| Summary: |
Despite major advances in the historiography of the partition, the causes of violence remain poorly understood. Drawing on new archival material, this article argues that violence in the Punjab resulted from the failure of the British Sikh policy from 1939. Mountbatten's complicity in the massacres, and his defence against the allegations, point to a wider policy failure. Systematic blame displacement for the violence onto the Sikhs by the Government of Pakistan, India, Britain, enabled the latter and Mountbatten to avoid responsibility for the consequences of the transfer of power to two highly centralised dominions for religious minorities. |
