ABSTRACT
The Muslim community in India before partition stood in the ratio of one to four of the whole population. In almost every state they were a considerable number. They constituted then, as now, the majority in Jammu and Kashmir, and in certain areas their proportion is today much larger than even the national average, for instance in Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (94.37%).1 Scattered throughout the length and the breadth of the country, the Muslims are more than a protected minority; they are a significant community. In 1947, there was no longer a possibility of preserving a united India, and the British Labour Government took the bold decision of proclaiming the transfer of power into Indian hands. The only course left open was that of negotiations for the clear-cut demarcation of frontiers between the future state of Pakistan and the rest of the country.
