On Tue, 2 Dec 2008, Max Sawicky wrote:
> I probably mentioned his before, but I read a piece in the Post by an
> Indian writer on how the Brits stoked Islamic chauvnism to provoke the
> partition of India and create Pakistan.
That might be slightly more convincing if it were a Pakistani writer.
Tariq Ali, in his interview on Doug's show: http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#080918
opined that the reason the Muslim League was rewarded with Pakistan was as a reward for squarely supporting the British during WWII, where the Congress party ranged from explicitly neutral to covertly pro-Jap. Ali also thought it took the Muslim League almost completely by surprise. They had been demanding a separate state, but they never expected it; it was mostly a rhetorical bargaining stance; and they weren't prepared for it at all.
Michael