Partition of India 1947

The Partition of India (August 14-15, 1947) — dividing British India into the independent nations of India and Pakistan based on religious demography — triggered the largest mass migration in human history: approximately 14-18 million people crossed the new borders. Hindus and Sikhs moved to India; Muslims moved to Pakistan. The violence accompanying partition killed 200,000-2 million people (estimates vary widely); 75,000 women were raped or abducted. The border was drawn by British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe in 5 weeks — without visiting many of the areas he was dividing — creating borders that cut through Punjab and Bengal provinces, separating communities that had lived together for centuries. The Kashmir region was disputed (both India and Pakistan claimed it based on different principles) — a dispute that continues 77 years later, with three wars fought and nuclear weapons pointed at each other. Partition's trauma is still central to Indian and Pakistani national identity.