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Partition of India
The year 1947 is remembered for two events that occurred in India. That was the year when India achieved its independence from the British and that was also the year when the country was partitioned. The Partition of India changed the geography of the Asian sub-continent and created two different nations in the form of India and Pakistan. The Partition of India occurred more than 50 years back and yet it remains a heated topic of discussion.
Major causes of Partition of India
- The Divide & Rule Policy of England was one of the major causes that led to the Partition of India. According to British rulers, it was an onerous task to administrate a large country like India and dividing her into two smaller regions seemed more feasible for them. But, their actual intention was to create communal disharmony and shatter the belief that the Hindus and the Muslims could enjoy peaceful co-existence.
- Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League adopted the Lahore Resolution during the annual session of the League in March 1940. It was immediately after that, that they started to demand a separate nation for the Muslims.
- The Muslim leaders felt that the Hindus were growing dictators and that they had to preserve their Islamic heritage.
How the events unfloded
- The Muslim League demanded for separate nation in the form of Pakistan on August 16, 1946, which is remembered as 'Direct Action' day. A brutal fighting took place between thousands of Muslims and Hindus.
- Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, decided to transfer authority to two governments and he persuaded Indian National Congress to accept the proposal of a divided India.
- The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947, which led to the final arrangement of the Partition of India.
- In order to offer a particular legal structure for the two newly formed nations, it was decided to modify the Government of India Act, 1935.
Movements across the border
- Months following the partition, massive exodus took place between the two new nations.
- After the border lines were demarcated more than 14 million people crossed the borders to return to a safe abode.
- While the Hindus migrating from East Pakistan (Bangladesh) settled in the Eastern and Northeastern parts of India like West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, the Sikhs and Hindu Punjabis chose Punjab and Delhi as their permanent homes.
- While India's independence remained a moment to cherish for the Indians, the British Partition of India is still looked upon as a controversial decision. It did a lot of harm to the reputation of both the nations and made them hostile towards one another.