Partition of India: Difference between revisions

| image_size =

| Result = [[Partition (politics)|Partition]] of [[British Raj|British Indian Empire]] into independent dominions the [[Dominion of India|Union of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]] and [[Refugee crisis|refugee crises]]

| fatalities = 200,000 to 2 million,{{sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=2}}{{efn|"The death toll remains disputed with figures ranging from 200,000 to 2 million."{{sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=2}}}} 1412 to 20 million displaced<ref name="Springer Science & Business Media">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGiSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia|last=|first=|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2012|isbn=978-9400953093|location=|page=6}}</ref>{{efn|name=Displacement}}

| URL =

The '''partition of India''' in 1947 was the division of [[British India]]{{efn|British India consisted of those regions of the [[British Raj]], or the [[British Indian Empire]], which were directly administered by Britain; other regions, of nominal sovereignty, which were indirectly ruled by Britain, were called [[princely state]]s.}} into two independent dominion states, the [[Dominion of India|Union of India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Partition (n), 7. b |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=3rd |year=2005 |quote=The division of British India into India and Pakistan, achieved in 1947.}}</ref> The Union of India is today the [[Republic of India]] and the Dominion of Pakistan, the [[Islamic Republic of Pakistan]], and the [[People's Republic of Bangladesh]]. The [[Partition (politics)|partition]] involved the division of two provinces, [[Bengal]] and the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], based on district-wise [[Hindu]] or [[Muslim]] majorities. It also involved the division of the [[British Indian Army]], the [[Royal Indian Navy]], the [[Indian Civil Service]], the [[History of rail transport in India|railways]], and the central treasury, between the two new dominions. The partition was set forth in the [[Indian Independence Act 1947]] and resulted in the dissolution of the [[British Raj]], or [[Crown rule in India]]. The two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 14–15 August 1947.

The partition displaced between 10–1212 and 20 million people along religious lines,{{efn|name=Displacement}} creating overwhelming refugee crises in the newly constituted dominions; there was large-scale violence, with estimates of loss of life accompanying or preceding the partition disputed and varying between several hundred thousand and two million.{{sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=2}}{{efn|"The death toll remains disputed to this day with figures ranging from 200,000 to 2 million."{{sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=2}}}} The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues [[Indo-Pakistani relations|their relationship]] to the present.

The term ''partition of India'' does not cover the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan]] in 1971, nor the earlier separations of [[Burma]] (now [[Myanmar]]) and [[Ceylon]] (now [[Sri Lanka]]) from the administration of British India.{{efn|Coastal Ceylon, part of the [[Madras Presidency]] of British India from 1796, became the separate [[crown colony]] of [[British Ceylon]] in 1802. Burma, gradually annexed by the British during 1826–86 and governed as a part of the British Indian administration until 1937, was [[Separation of Burma|directly administered]] thereafter.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,788006,00.html Sword For Pen], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 12 April 1937</ref> Burma was granted independence on 4 January 1948 and Ceylon on 4 February 1948. (See [[History of Sri Lanka]] and [[History of Burma]].)}} The term also does not cover the [[Political integration of India|political integration]] of [[princely states]] into the two new dominions, nor the disputes of annexation or division arising in the princely states of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]], [[Junagadh State|Junagadh]], and [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], though violence along religious lines did break out in some princely states at the time of the partition. It does not cover the incorporation of the enclaves of [[French India]] into India during the period 1947–1954, nor the annexation of [[Goa]] and other districts of [[Portuguese India]] by India in 1961. Other contemporaneous political entities in the region in 1947, such as [[Sikkim]], [[Bhutan]], [[Nepal]], and [[the [[Maldives]], were unaffected by the partition.{{efn|The Himalayan kingdom of [[Sikkim]] was established as a [[princely state]] after the ''Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty'' of 1861, however, the issue of sovereignty was left undefined.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sikkim |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-46212 |year=2008}}</ref> In 1947, Sikkim became an independent kingdom under the [[suzerainty]] of India and remained so until 1975 when it was absorbed into India as the 22nd state. Other Himalayan kingdoms, [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]], having signed treaties with the British designating them as ''independent states'', were not a part of British India.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23632 Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. "Nepal."], [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-25008 Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. "Bhutan."]</ref> The [[Indian Ocean]] island of [[The Maldives]], became a [[protectorate]] of the [[British crown]] in 1887 and gained its independence in 1965.}}

