INDIA VS PAKISTAN!

by Nayviee  on September 16, 2023 

How much do we really know about the India-Pakistan partition? How did it start? What happened in the 48 hours that followed the announcement? How much can happen in such a short time and who is the real culprit?

 

What is a culture war:

When most people think of war they think of fighting, bombs, and violence.  This partition was based on culture, but there was no immigration plan, agreement, or opinion between Hindus and Muslims. The British divided the country based on religion but they did not expect the mass immigration that occurred. There are many different cultural groups in India but those most affected by the partition were Hindus and Muslims.

 

Partition: 

The British had been the colonizers of India for 300 years, from 1600- 1947. On June 3 1947 the British planned the separation of Muslims and Hindus to be divided with east and west Pakistan creating a new Muslim state and India remaining for the majority of Hindus. Many Muslims fled the Hindu areas and many Hindus fled the new Muslim areas. This resulted in millions of refugees. The refugees traveled with only what they could carry and they often traveled on foot or by train. When they arrived they had to live in refugee camps and were separated from any family that may have stayed behind. Some families were separated for the rest of their lives. In my family, we lost touch with the part of our family that moved to Pakistan and we still to this day do not know what happened to them.

Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India were, and still are targeted to this day. Violence and discrimination broke out against the minority groups on either side of the new border. This forced people to migrate out of fear for their safety. 

Dates:

June 3rd is when the British (Sir Cyril Radcliffe and Mountbatten) made the partition plan. It was Mountbatten's plan to divide India and create a sovereign Muslim state. Both Muslims and Hindus wanted an end to British rule. 

Aug 14-15 1947 are the dates of the actual partition, when people were relocating on both sides of the conflict. Many people tried to travel at night to avoid violent mobs

People affected:

Families were separated, friendships ended, businesses were lost, homes were left behind, and everything had to be abandoned. Many refugees had to rebuild their whole lives. 

Stats: 

Over 100,000 Women were raped and then killed.   14.5 million people moved or switched sides 2 million were killed in mass bombing shootings and more

How this affected me and my family:

My family is Muslim, some of my family were born in Pakistan and some in India. . When my grandpa was in his 30s he moved to Africa. My parents moved to Canada from Africa in the 1970s. 

, during the partition, some of my family moved to Pakistan and we lost touch with them. 

We do not know a lot of our family history from India because of this divide. 

Much of what I have learned for this project is from interviews with my dad.