Two Nation Theory
- What: Two Nation theory suggests that rather than being identified by their country, Islam is the main identity for Muslims in India. This further implies that nationality is religion, causing Hindus and Muslims in India to feel a separation. It disregards other types of communities such as ethnicity or race. This theory is a combination of religion, identity and, nationalism.
- Who: The main advocate for the Two Nation Theory was Mohammed Jinnah, the leader of the All-Muslim League. This theory affected all religions because also those who were not Muslim in the newly created Pakistan were forced to leave.
- Where: This theory focuses on India, specifically the conflicts it could avoid and the nationalism that would arise if Muslims had their own country.
- When: It really emerged during the later 1940s.
- Why: In India, there were an abundance of communities that discriminated based on religion. Many believe in the false image of happy Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, etc. neighbors but that was far from the truth. These groups had this tension boiling up much before and Partition was the chance they were waiting for to eradicate anyone they saw as different from them. The Two Nation Theory and its enactment further proved to them that they were different people who could only be happy and prosper if they were far from each other. This theory was the root of why Pakistan was created and in order to understand why a nation was split into two, it is necessary to explore the ideologies surrounding the conflict. Because as my Political Theory professor recently said, "Ideas make the world".
Expert OpinionWatch this in order to get more details about Partition!
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What was the 1947 Partition exactly?If you are not fully aware of what the 1947 Partition is, watch this video to gain a deeper understanding and recognize the ideas of the Two Nation Theory embedded! Enjoy!
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