The Hindu elite of Bengal, many of whom owned land that was leased out to Muslim [[peasant]]s in East Bengal, protested strongly. The large [[Bengali Hindus|Bengali-Hindu]] [[Indian middle class|middle-class]] (the ''[[Bhadralok]]''), upset at the prospect of Bengalis being outnumbered in the new Bengal province by [[Biharis]] and [[Oriyas]], felt that Curzon's act was punishment for their political [[assertiveness]].<ref name="spear176" /> The pervasive protests against Curzon's decision predominantly took the form of the ''[[Swadeshi movement|Swadeshi]]'' ('buy Indian') campaign, involving a boycott of British goods. Sporadically, but flagrantly, the protesters also took to [[political violence]], which involved attacks on civilians.<ref>{{harvnb|Spear|1990|p=176}}, {{harvnb|Stein|Arnold|2010|p=291}}, {{harvnb|Ludden|2002|p=193}}, {{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=156}}</ref> The violence was ineffective, as most planned attacks were either prevented by the British or failed.<ref name="bandyo260" /> The [[Battle cry|rallying cry]] for both types of protest was the slogan ''[[Vande Mataram|Bande Mataram]]'' ([[Bengali language|Bengali]], lit:{{Literal 'translation|Hail to the Mother'}}), the title of a song by [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]], which invoked a [[mother goddess]], who stood variously for Bengal, India, and the Hindu goddess [[Kali]].<ref name="ludden193">{{harvnb|Ludden|2002|p=193}}</ref> The unrest spread from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to the surrounding regions of Bengal when Calcutta's English-educated students returned home to their villages and towns.<ref name="ludden199">{{harvnb|Ludden|2002|p=199}}</ref> The religious stirrings of the slogan and the political outrage over the partition were combined as young men, in such groups as [[Jugantar]], took to [[bomb]]ing public buildings, staging armed robberies,<ref name="bandyo260">{{harvnb|Bandyopadhyay|2004|p=260}}</ref> and [[Assassination|assassinating]] British officials.<ref name="ludden193" /> Since Calcutta was the imperial capital, both the outrage and the slogan soon became known nationally.<ref name="ludden193" />

[[World War I]] would prove to be a watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India. 1.4 million Indian and British soldiers of the [[British Indian Army]] would take part in the war, and their participation would have a wider cultural fallout: news of Indian soldiers fighting and dying with British soldiers, as well as soldiers from [[dominion]]s like Canada and Australia, would travel to distant corners of the world both in newsprint and by the new medium of the radio.<ref name="brown-p197-198">{{harvnb|Brown|1994|pp=197–198}}</ref> India's international profile would thereby rise and would continue to rise during the 1920s.<ref name="brown-p197-198" /> It was to lead, among other things, to India, under its name, becoming a [[League of Nations members#1920: founder members|founding member]] of the [[League of Nations]] in 1920 and participating, under the name, "Les Indes Anglaises" (British India), in the [[1920 Summer Olympics]] in [[Antwerp]].<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1920/1920.pdf Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505163318/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1920/1920.pdf |date=5 May 2011 }}, Nombre de bations representees, p. 168. Quote: "31 Nations avaient accepté l'invitation du Comité Olympique Belge: ... la Grèce – la Hollande Les Indes Anglaises – l'Italie – le Japon ..."</ref> Back in India, especially among the leaders of the [[Indian National Congress]], it would lead to calls for greater self-government for Indians.<ref name="brown-p197-198" />

A greater number of Indians were now enfranchised, although, for voting at the national level, they constituted only 10% of the total adult male population, many of whom were still illiterate.<ref name="brown-p205-207" /> In the provincial legislatures, the British continued to exercise some control by setting aside seats for special interests they considered cooperative or useful. In particular, rural candidates, generally sympathetic to British rule and less confrontational, were assigned more seats than their urban counterparts.<ref name="brown-p205-207" /> Seats were also reserved for non-[[Brahmin]]s, landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The principle of "communal representation,", an integral part of the [[Minto-MorleyIndian Councils Act 1909|Minto–Morley Reforms]], and more recently of the Congress-Muslim League Lucknow Pact, was reaffirmed, with seats being reserved for [[Muslims]], [[Sikhs]], [[Christianity in India|Indian Christians]], [[Anglo-Indians]], and domiciled Europeans, in both provincial and imperial legislative councils.<ref name="brown-p205-207" /> The Montagu-ChelmsfordMontagu–Chelmsford reforms offered Indians the most significant opportunity yet for exercising legislative power, especially at the provincial level, though restricted by the still limited number of eligible voters, by the small budgets available to provincial legislatures, and by the presence of rural and special interest seats that were seen as instruments of British control.<ref name="brown-p205-207" />

