Sentiments of Indian nationalism were expressed as early as 1885 at the Indian National Congress which was predominantly Hindu. In 1906 the All India Muslim League formed with favourable relations towards British rule but by 1913 that changed when the League shifted its focus and began to view Indian self government as its goal. It continued to favor Hindu Muslim unity towards that end for several decades but in 1940 the League began to call for a separate Muslim state from the projected Independent India. The League was concerned that a United Independent India would be dominated by Hindus. In the winter of 1945-46 Mohammed Ali Jinnahs Muslim League members won all thirty seats reserved for Muslims in the Central Legislative Assembly and most of the reserved provincial seats we well. In July 1947 Britains Parliament passed the Indian Independence act, which set a deadline of midnight on August 14-15, 1947 for demarcation of the dominions of India. As a result at least 10 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs field their homes to seek sanctuary on whichever side of the line was favourably to them. The ensuing communal massacres left at least one million dead with the brunt of the suffering borne by the Sikhs who has been caught in the middle. Most of them eventually settled in Punjab. The book is an attempt by authors to understand the factors and forces that proved catalyst in the march of history in the subcontinent.
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