Three Perspectives on Partition. A Hindu, Muslim and Western View on the Decolonization of India and Founding of Pakistan

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2017-12-19
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en
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Postcolonialism assumes that knowledge is not simply a mirror which represents the real, but is rather a potent force that shapes our reality. This assumption informs this thesis by comparing historic books on the decolonization of India from a Hindu, Muslim and Western perspective. The discourse of their works are compared within a deconstructive discourse framework and related to postcolonial theories concerning: Eurocentrism, Orientalism, Occidentalism, Violence and Psychanalysis. The discourse of the authors shows great diversity on the decolonization of India and founding of Pakistan. The authors deviate in their descriptions on the years preceding inde-pendence, the transfer of power in 1947 and the consequences of decolonization. The Western authors (Lapierre & Collins, 1975) pay most attention to the year 1947; just before the transfer of power, whereas the Hindu author (Mahajan, 2000) analyzes British-Indian relations pre-1947 and the Muslim author (Abid, 2013) devotes much discourse on the consequences of independence. Secondly, the postcolonial literature concerning Eurocentrism and Orientalism are confirmed in the Western book. Their view contrasts with the Hindu and Muslim discourse on colonialism which is imbued with occidental generalizations. Furthermore, the authors differ in their books on de-scriptions of violence. The Western authors portray violence during- and after decolonization as barbaric, whereas the subaltern authors conclude that violence broke out as emancipatory acts to counter British colonial rule.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen