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were made by the League leadership to win over the Sikhs. Could the partition of the
Punjab be averted if the Sikhs had joined hands with the League despite the Hindus
being in majority in the eastern districts of the Punjab? A significant aspect of the
study was the role of the British administration in the tussle between the League and
the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Sikh representative party. The British effort to bring the
stakeholders to venues such as Round Table Conference, Cripps Mission, Cabinet
Mission, etc. was appreciable but the Indian political parties could not benefit from
such opportunities.
The role of the Punjab Boundary Commission, Lord Mountbatten and Sir
Cyril Radcliffe needed a special consideration in deciding the destiny of the Punjab
boundaries. The partition, migration and killing of late 1940s had far reaching effects.
On the other hand, the communal understanding in the rural areas was based on the
cultural bindings and economic interdependence. These two communities had
harmony as well as diversity in their relationship which made the study interesting.
The Muslim-Sikh relations is a vast subject to study as it addresses the
sociological, religious, political, cultural, historical, agricultural, economic and so
many other aspects and every aspect needs a comprehensive study. Besides, three
major communities namely Muslim, Hindu and Sikh, were living in the Punjab and
numerous dissident groups existed within these communities. The spirit of the
research was confined to the Akali and League politics which remained the main
political protagonists in the Punjab. The Unionists remained a major focus due to their
ruling status and interaction with all the stakeholders. Therefore, the area of research
demanded me to tackle the hypothesis confining the research to the limited political
domain and character. Nevertheless, all other Muslim groups have been discussed
according to their relevance to the area of research. ‘The Lahore Resolution’
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