The ''two-nation theory'' is the assertion, based on the former Indian Muslim ruling class' sense of being culturally and historically distinct, that Indian [[Hindus]] and Muslims are two distinct [[nation]]snations.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-78yjVybQfkC&q=The+Idea+of+Pakistan |page= 36 |quote=Thus the idea of Pakistan rests on the elite Indian muslim sense of being culturally and historically distinct |title= the Idea of Pakistan |author= Stephen P. Cohen |date=2004 |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield |isbn= 9780815797616 }}</ref><ref name="winks2001">Talbot, Ian. 1999. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=eEd7tQEACAAJ&pg=PA253 Pakistan's Emergence]." Pp. 253–63 in ''[[The Oxford History of the British Empire|The Oxford History of the British Empire: Historiography]]'', edited by [[Robin Winks|R. W. Winks]]. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-820566-1}}. {{OCLC|1036799442}}.</ref><ref name="khan1940">{{Citation |title=Pakistan: The Heart of Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swIYjzJOx5wC |year=1940 |isbn=978-1443726672 |quote="... There is much in the Musalmans which, if they wish, can roll them into a nation. But isn't there enough that is common to both Hindus and Muslims, which if developed, is capable of molding them into one people? Nobody can deny that there are many modes, manners, rites, and customs that are common to both. Nobody can deny that there are rites, customs, and usages based on religion that do divide Hindus and Muslims. The question is, which of these should be emphasized ..." |author=Liaquat Ali Khan |publisher=Thacker & Co. Ltd. |access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref> It argued that religion resulted in cultural and social differences between Muslims and Hindus.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JSHFDgAAQBAJ |title= Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia [4 Volumes] |author=Cenap Çakmak |date=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=866 |isbn=9781610692175}}</ref> While some professional Muslim Indian politicians used it to secure or safeguard a large share of political spoils for the Indian Muslims with the withdrawal of British rule, others believed the main political objective was the preservation of the cultural entity of Muslim India.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=APLmIxRyEjEC&dq=barani+two+nation+theory&pg=PA16 |title=Two Nations: The Philosophy of Muslim Nationalism |author=Anil Chandra Banerjee |date=1981 |publisher=Concept}}</ref> The two-nation theory was a founding principle of the [[Pakistan Movement]] (i.e., the ideology of [[Pakistan]] as a Muslim [[nation-state]] in South Asia), and the partition of India in 1947.<ref name="Two-Nation Theory Exists">{{cite news |title=Two-Nation Theory Exists |newspaper=Pakistan Times |url=http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/04/03/oped2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111023629/http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/04/03/oped2.htm |archive-date=11 November 2007}}</ref>

[[Hindu Mahasabha]] leader [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]]'s [[Hindutva]] ideology had embryonic form of a two-nation theory since the 1920s.<ref name="Bapu">{{cite book | last=Bapu | first=Prabhu | title=Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915-1930: Constructing Nation and History | publisher=Routledge | series=Online access with subscription: Proquest Ebook Central | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-415-67165-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUFalxUFFWkC | page=77}}</ref> Savarkar in 1937 during the 19th session of the [[Hindu Mahasabha]] in Ahmedabad supported two-nation theory, where hestating saidthat "there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Muslims, in India".<ref name="counterview">{{cite web | url=https://www.counterview.net/2016/01/savarkar-in-ahmedabad-declared-support.html | title=Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later | date=24 January 2016 }}</ref>

[[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] undertook the ideology that religion is the determining factor in defining the nationality of Indian Muslims in 1940. He termed it as the awakening of Muslims for the creation of Pakistan.<ref>[[Conor Cruise O'Brien|Cruise O'Brien, Conor]]. August 1988. "[https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/88aug/obrien.htm Holy War Against India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128075043/https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/88aug/obrien.htm |date=28 January 2021 }}". ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' 262(2):54–64. Retrieved 8 June 2020.</ref> However, Jinnah opposed Partition of Punjab and Bengal, and advocated for the integration of all Punjab and Bengal into Pakistan without the displacement of any of its inhabitants, whether they were Sikhs or Hindus.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1614173 |title=The Two-Nation Reality versus Theory: Opposition to Partition |author= Javed Jabbar |date=21 March 2021 |work=Dawn |access-date=27 March 2023 }}</ref> The theory is also a source of inspiration to several [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] organizations, with causes as varied as the redefinition of Indian Muslims as non-Indian foreigners and second-class citizens in India, the expulsion of all Muslims from [[India]], the establishment of a legally Hindu state in India, prohibition of conversions to [[Islam]], and the promotion of [[Shuddhi (Hinduism)|conversions or reconversions]] of Indian Muslims to Hinduism.<ref name="epw1979r">Shakir, Moin. 1979. "Review: Always in the Mainstream." ''[[Economic and Political Weekly]]'' 14(33):1424. {{JSTOR|4367847}}

