ABSTRACT
The "real unity of India" depended on whether the shrines of Islam and Muslim seats of learning were honored equally with the others and Hindustani, "a compatible mixture of Hindi and Urdu" had a future. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi initially harboured a hope that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose would return to join him in the work for unity. Netaji, Gandhi told military men who came to visit him in Uruli Kanchan in March 1946, had "rendered a signal service to India by giving the Indian soldier a new vision and a new ideal". The Hindu Mahasabha was the first off the mark, demanding the partition of Punjab and Bengal. With Gandhi away in Bihar, the Congress Working Committee passed a momentous resolution on March 8, 1947, calling for the partition of Punjab. B. R. Nanda had an insight into why it was so difficult to curb the post-partition lawlessness in Delhi and Punjab.
