ABSTRACT
There is a theory among certain schools of Indian historians that but for three events stretching from the 16th to the 20th centuries, subcontinental India would not have been partitioned on the basis of Islam and Hinduism. The first event was Aurangzeb defeating his older brother, Crown Prince Dara Shikoh, at the battle of Samugarh in the summer of 1658. The second event was Ahmed Shah Abdali defeating combined Maratha and Mughal forces in the third battle of Panipat in June 1761. The third event was Motilal Nehru suggesting and Mahatma Gandhi agreeing to Jawaharlal Nehru becoming president of the Congress Party at the young age of 40, marginalising Mohammad Ali Jinnah in national politics.
