Indian Independence and the Partition explained

The background of Indian independence and partition dates back to the 18th century when the British first began to colonise India. 

For centuries, India had been ruled by a number of different dynasties and empires.

The British East India Company was established in 1600 and slowly began to take control of more and more territory.

The East India Company eventually dominated regions of the Indian subcontinent beginning in 1757, when it began ruling Bengal, a time period known as Company Rule or Company Raj.

In 1858, after the Sepoy Rebellion, the British Crown took over direct rule of India from the East India Company.

From that point on, India was effectively a colony of Britain.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a growing movement for Indian independence from British rule.

This was led by figures such as Mahatma Gandhi who believed in nonviolent resistance. However, not all Indians wanted independence.

There were also those who wanted to maintain the British Raj because they believed it was a stabilising force in the region.

In the late 19th century, there was also a growing movement among Indian Muslims for a separate Muslim state.

This was in response to fears that Hindus would dominate an independent India.

In 1885, the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress was founded to fight for Indian independence from British rule.

At first, the Muslim minority in India was not supportive of the Congress's goals. However, this changed when Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a lawyer and politician, joined the Congress in 1906. 

The British divided electoral districts among different religious groups in 1909, which resulted in sectarianism hardening of boundaries.

The colonial regime emphasised these distinctions by, for example, having separate toilet and water facilities for Muslims and Hindus at railway terminals.

Jinnah advocated for Hindu-Muslim unity and joined the All-India Muslim League in 1913.

The Muslim League's goal was to protect the rights of Muslims within India. 

Specifically, it was the prominent philosopher and politician, Muhammad Iqbal, that is credited with first articulating the vision for a separate Muslim state in his famous 1930 Allahabad Address.

During World War I, India was formally a part of the British Empire. This meant that Indian soldiers were fighting for Britain in Europe and the Middle East.

In fact, the Indian National Army (INA), led by Subhas Chandra Bose, even chose to fight alongside Japan during World War II with the aim of expelling the British from India.

At the same time, many Muslims in India felt a sense of loyalty to the Ottoman Empire which was fighting against Britain.

This led to tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India.

In exchange for the service of over a million Indian soldiers in the British Army during WWI, Indians expected political concessions as far as, and including, independence.

However, after the conflict, Britain made no such offers.

At the time, Mahatma Gandhi was referred to as 'The Father of the Nation', and he became the most prominent figure in Congress.

In 1942, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India Movement, a mass civil disobedience campaign that called for an end to British rule.

Although he pushed for a unified Hindu and Muslim India with equal rights for all people, other members of Congress were less eager to cooperate with Muslims against the British.

As a result, the Muslim League began formulating separatist plans.

During World War II, India once more contributed to the conflict as part of the British Empire.

However, this time there was much greater support for independence among Indians.

In response to this, Britain promised independence to India after the war, if they fought on their side.

At the end of the Second World War, the Labour Party was voted into office in Britain, and they pushed for Indian independence.

Labour sought almost immediate independence for India, as well as a slower schedule for decolonisation of other British imperial possessions.

The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, which was sent by the British government, was an attempt to avoid partition by proposing a united India with significant autonomy for provinces.

However, it ultimately failed as tensions between the Congress and the Muslim League escalated.

With Indian independence finally a possibility, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, began a public battle in support of a separate Muslim state as well, while Jawaharlal Nehru of the Congress suggested a unified India.

The country was on the verge of a sectarian civil war as independence approached. Despite Gandhi's calls for Indians to come together in peaceful resistance to British rule, the Muslim League scheduled 'Direct Action Day' for August 16, 1946.

This was meant to be a day of peaceful protest, calling for a separate Muslim state.

However, the day saw violence from Muslim crowds against Hindus. By the end of the day, approximately 3,500 Hindus and Sikhs had been killed in Calcutta.

The next day, there were reports of Hindu reprisal attacks, with some 400 Muslims killed.

The Indian Independence Act of 1947 was an act passed by the British Parliament that granted independence to India.

The act came into effect on August 15th, 1947, making it the official date of Indian independence.

The decision was made to partition India into two separate new states: India and Pakistan.  

A Boundary Commission was created with the task of delineating boundaries in the two regions to preserve, as much as possible, the cohesive Hindu and Muslim populations within Indian and Pakistani territories, respectively.

However, the Commission was set up hastily, and one key issue is that it only had a few weeks to delineate borders.

Regardless, the chair of the Commission, British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, devised a boundary that became known as the 'Radcliffe Line'.

The line was intended to be a fair and impartial division of the country, but it ended up being highly controversial as millions of Hindus and Muslims were forced to leave their homes and cross the border into either India or Pakistan.

The problem was severe in the fertile and prosperous Punjab, where Hindus and Muslims lived nearly side by side.

Both sides refused to give up this valuable real estate, and religious animosity was strong.

The last every British Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten, oversaw the final stages of the British withdrawal and was responsible for implementing the Partition plan.

He released the Mountbatten Plan on June 3, 1947, which laid out the framework for the Partition of British India, with India and Pakistan becoming two independent dominions by August 15, 1947.

So, the partition finally took place on August 14th, 1947, but it led to mass violence and displacement.

Around 10 million people escaped north or south, depending on their religion. Hindus who were now in predominantly Muslim Pakistan wanted to cross the border to live in India, and Muslims now in the Indian state wanted to leave to get to Pakistan.

Punjab and Bengal, the two regions most severely affected by the Radcliffe Line, saw the widespread violence, with entire communities uprooted and millions forced to migrate between India and Pakistan.

It was the largest mass migration in history and an estimated 500,000 people were killed in fighting. 

Sadly, the partition also led to the division of families, with some members going to India while others went to Pakistan.

The partition was a difficult and traumatic experience for many people.

Sadly, violence and tensions continued after the division. Perhaps the worst was the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, as both countries laid claim to the wealthy state of Kashmir, which led to the First Indo-Pakistani War.

In response to this and other concerns, Gandhi continued his campaign for peace between Hindus and Muslims, with further hunger strikes in 1947 and 1948 to protest against communal violence and urge for unity.

However, on January 30, 1948, Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist opposed to his goal of building a secular state.

The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was motivated by his belief that Gandhi was appeasing Muslims at the expense of Hindus.

Burma and Ceylon gained independence from Britain in 1948, and East Pakistan became Bangladesh following the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Since August 1947, India and Pakistan have been engaged in three major conflicts and one minor conflict regarding border issues.

The demarcation of the borders in Jammu and Kashmir remains a major issue.

Today, the partition is still a highly sensitive issue. The events of 1947 continue to have a profound impact on the lives of people in India and Pakistan.