Question

Assertion (A) : There were killings and atrocities on both sides of the border of India in 1947.
Reason (R) : The planned transfer of the population had failed.

• A. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of the Assertion (A).
• B. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of the Assertion (A).
• C. Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
• D. Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.

Hint:

In Partition history, remember: - Mass population transfer was unplanned and unexpected . - Leaders anticipated peaceful co-existence of minorities; the sudden outbreak of communal frenzy forced millions to flee spontaneously across borders.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept: The Partition of British India into two independent dominions—India and Pakistan—in August 1947 was accompanied by unprecedented communal violence, mass displacement, and human suffering. Understanding the operational nature and administrative execution of Partition is essential to evaluating historical assertions:
• Nature of Partition: The partition was based on the principle of religious majorities (demarcated by the Radcliffe Line in Punjab and Bengal).
• Absence of Planned Population Transfer: The political leaders and British authorities had not planned any systematic or organized transfer of population across the newly drawn borders beforehand.

Step 1: Evaluation of Assertion (A).
"There were killings and atrocities on both sides of the border of India in 1947."
• Upon the announcement of the border demarcations in August 1947, large-scale religious violence broke out in Punjab, Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, and adjacent regions.
• Minorities on both sides of the newly created international border were subjected to forced migration, massacres, lootings, abductions, and brutal violence.
• An estimated $5$ to $10$ lakh people lost their lives, and over $10$ to $12$ million people were displaced.
• Thus, Assertion (A) is TRUE .

Step 2: Evaluation of Reason (R).
"The planned transfer of the population had failed."
• Partition was conceived as a territorial division of provinces based on district-level religious majorities, not as a pre-planned exchange of populations.
• The British officials and Indian/Pakistani leaders initially assumed that religious minorities would continue living peacefully in their respective home regions.
• Because there was no plan for population transfer in place at all , it is historically inaccurate to state that a "planned transfer failed." The mass migration was completely unplanned, spontaneous, chaotic, and driven by extreme panic and violence.
• Thus, Reason (R) is FALSE .

Step 3: Logical deduction.
Since Assertion (A) is true but Reason (R) is false, the correct option is (C) .