1947 india

A news bureau map from August 1947, pre-Partition, attempts to represent the complexities of the situation

As a result of the "last-minute" process by which the British could agree on the terms of independence, India and Pakistan were formed on August 14-15, 1947.They became independent nations on August 15, 1947.

Lord Mountbatten’s division of India into two countries was a disaster in which a million died. Using newly colourised archive footage, this documentary explores those brutal events

The division of British India was poorly planned and brutally carried out, as fear and revenge attacks led to a bloody sectarian ‘cleansing’

A quartet from the Indian Sub-Continent

The creation of India and Pakistan in 1947 led to horrific sectarian violence and made millions refugees overnight. Seventy years on, five survivors remember

Today India celebrates six decades of independence from British rule. For a long time it was viewed by many as a backward country, known mostly for its poverty and spiritualism. Times have changed, the economy is booming, and the country has been reborn. We look back over some of the key events of the last 60 years.