"Partition was a failure of all sides—Congress, Muslim League and the British. They all went into it with their eyes open. Their reasons may have been different. They were getting old and impatient as Nehru said. Or they knew they were dying as was the case with Jinnah. It was not built on any principle, only haste and expediency. One thing which emerged clearly .... that mass violence can occur and persist only if authorities stand back, out of connivance or incompetence. That is one clear guideline through all the post-Independence riots in India. While Nehru was PM, for 17 years, no riots were allowed to flare up. Immediately upon some incident, police moved in and stopped further violence. One year after he died, riots resumed and have not stopped for the 48 years since." Lord Meghnad Desai on "Why there are riots in India" in The Indian Express indianexpress/news/why-are-there-riots-in-india-/1144445/0
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 05:11:41 +0000
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