Date: 06/04/2021
Why Army did not take over at the time
of partition of India in 1947
Things were out of control in 1947 before and after partition of India. Partition was carefully nurtured by British particularly Wavell in collusion with Jinnah and league and proposed boundary would have extended up to entire Bengal including Assam and entire Punjab, however the plan was defeated by Attlee who dismissed Wavell without warning. Nehru' s British friend and Secretary of Wavell handed over accounts of all deliberations between Lord Wavell and Jinnah who in turned it over to new British PM Attlee. For good luck of India Attlee too had been a friend of Nehru. Attlee took no time in packing off Wavell and asked him to resign but Wavell asked Attlee to give him a few months so that he could manage livelihood and a residence in London which he did not have. Attlee rejected his request and was furious at Wavell for reaching an understanding with Jinnah at his back and asked Wavell to resign lest he would be removed. But unfortunately who drew the boundary Cyril Radcliffe and new Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten in utmost hurry to go back and hell bent to finalize boundaries and immediate simultaneous independence. Gandhi rightly asked for time lest the riots would flare up. Mountbatten did ask to conclude complete exchange of population but Patel said रहना है तो रहो जाना है तो जाओ। Gandhi was busy cooling riots and Nehru in celebrations. British troops had left but some detachments were retained here and there like in Fort Williams. Pakistan let loose reign of terror on Hindus and Sikhs in most gruesome manner. Shurawardy CM unleashed murderous attacks on Bengali Hindus in Calcutta and Noakhali following Direct Action call by Jinnah. Jinnah delivered fire eating speeches and was told that expulsion of Hindus and Sikhs in entire Punjab will be complete and that there will be no response or retaliation as they were neither prepared nor armed. Jinnah used the league Cadre for extreme violence not sparing even women and children. They also mobilized men in uniform in civil clothes against Hindus and Sikhs and Bengalis. But then retaliation came and Jinnah Liaquat were stunned. Nehru did not use Army but had he done so the evil would have been nipped in the bud. Cyril Radcliffe wrongly allotted Lahore, Sialkot and entire bulge from Mirpur to Lahore to Pakistan. He also committed mistake in amalgamating Chittagong Hill State in East Pakistan.
Millions of families were uprooted and several thousands of people lost their lives. Untold violent miseries were inflicted on Hindus and Sikhs. Pakistan national movement was drafted by Rahmat Ali in 1933 with approval of British masters in London. The man had British Secretarial staff and had said that Pakistan was a must as Home Land for Muslims of entire Indian sub continent. Cyril Radcliffe allotted land area to Pakistan much more than India on proportional basis. Jinnah, League and British were solely responsible for creation of Pakistan . It was at this time Nehru should have appointed Indian as Commander in Chief however he chose British General instead for reasons best known to him.
Indian officers of Army did not have much power at that time and British commanded our Armed Forces.
A fellow named Nehru was questioned by an Indian officer for his qualification to become PM after independence. From that day onwards this man became enemy of Army and left it unarmed unprepared and gradually humiliated it and Chiefs in protocol procedures because he projected Army as a ceremonial outfit and it was considered to be of no use as India's borders were quiet. A vague unimaginative person who ordered Army to evict Chinese in 1962 without preparation and without planning. A self styled great statesman of the world who in fact was called running dog of imperialism and in private considered to be of not much significance.
Yet another fellow JB Kirplani started bullying Army officers and started ordering them to obey his orders as if 1947 independence had made him some kind of dictator. The British General who was sitting with him snubbed this fellow Kirplani not to misbehave and not to give wrong orders to an officer who in no way was under his command.
Our military leaders true to their path and discipline did not over react or act against Nehru because people of India were under magic spell of Nehru due to his pre independence aura and also due to extraordinary success of First Five Year Plan which resulted thereafter in massive influx of people into India. Even those who had left India allegedly started tricking in. There after Second and subsequent Five Year Plans failed due to sudden rise of population.
Army was never prepared nor it had contingency plans for military take over due to lack of over ambitious Generals and lack of public support.
Nehru did provide stability, peace and started heavy industries. The country was carefully divided into a federation which acted as a cushion against military take over as political stability did not permit any space for Army rule.
Army take over is certain and inevitable and would descend itself without asking in event of internal civil strife or chaos, the kind of thing being engineered by Western powers in Myanmar recently.
Second is economic collapse, thirdly failure of administrative and judicial system or in presence of treason by top political leadership and change of demography. Moment India's demography changes alarmingly and political leadership of country goes into wrong hands, no force in world would be able to stop military take over resulting in war with hostile neighbouring countries in East and West of India which would automatically result in mass expulsions. This was the case during Ottoman rule and during the rule the rule of Stalin aftermath of WW II. There were large scale expulsion of people as recently as 1999 in Albania during Kosovo war and also exchange of population in Europe in forties.
The constant several billion dollar programme by West Asian countries in collusion with forces in Pakistan and Bangladesh to settle millions in India through hook or crook by collaborators would result in backlash and would be counter productive later if not sooner which would change the geo-political scenario affecting economic and strategic situation.
Army take over can not be imposed in country without solid reasons and threat to survival of nation and those reasons have no existence in absence of total failure of administration however corruption in India remains unchecked and decision making at state levels unsatisfactory and ad-hoc. The justice system remains standstill and beyond reach, unhealthy signs for any nation.
-surender mohan.
5 April 2021
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