The Partition of India: A Nation Divided

Background: Colonial Rule and the Rise of Nationalism

British rule in India began formally in 1858 after the suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. During the following decades, the British Raj maintained control through a combination of direct governance and alliances with princely states. While colonialism brought infrastructure, Western education, and legal institutions, these developments served imperial interests and did little to mask the economic exploitation and racial hierarchy at its core.

By the late 19th century, resistance to British rule had begun to take root. The Indian National Congress (INC), formed in 1885, initially sought more rights and representation for Indians within the British system. Over time, its goals shifted towards complete independence. Meanwhile, the All-India Muslim League was founded in 1906 to represent the interests of India’s Muslims, who feared marginalisation in a Hindu-majority India.

The Road to Partition

The demand for a separate Muslim homeland gained momentum in the 1930s and 1940s. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, became increasingly sceptical of Hindu-Muslim unity, especially after the Congress's sweeping victory in the 1937 provincial elections, which saw few Muslim League candidates elected. Jinnah argued that Muslims were not just a minority but a distinct nation.

The outbreak of World War II further complicated the political landscape. The British, desperate for support, promised eventual independence but offered little clarity on how it would be implemented. By the end of the war, Britain was economically weakened and politically exhausted. Granting India independence was no longer a question of if, but when—and how.

The Mountbatten Plan

In February 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that Britain would leave India by June 1948. Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed the last Viceroy to oversee the transition to independence. However, faced with escalating violence and political negotiations reaching an impasse, Mountbatten accelerated the timetable dramatically, setting the date for independence as August 15th, 1947.

Under the hastily drafted Mountbatten Plan, British India would be partitioned into two dominions: a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. The borders would be drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer who had never set foot in India and was given just over five weeks to complete the task. His maps, based on outdated data, would soon determine the fate of millions.

Partition led to one of the largest mass migrations in human history. An estimated 10 to 15 million people were displaced as Hindus and Sikhs fled from what became Pakistan to India, and Muslims moved in the opposite direction. As people moved, often on foot or in overcrowded trains, communal violence erupted across Punjab, Bengal, Delhi, and beyond.

Entire trains carrying refugees were found with their passengers massacred. Villages were razed. Women were abducted and forcibly converted. Neighbours turned on each other in what had once been peaceful communities.

It is estimated that between 500,000 and 2 million people died during the violence.

Creation of India and Pakistan

On August 14th, 1947, Pakistan was officially declared an independent country, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as its first Governor-General. The following day, August 15th, India became independent, with Jawaharlal Nehru delivering his famous “Tryst with Destiny” speech. Two new nations were born, but the wounds of Partition were already gaping.

​​There are so many bizarre things about that time. Independence was granted to Pakistan on August 14th, India on August 15th, and the partition line was announced two days later, on August 17th. People were independent before they knew what side of the border they were on.

Aanchal Malhotra, oral historian and author of the book Remnants of Partition.

Pakistan was initially formed as a nation with two geographically and culturally distinct parts: West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), separated by more than a thousand miles of Indian territory. This unnatural arrangement would collapse in 1971 with East Pakistan’s secession and the birth of Bangladesh after a brutal civil war.

India, on the other hand, adopted a secular constitution that enshrines equal rights for all its citizens, regardless of religion. However, the ghost of Partition and communal division has continued to influence Indian politics and society.

Life Goes On

Amid all the hardship and upheaval, both nations forged ahead. Politics also went on. Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian Congress leader, was assassinated only six months after Independence. His colleague, Pandit Nehru, was Prime Minister until his own death in office in 1964. Over in Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah served only a year as Prime Minister - he succumbed to tuberculosis in September 1948, after a lifelong struggle with the disease. Mountbatten later commented that, had he known about Jinnah’s precarious health, he might have delayed Independence and tried to avoid Partition, instead of rushing it through.

As the last Viceroy of India, Mountbatten left the country in June 1948 and returned to the British Navy. But he would suffer his own violent end when he was murdered by the terrorist organisation, the IRA, who blew up his boat off the Irish coast in 1979.

Legacy and Memory

The Partition of India was not just a geopolitical division—it was a human tragedy. Generations have grown up haunted by its memories. Families were torn apart, homes lost forever, and entire communities erased. In both India and Pakistan, Partition narratives have often been used to fuel nationalism and political rhetoric.

That divide, that border, is arguably one of the most dangerous places in the world today. It has spurred the development of two of the world's fastest-growing nuclear arsenals.

Nisid Hajiri is a journalist and author of the book, Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition.

Perhaps most poignantly, Partition reduced complex identities to a single religious label. Families lost more than homes and loved ones—they lost roots. Language, place, and heritage were subordinated to the politics of faith.

I don't think anyone who has never lost their home really, truly understands what it feels like to be completely severed from it. Home is home.

Aanchal Malhotra, oral historian and author of the book Remnants of Partition.