Opposition to the theory has come from two sources. The first is the concept of a [[Greater India|single Indian nation]], of which Hindus and Muslims are two intertwined communities.<ref name="zakaria2004">{{Citation | title=Indian Muslims: where have they gone wrong? | author=Rafiq Zakaria | year=2004 | isbn=978-81-7991-201-0 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aMlKSmWRQ8cC | quote="... As a Muslim, Hindus, and Muslims are one nation and not two ... two nations have no basis in history... they shall continue to live together for another thousand years in united India ..."}}</ref> This is a founding principle of the modern, officially- [[Secularity|secular]] [[Republic of India]]. Even after the formation of Pakistan, debates on whether Muslims and Hindus are distinct nationalities or not continued in that country as well.<ref name="gop1953">[[Pakistan Constituent Assembly]]. 1953. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=AmIKAAAAIAAJ Debates: Official report, Volume 1; Volume 16]." [[Government of Pakistan|Government of Pakistan Press]]."[S]ay that Hindus and Muslims are one, single nation. It is a very peculiar attitude on the part of the leader of the opposition. If his point of view were accepted, then the very justification for the existence of Pakistan would disappear ..."</ref> The second source of opposition is the concept that while Indians are not one nation, neither are the Muslims or Hindus of the subcontinent, and it is instead the relatively [[Homogeneity and heterogeneity|homogeneous]] provincial units of the subcontinent which are true nations and deserving of [[sovereignty]]; the [[Baloch people|Baloch]] have presented this view,<ref name="janmahmad1989">{{Citation | title=Essays on Baloch national struggle in Pakistan: emergence, dimensions, repercussions | author=Janmahmad | year=1989 | publisher=Gosha-e-Adab | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRErAAAAMAAJ | quote="... would be completely extinct as a people without any identity. This proposition is the crux of the matter, shaping the Baloch attitude towards Pakistani politics. For Baloch to accept the British-conceived two-nation theory for the Indian Muslims would mean losing their Baloch identity in the process ..." | access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref> along with the [[Sindhis|Sindhi]],<ref>{{Citation | title=The idea of Pakistan | author=Stephen P. Cohen | author-link=Stephen P. Cohen | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8157-1502-3 | publisher=Brookings Institution Press | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-78yjVybQfkC | page=212 | quote="[In the view of G. M. Sayed,] the two-nation theory became a trap for Sindhis—instead of liberating Sindh, it fell under Punjabi-Mohajir domination, and until his death in 1995 he called for a separate Sindhi 'nation', implying a separate Sindhi country." | access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref> and [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]]<ref name="salim1991">{{Citation | title=Pashtun and Baloch history: Punjabi view | author=Ahmad Salim | year=1991 |publisher=Fiction House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yvxtAAAAMAAJ | quote="... Attacking the 'two-nation theory' in Lower House on December 14, 1947, Ghaus Bux Bizenjo said: "We have a distinct culture like Afghanistan and Iran, and if the mere fact that we are Muslim requires us to amalgamate with Pakistan, then Afghanistan and Iran should also be amalgamated with Pakistan ..."}}</ref> sub-nationalities of Pakistan and the [[Assamese people|Assamese]]<ref name="SinghSingh20082">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQpswqcdDLIC&pg=PA137|title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy|author1=Principal Lecturer in Economics Pritam Singh|author2=Pritam Singh|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-04946-2|pages=137–|access-date=1 August 2017}}</ref> and [[Punjabis|Punjabi]]<ref name="Singh2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzZ8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT173|title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy|author=Pritam Singh|date=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-04945-5|pages=173–|access-date=1 August 2017}}</ref> sub-nationalities of India.

In 1933, [[Choudhry Rahmat Ali]] had produced a pamphlet, entitled ''[[Pakistan Declaration|Now or Never]]'', in which the term ''[[Pakistan]]'', 'land of the pure,', comprising the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province (Afghania)]], [[Kashmir]], [[Sind Province (1936–55)|Sindh]], and [[Balochistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Balochistan]], was coined for the first time.{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=31}} It did not attract political attention and,{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=31}} a little later, a Muslim delegation to the Parliamentary Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms gave short shrift to the idea of Pakistan, calling it "chimerical and impracticable.".{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=31}}

With the outbreak of [[World War II]] in 1939, [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Lord Linlithgow]], [[Viceroy of India]], declared war on India's behalf without consulting Indian leaders, leading the Congress provincial ministries to resign in protest.{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=33}} By contrast the Muslim League, which functioned under state patronage,{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=34}} organized "Deliverance Day" celebrations (from Congress dominance) and supported Britain in the war effort.{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=33}} When Linlithgow met with nationalist leaders, he gave the same status to [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]] as he did to [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]], and, a month later, described the Congress as a "Hindu organization.".{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=34}}

