Patel talked to Nehru about his idea, but Nehru said that Gandhiji would never agree to this plan. Gandhiji had realized the harm to India from partition and declared that partition would take place over his dead body. Gandhiji was willing to have a civil war to prevent partition. Patel told Nehru that he would make Gandhiji agree to his plan. Both went to Gandhiji and told him about Patel's idea. Gandhiji asked them if they had become afraid due to loss of lives in raging communal riots in India. Both Patel and Nehru replied that they were not scared, but facts had to be faced. And that it would be better to accept partition. Gandhiji agreed to partition on condition that it would be a partition between two brothers. The wily English defeated Gandhiji's wish by creating Kashmir problem so that the two nations would keep fighting. Patel explained later in November 1947 the logic for acceptance of partition. He said that with Partition 80 % of India would be free. India will develop economically and militarily and then take the other 20%.

Partition took place on August 14 and 15, 1947. All top civil and military officers were British in Pakistan. They made a plan for Pakistan to attack Kashmir, which had not decided which Dominion to accede, with some tribesmen and Pakistan Army men in mufti to invade Kashmir on October 20. This made Maharaja and National Conference of Shiekh Abdullah ask for India's help. After accepting accession, Indian army was sent to prevent the Pak invaders from occupation of Kashmir. As the fighting was going on, Mountbatten asked Congress leaders not to attack Pakistan but to complain to UN. Gandhiji, Nehru and Patel were against Mountbatten's suggestion, but Nehru had to agree as Britain reduced supply of arms and petrol to India to put pressure to agree to go to UN. As expected, UN, dominated by US and England did not declare Pakistan as an aggressor, but appointed a mediator (i.e. justice monkey). Pakistan was never declared an aggressor and it continues to occupy parts of Kashmir.

To say that Jinnah created Pakistan is a joke. Jinnah had no gun to get political power. Jinnah was ignorant and he allowed the British to use him as a stooge to divide the country. Later Jinnah himself realized his mistake and wanted India and Pakistan to unite just before his death. Jinnah may be called second Mir Jafar.

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