I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit to ask in, but the rules said that some homework related questions were acceptable if there was enough detail or research already done.
I'm doing research for an essay titled "Asses the view that religious divides were the main reason for the partition of India" and I'm having trouble finding any historians or books that clearly state why the partition happened.
One of the books I've been reading (The Untold Story of India's Partition) claims that the partition was engineered by the British due to the cold war. Since a united India post-independence would likely not help the British, the creation of Pakistan, which would be indebted to the British, would allow them to set up military bases to combat any possible Soviet pushes into India. Another book (The Great Partition) claims the partition was unplanned and not inevitable, blaming nationalism as one of the main causes. This is the only concrete research I have so far.
I'm currently reading The Sole Spokesman and have ordered Freedom at Midnight and Indian Summer, and am looking into Guilty Men of India's partition, Pakistan or the Partition of India and Liberty or death: India's Journey to Independence and Division.
Does anyone know anywhere I can find some more historians or books on this, and possibly any primary sources, as many of the books I have found online have vague summaries and don't say if they specifically answer why the partition happened.
Thank you in advance
Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.
As a result, we'd also like to remind potential answerers to follow our rules on homework - please make sure that your answers focus appropriately on clarifications and detailing the resources that OP could be using.
Additionally, while users may be able to help you out with specifics relating to your question, we also have plenty of information on /r/AskHistorians on how to find and understand good sources in general. For instance, please check out our six-part series, "Finding and Understanding Sources", which has a wealth of information that may be useful for finding and understanding information for your essay.