In March 1940, in the League's annual three-day session in [[Lahore]], Jinnah gave a two-hour speech in English, in which were laid out the arguments of the [[two-nation theory]], stating, in the words of historians Talbot and Singh, that "Muslims and Hindus...were irreconcilably opposed monolithic religious communities and as such, no settlement could be imposed that did not satisfy the aspirations of the former."{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=33}} On the last day of its session, the League passed what came to be known as the [[Lahore Resolution]], sometimes also "Pakistan Resolution,", {{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=33}} demanding that "the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in the majority as in the [[Northwest India (pre-1947)|north-western]] and eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign." Though it had been founded more than three decades earlier, the League would gather support among South Asian Muslims only during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yasmin Khan|title=The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan, New Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PEpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|date=2017|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-23364-3|pages=18–|quote=Although it was founded in 1909 the League had only caught on among South Asian Muslims during the Second World War. The party had expanded astonishingly rapidly and was claiming over two million members by the early 1940s, an unimaginable result for what had been previously thought of as just one of the numerous pressure groups and small but insignificant parties.|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref>

Labour Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]] had been deeply interested in Indian independence since the 1920s, being surrounded by Labour statesmen who were affiliated with [[V. K. Krishna Menon|Krishna Menon]] and the [[India League]], and for years had supported it. He now took charge of the government position and gave the issue the highest priority.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} A [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India|Cabinet Mission]] was sent to India led by the Secretary of State for India, [[Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence|Lord Pethick Lawrence]], which also included [[Stafford Cripps|Sir Stafford Cripps]], who had visited India four years before. The objective of the mission was to arrange for an orderly transfer to independence.<ref name="judd-mutiny" /> In February 1946, [[Mutiny|mutinies]] broke out in the armed services, starting with RAF servicemen frustrated with their slow [[repatriation]] to Britain.<ref name="judd-mutiny">{{harvnb|Judd|2004|pp=172–173}}</ref> These mutinies failed to turn into revolutions as the mutineers surrendered after the Congress and the Muslim League convinced the mutineers that they won't get victimised.<ref name="Karsten 1998 p. 324">{{cite book | last=Karsten | first=P. | title=Motivating Soldiers: Morale Or Mutiny | publisher=Garland Pub. | series=Military and society : a collection of essays / ser. ed. Peter Karsten | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-8153-2977-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGCI_QNHh20C&pg=PA324| page=324}}</ref>

In early 1946, new elections were held in India.<ref name="Metcalf2012">{{cite book|author=Barbara Metcalf|title=Husain Ahmad Madani: The Jihad for Islam and India's Freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQjrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT107|date=2012|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-210-6|pages=107–|access-date=26 June 2017}}</ref> This coincided with the infamous [[Indian National Army trials#The first trial|trial of three senior officers]] − —[[Shah Nawaz Khan (general)|Shah Nawaz Khan]], [[Prem Sahgal]], and Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon − ofDhillon—of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]'s defeated [[Indian National Army]] (INA) who stood accused of [[treason]]. Now as the trials began, the Congress leadership, although having never supported the INA, chose to defend the accused officers and successfully rescued the INA members.<ref>{{harvnb|Judd|2004|pp=170–171}}</ref><ref name="Lebra 2003 p. 217">{{cite book | last=Lebra | first=J.C. | title=Indian National Army and Japan | publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies | year=2003 | isbn=978-981-4515-41-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB9qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT217 | page=217}}</ref>

|File:Old-sikh-man-carrying-wife1947.jpg|An oldelderly Sikh man is carrying his wife. Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and traveled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home.

When Lord Mountbatten formally proposed the plan on 3 June 1947, Patel gave his approval and lobbied Nehru and other Congress leaders to accept the proposal. Knowing Gandhi's deep anguish regarding proposals of partition, Patel engaged him in private meetings discussions over the perceived practical unworkability of any Congress-League [[Coalition government|coalition]], the rising violence, and the threat of civil war. At the All India Congress Committee meeting called to vote on the proposal, Patel said:<ref>{{cite book |last=Menon |first=V. P. |title=Transfer of Power in India |page=385}}</ref><blockquote>I fully appreciate the fears of our brothers from [the Muslim-majority areas]. Nobody likes the division of India, and my heart is heavy. But the choice is between one division and many divisions. We must face facts. We cannot give way to emotionalism and sentimentality. The [[Congress Working Committee|Working Committee]] has not acted out of fear. But I am afraid of one thing, that all our toil and hard work of these many years might go waste or prove unfruitful. My nine months in office have completely disillusioned me regarding the supposed merits of the [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India|Cabinet Mission]] Plan. Except for a few honourable exceptions, Muslim officials from the top down to the chaprasis ([[peon]]s or servants) are working for the League. The communal veto given to the League in the Mission Plan would have blocked India's progress at every stage. Whether we like it or not, [[de facto]] Pakistan already exists in the Punjab and Bengal. Under the circumstances, I would prefer a de jure Pakistan, which may make the League more responsible. Freedom is coming. We have 75 to 80 percent of India, which we can make strong with our genius. The League can develop the rest of the country.</blockquote>Following Gandhi's denial<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NurqxSttqjoC&pg=PA38 |title=Gandhi, the Forgotten Mahatma |first=Jagdish Chandra |last=Jain |date=1 January 1987 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=9788170990376 |access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref> and Congress' approval of the plan, Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari represented Congress on the Partition Council, with Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan and Abdur Rab Nishtar representing the Muslim League. Late in 1946, the [[Attlee ministry|Labour government in Britain]], its [[exchequer]] exhausted by the recently concluded World War II, decided to end British rule of India, with power being transferred no later than June 1948. With the British army unprepared for the potential for increased violence, the new viceroy, [[Louis Mountbatten]], advanced the date, allowing less than six months for a mutually agreed plan for independence.

