1947 india

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

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

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.

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

Here’s the thing about lessons: they’re often forgotten. They fade away into corners of our mind, they get all jumbled up and we remember only the whole. In this Independence Day special issue, we take you back in time – through artefacts, photographs and documents – to some historic moments that led to freedom at the stroke of midnight. | Latest News India

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.

Engr. Hashim Siddiqui

In some they are fleeing war, but in others they're returning home.

The end of British rule saw the country divided into two independent states - Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan