India Divided

The question of the partition of India into Muslim and Hindu zones assumed importance after the All-India Muslim League passed a resolution in its favour in March 1940 in Lahore. Most of India Divided was written in prison and it was published in 1946 a year before India was divided. The book specifically examines the theory that the Hindus and Muslims of India were two nations and concludes that the solution for the Hindu-Muslim issue should be sought in the formation of a secular state with cultural autonomy for the different groups that make up the nation. It traces the origins and growth of the Hindu-Muslim conflict gives the summary of the several schemes for the partition of India which were put forth and points out the essential ambiguity of the Lahore Resolution. Finally it deals with the resources of the Muslim-majority states and shows how the suggested scheme of Partition was impracticable and proposes a new solution to the Hindu-Muslim question. About the Author Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963) was the first President of the Republic of India. An Independence activist and a prominent Gandhian Rajendra Prasad was a close associate of Gandhi’s from the time of the Champaran Satyagraha in 1916. He later served as president of the Constituent Assembly. He was President of India for twelve years before resigning in 1962. He was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna that year.