Mountbatten administered the independence oath to Jinnah on the 14th, before leaving for India where the oath was scheduled on the midnight of the 15th.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farooqui |first1=Tashkeel Ahmed |last2=Sheikh |first2=Ismail |date=15 August 2016 |title=Was Pakistan created on August 14 or 15? |work=The Express Tribune |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1160291/pakistan-created-august-14-15/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816113500/http://tribune.com.pk/story/1160291/pakistan-created-august-14-15/ |archive-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> On 14 August 1947, the new [[Dominion of Pakistan]] came into being, with [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] sworn in as its first Governor-General in [[Karachi]]. The following day, 15 August 1947, India, now [[Dominion of India]], became an independent country, with official ceremonies taking place in [[New Delhi]], Jawaharlal Nehru assuming the office of [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]]. Mountbatten remained in [[New Delhi]] for 10&nbsp;months, serving as the first [[Governor-General of India|governor-general]] of an independent India until June 1948.{{Sfn|Heathcote|2002|p=189}} Gandhi remained in Bengal to work with the new refugees from the partitioned subcontinent.

==Independence, migration, and displacement ==

The Partition of India split the former [[Punjab Province (British India)|British province of Punjab]] between the [[Dominion of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab province]]; the mostly Hindu and Sikh eastern part became India's [[East Punjab]] state (later divided into the new states of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Haryana]], and [[Himachal Pradesh]]). Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and the fears of all such minorities were so great that the partition saw many people displaced and much inter-communal violence. Some have described the violence in Punjab as a retributive genocide.<ref name="washedu">{{cite web|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf|title=The partition of India and retributive genocide in the Punjab, 1946–47: means, methods, and purposes|access-date=19 December 2006|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414111514/http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Total migration across Punjab during the partition is estimated at 12 million people;{{efn|name=Displacement|"Some 12 million people were displaced in the divided province of Punjab alone, and up to 20 million in the subcontinent as a whole."<ref name="Zamindar2013">{{cite book |chapter=India–Pakistan Partition 1947 and forced migration |author=Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar |title=The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm285 |date=4 February 2013 |doi=10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm285 |isbn=9781444334890 |access-date=16 January 2021 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122014723/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm285 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} around 6.5 million Muslims moved into West Punjab, and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved into East Punjab.

During this period, many alleged that Sikh leader [[Tara Singh (activist)|Tara Singh]] was endorsing the killing of Muslims. On 3 March 1947, at [[Lahore]], Singh, along with about 500 Sikhs, declared from a [[dais]] "Death to Pakistan."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sewadars/tarasingh.html |title=Sikh Social Warriors |access-date=25 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723065112/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sewadars/tarasingh.html |archive-date=23 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to political scientist [[Ishtiaq Ahmed (political scientist)|Ishtiaq Ahmed]]:<ref>{{cite web |date=27 September 2018 |title=The 'bloody' Punjab partition – VIII |url=http://www.sacw.net/article2843.html |access-date=25 July 2018 |archive-date=25 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725214556/http://www.sacw.net/article2843.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="fairobserver.com">{{cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Ishtiaq |date=31 January 2013 |title=The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed |url=http://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/punjab-bloodied-partitioned-and-cleansed/ |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=9 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809173128/https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/punjab-bloodied-partitioned-and-cleansed/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dawnshafiqbutt">{{cite news |last=Butt |first=Shafiq |date=24 April 2016 |title=A page from history: Dr Ishtiaq underscores need to build bridges |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1254069 |work=Dawn |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=10 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810040954/https://www.dawn.com/news/1254069 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |year=1993 |title=The role of the crowd in the Muslim League struggled for Pakistan |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=307–333 |doi=10.1080/03086539308582893 |quote=Four thousand Muslim shops and homes were destroyed in the walled area of Amritsar during a single week in March 1947. were these exceptions which prove the rule? It appears that casualty figures were frequently higher when Hindus rather than Muslims were the aggressors.}}</ref>

! [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_ChihnaJain Prateek Chihna.svg|15px]]

! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_Dharma Wheel (2).svg|15px]]

! [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_ChihnaJain Prateek Chihna.svg|15px]]

! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_Dharma Wheel (2).svg|15px]]

! [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_DavidStar of David.svg|15px]]

! [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_ChihnaJain Prateek Chihna.svg|15px]]

! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_Dharma Wheel (2).svg|15px]]

! [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_DavidStar of David.svg|15px]]

| [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_ChihnaJain Prateek Chihna.svg|15px]]

| [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_DavidStar of David.svg|15px]]

| [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_Dharma Wheel (2).svg|15px]]

| [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_ChihnaJain Prateek Chihna.svg|15px]]

| [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_Dharma Wheel (2).svg|15px]]

| [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_DavidStar of David.svg|15px]]

The majority of Hindu and Sikh Punjabi refugees from [[West Punjab]] were settled in [[Delhi]] and [[East Punjab]] (including Haryana and Himachal Pradesh). Delhi received the largest number of refugees for a single city, with the population of Delhi showing an increase from under 1 million (917,939) in the Census of India, 1941, to a little less than 2 million (1,744,072) in the 1951 Census, despite a large number of Muslims leaving Delhi in 1947 to go to Pakistan whether voluntarily or by coercion.<ref>Census of India, 1941 and 1951</ref> The incoming refugees were housed in various historical and military locations such as the [[Purana Qila]], [[Red Fort]], and military barracks in [[Kingsway Camp]] (around the present [[University of Delhi|Delhi University]]). The latter became the site of one of the largest refugee camps in northern India, with more than 35,000 refugees at any given time besides [[Kurukshetra]] camp near [[Panipat]]. The campsites were later converted into permanent housing through extensive building projects undertaken by the Government of India from 1948 onwards. Many housing colonies in Delhi came up around this period, like [[Lajpat Nagar]], [[Rajinder Nagar]], [[Nizamuddin East]], [[Punjabi Bagh]], Rehgar Pura, [[Jangpura]], and Kingsway Camp. Several schemes such as the provision of education, employment opportunities, and easy loans to start businesses were provided for the refugees at the all-India level.<ref>{{cite book |title=Since 1947: Partition Narratives among Punjabi Migrants of Delhi |last=Kaur |first=Ravinder |year=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-568377-6}}</ref> Many Punjabi Hindu refugees were also settled in Cities of Western and Central [[Uttar Pradesh]]. A Colony consisting largely of Sikhs and [[Punjabi Hindus]] was also founded in Central Mumbai's [[Sion Koliwada (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Sion Koliwada]] region, and named [[Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/article/887276/facing-eviction-residents-of-mumbais-partition-era-colony-fear-they-will-become-refugees-again |title=Facing eviction, residents of a Mumbai Partition-era colony fear they will become homeless again |last=Johari |first=Aarefa |work=Scroll.in |access-date=20 October 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802154416/https://scroll.in/article/887276/facing-eviction-residents-of-mumbais-partition-era-colony-fear-they-will-become-refugees-again |url-status=live}}</ref>

Sindhi Hindus settled predominantly in [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]], and [[Rajasthan]]. Substantial numbers, however, were also settled in [[Madhya Pradesh]], A few also settled in [[Delhi]]. A new township was established for Sindhi Hindu refugees in Maharashtra. The [[Governor-General of India]], Sir Rajagopalachari, laid the foundation for this township and named it [[Ulhasnagar]] ('city of joy').

Indian Muslim migration to Pakistan declined drastically in the 1970s, a trend noticed by the Pakistani authorities. In June 1995, [[Ministry of Interior (Pakistan)|Pakistan's interior minister]], [[Naseerullah Babar]], informed the National Assembly that between the period of 1973–1994, as many as 800,000 visitors came from India on valid travel documents. Of these only 3,393 stayed.<ref name="Khalidi" /> In a related trend, intermarriages between Indian and Pakistani Muslims have declined sharply. According to a November 1995 statement of Riaz Khokhar, the [[High Commissioner of Pakistan|Pakistani High Commissioner]] in New Delhi, the number of cross-border marriages has dropped from 40,000 a year in the 1950s and 1960s to barely 300 annually.<ref name="Khalidi" />

In 2010, a [[Berkeley, California]] and [[Delhi, India]]-based non-profit organization, [[The 1947 Partition Archive]], began documenting [[Oral history|oral histories]] from those who lived through the partition and consolidated the interviews into an archive.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sengupta |first=Somini |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/arts/potent-memories-from-a-divided-india.html |title=Potent Memories From a Divided India |date=13 August 2013 |work=The New York Times |access-date=22 February 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213173415/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/arts/potent-memories-from-a-divided-india.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As of June 2021, nearly 9,700 interviews are preserved from 18 countries and are being released in collaboration with five university libraries in India and Pakistan, including [[Ashoka University]], [[Habib University]], [[Lahore University of Management Sciences]], [[Guru Nanak Dev University]] and [[Delhi University]] in collaboration with [[Tata Trusts]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kamal |first=Neel |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/1947-partition-archive-releases-university-access-points-in-india-and-pakistan-universities-for-researchers/articleshow/83422027.cms |title=1947 Partition Archive releases University Access Points in India and Pakistan Universities for Researchers |date=11 June 2021 |work=The Times of India |access-date=4 July 2021 |language=en-IN |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709091632/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/1947-partition-archive-releases-university-access-points-in-india-and-pakistan-universities-for-researchers/articleshow/83422027.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

* ''Forgotten Atrocities'' (2012), [[memoir]] by Bal K. Gupta

* The 2013 [[Google]] India "[[Reunion (advertisement)|Reunion]]" advertisement, which is about the partition, has had a strong impact in India and Pakistan, leading to hope for the easing of travel restrictions between the two countries.<ref name="expresstrib">{{cite news |url=http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/19647/google-can-envision-pakistan-india-harmony-in-less-than-4-minutes-can-we/ |title=Google can envision Pakistan-India harmony in less than 4 minutes…canminutes...can we? |last=Naqvi |first=Sibtain |date=19 November 2013 |newspaper=[[The Express Tribune]] |access-date=22 November 2013 |archive-date=22 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122010954/http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/19647/google-can-envision-pakistan-india-harmony-in-less-than-4-minutes-can-we |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="pti">{{cite news |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/131115/news-current-affairs/article/google-ad-reignites-hope-easier-indo-pak-visas |title=Google reunion ad reignites hope for easier Indo-Pak visas |agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]] |date=15 November 2013 |newspaper=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |access-date=22 November 2013 |archive-date=18 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118085407/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131115/news-current-affairs/article/google-ad-reignites-hope-easier-indo-pak-visas |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tears">{{cite news |url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-20/ad-google-india-may-bring-you-tears |title=This ad from Google India brought me to tears |last=Chatterjee |first=Rhitu |date=20 November 2013 |work=The World |publisher=[[Public Radio International]] |access-date=22 November 2013 |archive-date=24 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124204857/http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-20/ad-google-india-may-bring-you-tears |url-status=live }}</ref> The advertisement went viral<ref name="ibt">{{cite news |url=http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/522379/20131115/google-india-reunion-pakistan-partition-1947-suman.htm#.UoZy-WR4ZAt |title=Google Search: Reunion Video Touches Emotions in India, Pakistan; Goes Viral [Video] |last=Peter |first=Sunny |date=15 November 2013 |newspaper=[[International Business Times]] |access-date=22 November 2013 |archive-date=21 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121105651/http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/522379/20131115/google-india-reunion-pakistan-partition-1947-suman.htm#.UoZy-WR4ZAt |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tia">{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech-news/googles-india-pak-reunion-ad-strikes-emotional-chord/articleshow/25753015.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117102808/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-14/internet/44072930_1_yusuf-sweet-shop-ad |url-status=live |archive-date=17 November 2013 |title=Google's India-Pak reunion ad strikes emotional chord |date=14 November 2013 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> and was viewed more than 1.6 million times before officially debuting on television on 15 November 2013.<ref name="apjohnson">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/india-pakistan-agree-emotional-google-ad-hit-20898645 |title=Google ad an unlikely hit in both India, Pakistan by referring to traumatic 1947 partition |last=Johnson |first=Kay |date=15 November 2013 |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=22 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122200122/http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/india-pakistan-agree-emotional-google-ad-hit-20898645 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* The partition is also depicted in the [[History|historical]] [[sports drama]] film ''[[Gold (2018 film)|Gold]]'' (2018), based on events which impacted the [[India men's national field hockey team|Indian national field hockey team]] at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/gold-fact-check-truth-vs-fiction-akshay-kumar-film-1321509-2018-08-23 |title=Gold fact check: Truth vs fiction in Akshay Kumar film |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Ananya |date=23 August 2018 |website=India Today |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=6 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806073756/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/gold-fact-check-truth-vs-fiction-akshay-kumar-film-1321509-2018-08-23 |url-status=live |quote=In 1947, when Kishan Lal walked next to Dhyan Chand in East Africa in the Indian colours, the legendary field hockey team from 1936 had all but emptied. With 1947 came the Partition and most of the talented players were partitioned too with many moving to Pakistan}}</ref>

[[Project Dastaan]] is a peace-building initiative that reconnects displaced refugees of the partition in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh with their childhood communities and villages through [[virtual reality]] digital experiences.{{factcitation needed|date=July 2024}}