Partition

 Partition means different things to different people, an interior designer looks at it from the point of view of creating space, improving the aesthetics.  A carpenter will be looking at pieces of wood with carvings , a mason would be doing the same thing with bricks and mortar, create a wall, which would be more permanent in nature unlike the others' partitions which can be undone rather easily.The geek would imagine the partitioning being referred to as that of the hard disk of his computer.

A partition, by its very meaning signifies a temporary demarcation of space, at times to actually beautify or to create additional space. Indian Living rooms often have a Saharanpur crafted wooden partition, often decorative, separating the Living and Dining spaces in the premises. But alas, there is no "Undo" in real life.

This independence day I was mulling over the saga of partition and the riots  which accompanied it. Have you ever wondered, why is the division of the country referred to as partition? In Hindi it is referred to as "Vibhajan", in Urdu as "Batwara" which mean division, which it actually was, the mass of subcontinent was vivisected, yes it was a living thriving entity which was cut up and not merely the geographical mass. The powers that be decided to take this experiment to its culmination, like an inexperienced butcher, the country was hacked into pieces. Even if it was to be undertaken, there was no surgeon's scalpel, which would have done it with more precision and less pain.  This division obviously was not temporary, the Colonial Masters in their strategic vision wanted to ensure that the subcontinent should forever be in turmoil, in conflict with itself, providing the Powers that be the opportunity to intervene, interfere while their own interests continue to be served.

Well, we not only divided the subcontinent but also our hearts, minds and physical bodies as well. When I was young, I always hoped that like Germany and Vietnam some day we shall overcome this artificial partition and be united not in the Akhand Bharat manner probably, but at least in the minds, we could live as friends if not long lost brothers. I had more faith in the people and expected them to have more sense than continue this nonsense. Obviously I was naive, it has gotten worse. 

So why have Germany and Vietnam succeeded and Korea and India-Pakistan-Bangladesh failed? Is it merely homogeneity of population, obviously not, as Koreans are of the same stock and religion, but they are plagued by the systems of governance and of course there is China, the Gorilla in the room, who would rather have status quo. In our case this division was thrust upon us because  a small section of the population could be influenced without any consideration for the ramifications. Britain was not alone and Asia was not the only continent, even Africa suffered a similar fate at the hands of their colonial masters, be they Germans, Dutch, French, Portuguese or Belgique. They were all alike, the degree of brutality varied, but the aftermath was a continent or subcontinent as in our case,  left licking their wounds.  Arbitrarily  drawn boundaries dividing clans and ethnic communities made the situation worse.

It is the money which makes the mare go, if India continues to grow even at its present rate and become a 10 trillion dollar economy in the coming decade,  will Pakistan realise the futility of the policy of pursuing this undeclared war any further. What if Pakis one day suddenly express their desire to join the Indian confederation sometime in future, what would our reaction be? Will we welcome them back, or just ask them to stay where they are; but try and be friends first? It is difficult to imagine Pak doing this today, but you never know....... there are no "Undo" features in real life! Or May be there are.....