Why was India split into two countries? - Haimanti Roy
In August 1947, India gained independence
after 200 years of British rule.
What followed was one of the largest and
bloodiest forced migrations in history.
An estimated one million people
lost their lives.
Before British colonization,
the Indian subcontinent was a patchwork
of regional kingdoms
known as princely states populated
by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains,
Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Jews.
Each princely state had
its own traditions,
caste backgrounds, and leadership.
Starting in the 1500s, a series
of European powers colonized India
with coastal trading settlements.
By the mid-18th century,
the English East India Company
emerged as the primary colonial power
in India.
The British ruled some provinces directly,
and ruled the princely states indirectly.
Under indirect rule, the princely states
remained sovereign
but made political and financial
concessions to the British.
In the 19th century, the British began to
categorize Indians by religious identity—
a gross simplification
of the communities in India.
They counted Hindus as “majorities”
and all other religious communities
as distinct “minorities,”
with Muslims being the largest minority.
Sikhs were considered part of the Hindu
community by everyone but themselves.
In elections, people could only vote
for candidates
of their own religious identification.
These practices exaggerated differences,
sowing distrust between communities
that had previously co-existed.
The 20th century began with decades
of anti-colonial movements,
where Indians fought for independence
from Britain.
In the aftermath of World War II,
under enormous financial strain
from the war,
Britain finally caved.
Indian political leaders had
differing views
on what an independent India
should look like.
Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
represented the Hindu majority
and wanted one united India.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
who led the Muslim minority,
thought the rifts created by colonization
were too deep to repair.
Jinnah argued for a two nation division
where Muslims would have a homeland
called Pakistan.
Following riots in 1946 and 1947,
the British expedited their retreat,
planning Indian independence
behind closed doors.
In June 1947, the British viceroy
announced that India
would gain independence by August,
and be partitioned
into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan—
but gave little explanation of how
exactly this would happen.
Using outdated maps, inaccurate census
numbers and minimal knowledge of the land,
in a mere five weeks,
the Boundary Committee drew a border
dividing three provinces
under direct British rule:
Bengal, Punjab, and Assam.
The border took into account where
Hindus and Muslims were majorities,
but also factors like location
and population percentages.
So if a Hindu majority area bordered
another Hindu majority area,
it would be included in India—
but if a Hindu majority area bordered
Muslim majority areas,
it might become part of Pakistan.
Princely states on the border had to
choose which of the new nations to join,
losing their sovereignty in the process.
While the Boundary Committee worked
on the new map,
Hindus and Muslims began moving to areas
where they thought they’d be a part
of the religious majority—
but they couldn’t be sure.
Families divided themselves.
Fearing sexual violence, parents sent
young daughters and wives
to regions they perceived to be safe.
The new map wasn’t revealed
until August 17th, 1947—
two days after independence.
The provinces of Punjab and Bengal became
the geographically separated
East and West Pakistan.
The rest became Hindu-majority India.
In a period of two years, millions
of Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan
left for India,
while Muslims living in India
fled villages
where their families had lived
for centuries.
The cities of Lahore, Delhi, Calcutta,
Dhaka, and Karachi
emptied of old residents
and filled with refugees.
In the power vacuum British forces
left behind,
radicalized militias and local groups
massacred migrants.
Much of the violence occurred in Punjab,
and women bore the brunt of it,
suffering rape and mutilation.
Around 100,000 women were kidnapped
and forced to marry their captors.
The problems created by Partition went far
beyond this immediate deadly aftermath.
Many families who made temporary moves
became permanently displaced,
and borders continue to be disputed.
In 1971, East Pakistan seceded and became
the new country of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the Hindu ruler of Kashmir
decided to join India—
a decision that was to be finalized
by a public referendum
of the majority Muslim population.
That referendum still hasn't
happened as of 2020,
and India and Pakistan have been warring
over Kashmir since 1947.
More than 70 years later,
the legacies of the Partition remain
clear in the subcontinent:
in its new political formations and
in the memories of divided families.
