How different would the subcontinent be if there was no WWII?

[Icewolf]

Would partition even have happened? Or would partitions take on a more ethnic stance instead of religious? Would there still be colonialism in 2015?

 

[third eye]

What did partition have to do with WW II ?

In my view if there had been no WW II, our Independence would have been delayed by a decade maybe.

The Brits left not because we ' won' our independence as most would like to believe. They came for commercial reasons, stayed for commercial reasons ( add strategic reasons which joined their cause later) & left for commercial reasons.

The main reason for their departure was that the Atlee Govt could not afford to run India anymore .Having milked it dry during the WW it would now have to inject funds to keep this part of the empire afloat and funds it did not have.

Therefore ,had there been no WW II, they would have left a little longer giving us Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs more time to fight amongst ourselves and go for each others throats.

The Political Map of the Indian Sub Continent too may have been different from the hurriedly made one now.

 

[Icewolf]

What did partition have to do with WW II ?

In my view if there had been no WW II, our Independence would have been delayed by a decade maybe.

The Brits left not because we ' won' our independence as most would like to believe. They came for commercial reasons, stayed for commercial reasons ( add strategic reasons which joined their cause later) & left for commercial reasons.

The main reason for their departure was that the Atlee Govt could not afford to run India anymore .Having milked it dry during the WW it would now have to inject funds to keep this part of the empire afloat and funds it did not have.

Therefore ,had there been no WW II, they would have left a little longer giving us Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs more time to fight amongst ourselves and go for each others throats.

The Political Map of the Indian Sub Continent too may have been different from the hurriedly made one now.

I'm sure West Pakistan would be given the Indian states of UP, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal, and Punjab to link it up with Bangladesh (East Pakistan). I'm not sure about the north east, maybe it would be linked by a chicken neck to India like it is now as well. Pakistan would also be given Kashmir or Kashmir would have been independent like Afghanistan.

 

[third eye]

I'm sure West Pakistan would be given the Indian states of UP, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal, and Punjab to link it up with Bangladesh (East Pakistan). I'm not sure about the north east, maybe it would be linked by a chicken neck to India like it is now as well. Pakistan would also be given Kashmir or Kashmir would have been independent like Afghanistan.

These are conjectures - more like Khayali Pulao.

We can go on forever imagining things.

 

[!eon]

It still would be one in many British colonies and Uncle Sam a lonely guy in far far west.

 

[Force-India]

Would partition even have happened? Or would partitions take on a more ethnic stance instead of religious? Would there still be colonialism in 2015?

IMO Britishers were exhausted after the WW2 and they really wanted peace (at that time) and could not afford any more revolts. Although initially they came to change the demographics of the country just like they did in North and South America, Australia ,South Africa etc. but the population of naives was too much for it to happen. And sooner or later they would have been driven out of the sub continent.

If WW2 did not have happened, then Indian partition would have been delayed, but was inevitable because dividing people is easier than uniting people and sometimes politics is child's play. And why would British want to leave a country in one piece when they know they plundered it. Its better to divide and make them fight each other.

I'm sure West Pakistan would be given the Indian states of UP, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal, and Punjab to link it up with Bangladesh (East Pakistan). I'm not sure about the north east, maybe it would be linked by a chicken neck to India like it is now as well. Pakistan would also be given Kashmir or Kashmir would have been independent like Afghanistan.

Don't think so.

 

[JonAsad]

The main reason for their departure was that the Atlee Govt could not afford to run India anymore .Having milked it dry during the WW it would now have to inject funds to keep this part of the empire afloat and funds it did not have.

as long as we were yielding gold they stayed- as soon as we became liability they left- does it has anything to do with world wars?-

 

[nForce]

Would partition even have happened? Or would partitions take on a more ethnic stance instead of religious? Would there still be colonialism in 2015?

1. Partition would have happened nonetheless, as it's reasons had little to do with Second World war.
2. Independence would have happened timely too.
3. Probably humanity would not have seen active usage of nuclear weapons.
4. The World would not have seen one of the greatest genocides of all time.
5. Europe and Japan probably would not have developed the way it is today.
6. Cold war would have started a few years earlier with Germany taking the side of Soviets.

 

[extra terrestrial]

* Germany and Japan would have used their proxies to wage a coordinated liberation war against the British ultimately leading to Indian independence.

* India would have remained united for some years.

* Massive communal riots, leading to Indian Civil War.
^^^^
1. The civil war would have tackled properly by the leadership. India remains united.
or
2. Failure to tackle the civil war, intervention of League of Nations, emergence of a dozen odd-shaped countries in the sub-continent.

 

[Jamwal's]

Hindu/Sikhs wouldn't have won 36 Victoria Crosses.