Partition of India

The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent and the creation of two independent dominions in South Asia: India and Pakistan. The Dominion of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan—which at the time comprised two regions lying on either side of India—is now the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947. The change of political borders notably included the division of two provinces of British India, Bengal and Punjab. The majority Muslim districts in these provinces were awarded to Pakistan and the majority non-Muslim to India. The other assets that were divided included the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Royal Indian Air Force, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury. Provisions for self-governing independent Pakistan and India legally came into existence at midnight on 14 and 15 August 1947 respectively.

The partition caused large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration between the two dominions. Among refugees who survived, it solidified the belief that safety lay among co-religionists. In the instance of Pakistan, it made palpable a hitherto only-imagined refuge for the Muslims of British India. The migrations took place hastily and with little warning. It is thought that between 14 million and 18 million people moved, and perhaps more. Excess mortality during the period of the partition is usually estimated to have been around one million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that affects their relationship to this day.

The term partition of India does not cover:

• the separation of Burma (Myanmar) from the British Raj in 1937
• the much earlier separation of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from the rule of the East India Company in 1796.
• Other political entities or transformations in the region that were not a part of the partition were:
  • the political integration of princely states into the two new dominions;
  • the annexation of the princely states of Hyderabad and Junagadh by India;
  • the dispute and division of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir between India, Pakistan, and later China;
  • the incorporation of the enclaves of French India into India during the period 1947–1954;
  • the annexation of Goa and other districts of Portuguese India by India in 1961;
  • the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971.

Nepal and Bhutan signed treaties with the British designating them as independent states and were not a part of British-ruled India. The Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, but its sovereignty had been left undefined. In 1947, Sikkim became an independent kingdom under the suzerainty of India. The Maldives became a protectorate of the British crown in 1887 and gained its independence in 1965.