Spirals of Contention

<p>This study examines the social and psychological processes that led to the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. It recognizes the long-term continuities in the idiom of conflict (as well as cooperation) and shows that by 1900 the conflicts and animosities were gathering a self-aggravating momentum. The book moves back and forth between evidence and general or theoretical understanding.</p><p>Separateness between Hindus and Muslims grew reciprocally with hardening religious identities and the growing frequency of incidents of conflict. These skirmishes had several dimensions: symbolic (desecrating places of worship) societal (conversions) and physical (violence against women). As mutual trust declined a quarter century of negotiations under diverse auspices failed to yield an agreement and even the framework of the Partition in 1947 was imposed by the colonial rulers.</p><p>A theoretically informed study this book takes a comparative stance along several axes. Recognizing long-term continuities in the idiom of conflict (as well as of cooperation) it will be of interest to students of conflicts Partitions history sociology and South Asian studies.</p>