Historically, the two-state solution was the making of two separate nations for two different people by British colonizers to solve conflicts and achieve peace. The approach was also applied in India to counter the rising disputes between the Hindus and Muslims motivated by religious reasons. At the time, Hindus were under the leadership of the “Congress Party,” while the “All-India Muslim League” led the Muslims in the territory. The solution created the sovereign state of India for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims. The focus of this paper is to analyze the two-state solution case of India and Pakistan through the lens of its origin, implementation, and reality.

Before gaining independence in 1947, India was colonized by the British. These colonizers used religion to rule the colony in its divide-and-rule approach. Over the years, the religiously motivated divide and rule created disputes between the Hindus and Muslims. The origin of the two-state partition can be traced back to the 1937 election, whereby the Muslim League argued that the interest of Indian Muslims had been disregarded. Therefore, the League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah advocated for the withdrawal from the dominant Congress and to form a separate state for Muslims only (Copland, 2014). This was also fueled by the “Congress provincial rule that alienated many Muslims” (Copland, 2014).Contrarily, Congress under Mahatma Gandhi wanted independence from Britain; hence engaged in non-violence resistance. According to Parekh, “Gandhi was led to introduce other forms of pressure as economic boycott, non-payment of taxes, non-cooperation, and cessation of work” (Parekh, 2001). Gandhi used satyagraha to fight British rule and champion a unified India. Basically, the solution’s origin was the colonial era political conflicts motivated by religion between Hindus and Muslims.

 In 1940, the demand for a different Muslim nation was put forth by the Muslim League. Their justification was that they wanted to protect Muslim’s political, social, and economic interests from the majority Hindu population. The demand was further heightened after the League under Jinnah won the general election in 1945- 1946. Evidently, “the Pakistan idea even gained a measure of support from Muslims living in the minority provinces, who naively assumed that a Muslim state, would render them less vulnerable to majoritarian discrimination” (Copland, 2014). On the contrary, Congress, under Jawaharlal Nehru, was against the division. Accordingly, “Congress under Nehru opposed the idea of separation; rather, he favored a unified India with a centralized power” (Copland, 2014). Toward 1947, numerous religious motivated conflicts were emerging in India. Copland affirms, “by 1947 north India was in the grip of an undeclared civil war between Muslims and non-Muslims” (Copland, 2014). These religious disputes led to numerous deaths, like the case of Calcutta, where six thousand Muslims died. Jinnah used these conflicts to demand nothing less than a sovereign Pakistani country for Muslims in the transfer of power from Britain.

The implementation of the two-state solution was negotiated by the two parties representing the Muslims and Hindus. Beginning in 1947, preparations for separate Muslim and Hindu states commenced, whereby Pakistan became the basis of Muslim identity while India became the basis of Hindu identity. This was after Mountbatten, on June 1947, declared plans to partition the colony into India and Pakistan. The separation was officially implemented on August 15th of the same year, prompting two separate sovereign nations, India and Pakistan. During the implementation, it was agreed that regions hosting the majority of Muslims to become Pakistan while territories with most Hindus to become India. As a result, ethnic cleansing followed, whereby there were outbreaks of violent attacks that claimed millions of lives. For example, “by 1952, Bengalis were rioting in the streets against Punjabi linguistic imperialism” (Copland, 2014). The separation also caused the displacement of millions of people. Copland notes, “displaced by the whim of Radcliffe’s pen, millions of terrified Hindus, Muslims sand Sikhs thronged the railway stations and the bus depots in late August 1947, desperately looking for a passage to safety” (Copland, 2014). Despite easing the religious and political tensions between the Muslims and Hindus of India, it is clear that the separation brought more suffering.

The two-state solution topic offers a significant underlying history of India and Pakistan that shaped the contemporary sovereign countries. Its importance was to solve the religious and political tension between the Indian Muslims and Hindus. On the contrary, the separation caused bloodshed, and millions of people were displaced. In the modern day, the solution continues to haunt the two countries as they are still struggling with their identity, nationalism, and communalism. Also, conflicts between the Hindus and Muslims still continue in the modern era. Additionally, the reality of the partition is complex. Notably,  the resulting Indian state was a secular and democratic country that also hosted various groups of people like Christians and Sikhs. On the contrary, the Islamic state of Pakistan prompted a nation struggling with political instability, economic crises, and rampant riots. The reality is that the separation did not achieve its goal. For example, it gave rise to the lengthy conflict over Kashmir and Jammu territory between India and Pakistan, which started following the two-state partition in 1947.

To sum up, it is clear that the two-state separation was the partitioning of the Indian colony into an Indian state for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims. The separation originated from the political and religious disputes that culminated from the divide-and-rule British approach over the years. It was Ali Jinnah that championed the creation of a separate Muslim nation (Pakistan) to protect the interest of Muslims as the majority of Hindus neglected them. Contrarily, the move was opposed by Congress leaders like Gandhi and Nehru. The solution was achieved on August 15^th, 1947, and was followed by violence, millions of casualties, and displacements. Ultimately, the two-state solution did not offer lasting peace between the conflicting groups. Instead, Pakistan and India are still conflicting over political and religious issues. Overall, the topic offers insight into the history of Pakistan and India and why the two countries’ histories are still tied in contemporary society.