Sikh Response(S) To Radcliffe Award And The Partition Of Punjab

Abstract

The partition of India in 1947 into two states as a culmination of the Radcliffe Award left an indelible mark on the socio-political landscape of the subcontinent and particularly of Punjab. The religious, social and political setting of Punjab was different from other Indian provinces because beside Muslims and Hindus, the Sikhs formed the third majority but a dominant community whose loyalties with the British made them their favourites. They were provided representation in the army ten times more than their strength. After World War II, the British government sent Mountbatten with a two point agenda of entrusting powers to the two Indian states and their membership in Commonwealth. The Sikhs also suddenly found themselves in a new and difficult situation. The Radcliffe Award separated Sikh communities and deprived them of their homeland who then with their martial race attitude, resisted the division of Punjab because it was a home to their sacred shrines; the Canal colonies were established there and; in the past, the Sikhs had ruled it during 1799-1849.Soon afterward, the Sikh-Muslim riots took place as a reaction to the partition which had altered Sikh identity. This current research paper tries to explore the varied reactions of the Sikhs to the partition of Punjab and endeavours to answer the question that how the Radcliffe Award affected the Sikh community and what response (s) they presented to the partition of Punjab?