At this time, Pakistan was in 2 parts. A west wing (West Pakistan - the present Pakistan) and an east wing (East Pakistan - now called Bangladesh). When India was divided, it was done so on religious grounds. The muslims although scattered all over India were a majority in what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh.
As far as India and Pakistan are concerned, this has shown itself over the past 50 years in the shape of 3 wars, extremely cold diplomatic relations, a need to outdo each other in all fields. In short a state of perpetual cold war has set in and to this day, no serious attempt to bridge the gap has been undertaken by either side.
Those great people, on both sides, who finally achieved liberation, were not religious bigots. They were highly educated people, who passionately believed in the virtues of what is commonly referred to as secularism , democracy and respect for all. They were aware of the likely consequences and warned the people of them and tried to dissuade the people from degenerating to such a level. Suffice to say they were not entirely successful.
If this being the case, why seperate on religious grounds? The root of the problem, in my opinion goes back to the very beginning of British colonial rule. At the time the British first came to India, the Mughal's were in control. When the British, finally succeded in overthrowing them, it was natural to ensure that the Mughal's and their supporters should be made impotent enough not to threaten British rule. Since the Mughal Empire was a Muslim Empire, this extended to virtually all muslims. Throughout British rule, muslims, who had always been a minority despite ruling, were kept on a tight leash. Wherever possible, hindu's, sikh's and other non-muslims were favoured by the British who always knew that the greatest threat to their domination came from muslims.
The British were right. In 1857 muslim India revolted. A bloody massacre ensued. The British managed to hang on. From then on, life became even harder for the muslims. The hindu people, even though a majority, had been subjugated under Mughal rule. Although they had no love of the British, they were at least thankful of deliverance from Muslim rule. Pehaps this is why the British, who only ever numbered 40,000 at most managed to rule a nation of 100's of millions for almost 200 years.
When, in the early part of the 20th century, the movement for independence started in earnest, it became apparent that the hindu majority, would not allow muslims much leeway. Perhaps a fear of a return to Mughal rule? perhaps a sense of vengence? who knows. What is clear is that the leaders of muslim India, realised that life after the British, would be worse than under the British, unless muslims could live under their own rule. Hence the movement toward a homeland for muslims, Pakistan, was formed.
Were Mohd. Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan et al correct in their assessment? we shall never know. However, for my part, I have realised that the decision to pursue Pakistan was not taken lightly. For men of the calibre and intelligence of Jinnah to have reached this decision, it must have been absolutely neccessary.