You have to calculate the number who took part and the number who were debarred. Look at the opinion below, and observe how he has done the math (not an Indian author, btw).
Meghnad Desai, "The Rediscovery of India", for starters.
@Mentee Please note.
Another comment which is an opinion merely but illustrates what a farce took place:
Muhammed Iqbal Chawla writes:----
"As the last Viceroy of India, Mountbatten presided over the transfer of power which involved both independence and the division of the subcontinent in 1947. While dividing India it was decided that the wish of the people through the democratic process is sought, for or against, inclusion within Pakistan. In the two major Muslim majority provinces of Bengal and Punjab this was determined by the vote of their representatives in the legislature. In the provinces of the NWFP, Baluchistan and Assam however this was determined by a referendum. The Congress had opted to abstain from the referendum in the NWFP, and its outcome was a heavy mandate for Pakistan but even after that the ruling Congress Ministry refused to resign. Mountbatten refrained from using his discretionary powers to dismiss Dr Khan Sahib’s ministry, consequently, the Government of Pakistan, after it came into being, dismissed it, for it believed that the Congress party had lost every legal or moral foundation to be in power as the people had given a clear verdict in favour of Pakistan and against the Congress government in the Referendum.------------------The author takes the position that Mountbatten, despite the controversy with which he is regarded in Pakistan, played an instrumental role in the accession of NWFP to Pakistan. This was by no means a forgone conclusion in the wake of the Muslim League’s poor showing in the 1946 Frontier Provincial elections.His decision that a referendum should be held enabled the Muslim League to galvanize popular sentiment for inclusion in Pakistan, despite the presence of a Congress ministry----"
Congress abstaining, along with Khudai Khidmatgar, a farce and a shameful farce , this referendum was. And the key reasons were:
A: It was not based on adult franchise, Voting was restricted
B. Not all Pakhtoons were allowed to participate in the referendum that would seal not only their fate but that of their brothers in Afghanistan
C. The tribal Pakhtoons were not allowed to vote.
In the population of 3.5 Million only 0.6 Million were allowed to vote
D. 6 Tribal agencies were barred from it
E. The States of Sawat, Dir,Amb, and Chitral were also not allowed to participate
Any referendum that disenfranchises such a large number of population can never be called a legitimate exercise of “self determination”. It has no political, legal and moral authority whatsoever.
As Khudai khidmatgar of Abdul Ghaffar Khan boycotted the Plebiscite, the lone contender in the fray, the Muslim League, won the vote by default, as only 0.6 Millions (17%) out of 3.5 millions of the population were allowed to vote in the Plebiscite and only 51% (2,92 lakhs) of this voted. Muslim League got only 51% votes.
The remaining votes of 49% were double stamped. Remember, 83% or nearly 29 lakhs did not participate and Muslim league had got only 51% of 17%, who were asked to vote.
The Results:
Population : 35 Lakhs
Number of people allowed : 5,72,799
Polled votes (51%): 2,92,118
For Pakistan (51.5%) 2,89,244
For India 2,874
51.5% of the allowed Voters , Voted for Pakistan.Is this the result of a referendum that sealed the fate of Millions of Pakhtoons? With the disenfranchisment of 29 lakhs, it can’t even be called a majority vote.
No one understands Nehru's motive, other than influence of Louis Mountbatten and his wife. Ever since PAKHTOONS have been a thorn in the flesh of Pakistan. Pakistan never had its writ run over seven tribal areas of FATA.
Had third option been allowed to Khudai Khidmatgars of an independent state , they would have participated in the Plebiscite. Then, they would have got 90% votes due to Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and then NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE would have been Independent state. In any case, once the elected assembly had the majority, the need for refrendum was not understood. Like Bengal and Punjab, NWFP assembly should have decided on the fate of PATHANISTAN. But Nehru ditched Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
As Wali Khan, son of late Abdul Ghaffar Khan wrote:
” In the ends, thus, one keeps coming back to the same conclusion that the British were keen on putting an Islamic halter round the socialist order in the north and were not prepared to permit any hurdle, Khudai Khidmatgars’ or whatever, in their way. In fact they were convinced that unless they removed all the nationalist and anti imperialist forces from their path would not be able to consummate their design.”
Was JL Nehru acting as a British agent ?
