Zareer Masani

Partition wasn’t inevitable

The chance for a prosperous, united India was thwarted by Clement Attlee, Lord Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru

Amritsar after communal riots during the Partition of British India (photo: Getty)
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‘Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.’ Imagine if those famous words had not been spoken by Jawaharlal Nehru 75 years ago today, as Pakistan and India announced their independence, but instead by a confederation of the whole Indian subcontinent.

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Written by
Zareer Masani
Dr Zareer Masani is a historian and the author of Macaulay: Britain's Liberal Imperialist. He is on the advisory panel of Policy Exchange’s History Matters Project

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