Latest news with #CyrilRadcliffe
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
79 Years Of Radcliff Line: Story Of How India And Pakistan Were Divided
New Delhi: As India prepares to celebrate its 79th Independence Day this year, people wonder what transpired in 1947 and led to the partition of this nation. Central to that year and the division was the Radcliffe Boundary Commission's work. Its hastily drawn lines redrew history, caused the division of India and left behind a legacy of conflict that still echoes along the Indo-Pakistan border. By the time the Mountbatten Partition Plan was announced on June 3, 1947, the British withdrawal from the subcontinent was already accelerated. The job of dividing India and Pakistan was largely left to Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a barrister from London who had never visited South Asia before being designated the task. With only five weeks to work, he was requested to head two commissions. One was for Punjab and one for Bengal. These commissions would decide where the Radcliffe Line, the new border, would be drawn. The task was staggering. The 1947 Boundary Commission had to divide provinces predominantly along religious lines based on out-of-date and misleading census reports. Punjab and Bengal had mixed populations with families of various religions coexisting. Radcliffe had no time and paid attention primarily to the majority groups. He disregarded the social and economic relations that bound these regions. The resultant Radcliffe Line, completed in August 1947, made both India and Pakistan unhappy. It divided Sikh populations in Punjab and awarded the Muslim-dominant district of Gurdaspur to India, displeasing Pakistan. Strangely enough, the partition plan was not made public until two days after India's independence and three days after Pakistan's independence. The aftershock in the days and months that followed was catastrophic. Trains full of refugees rumbled across the Radcliffe Line, arriving with most passengers dead. Estimates of the dead varied from two lakh to two million. Millions of others were displaced in what was the biggest migration of the 20th century. One of the biggest and longest conflicts spawned by this process was that over Jammu and Kashmir. The princely state was Muslim-majority but stayed independent until tribesmen from Pakistan invaded the territory and its Hindu ruler acceded to India. This sparked the first war between India and Pakistan and solidified Kashmir as the most unstable flashpoint of their relationship. Seventy-nine years later, the India-Pakistan partition remains a case study of the consequences of hasty decisions and disregarding ground realities. Though Sir Cyril Radcliffe left shortly after he had submitted his maps, those living along that line have endured its cost ever since.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Easy like Sunday morning quiz on borders
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called 'Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion'. @bertyashley Quiz: Easy like Sunday morning - All about borders Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit YOUR SCORE 0 /10 RETAKE THE QUIZ 1 / 10 | On August 17, 1947, a demarcation line between two recently independent countries was published. Known as the Radcliffe Line, it was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who was the joint chairman of the boundary commissions. What two countries does the 3,323-km line separate? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : India and Pakistan SHOW ANSWER 2 / 10 | The KDMZ is a strip of land running near the 38th parallel north and roughly divides the peninsula into two halves. The 250-km-long line has been fiercely guarded by the military on both sides since 1953, although the DMZ itself stands for De-Militarized Zone. Which two countries are separated by this zone? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : North and South Korea SHOW ANSWER 3 / 10 | This was a physical boundary that divided Europe into two from the end of World War II till 1991. On the western side were NATO members, and on the eastern side were countries affiliated with the Soviet Union. The name refers to an actual safety curtain used in theatres to stop fires from spreading. What is the name of this border? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : Iron Curtain SHOW ANSWER 4 / 10 | The world's longest border is also the longest without a military defence, making it the longest 'undefended' border. Stretching 8,891 km long, it was established in 1783, seven years after one of them gained independence. Which two countries share this border? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : U.S. and Canada SHOW ANSWER 5 / 10 | This was one of the most heavily fortified borders of all time, and more than a hundred people died trying to cross it. Eventually, the border was brought down overnight because of a mistaken announcement by an official. By what name was this historic border known? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : The Berlin Wall SHOW ANSWER 6 / 10 | In 1989, this country had land borders with three countries: the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. As of 2002, it shares borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia. Which country is this that, without changing its own borders, no longer borders any of the countries it did in 1989? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : Poland SHOW ANSWER 7 / 10 | The border between these two countries was so complicated that there was a 'third-order enclave' until 2015. Dahala Khagrabari was a piece of one country inside another country, which was itself inside the first country. Which two countries are these? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : India and Bangladesh SHOW ANSWER 8 / 10 | The biggest official time jump you can get just by crossing a land border is three and a half hours. You will need to reset your watch when travelling west from Afghanistan, which is in the UTC+4:30 time zone. What is the other country that follows UTC+8? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : China SHOW ANSWER 9 / 10 | The border between Botswana and Zambia is at an important point where they both border the Zambezi River. Stretching 150 metres long, what record does this border hold? DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER? YES NO Answer : Shortest border between two countries SHOW ANSWER
India.com
2 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Independence Day: 'Break Taj Mahal and send it to us', when Pakistan demanded strange things from India during partition in 1947
Independence Day: 'Break Taj Mahal and send it to us', when Pakistan demanded strange things from India during partition in 1947 On the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, India got its Independence and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave a speech 'Tryst with Destiny', which later became one of the most famous speeches in the world. India had to do such a partition in which 1.4 crore people were displaced. Lakhs of people were killed and many other things were divided, including cash and property. The decision was to divide India into two countries – India and Pakistan. A British lawyer named Sir Cyril Radcliffe was assigned the task of drawing the boundaries of British India. At the same time, some historians say that Radcliffe simply 'drew a line on the map' and divided the country into two parts. So, the division of land was done. But there was one more difficult task left. This was the division of property. This included the army, money and cultural things. How was the division done? The division of property was not easy. Everything had to be divided into two parts. Like the weapons of the army, the money deposited in the government treasury and even the books in the libraries. All this was done very thoughtfully so that both the countries could get an equal share. India has been observing August 14 as 'Vibhajan Vibishika Smriti Diwas' (Partition Horrors Remembrance Day) since 2021 in memory of those who died during Partition. Some of the terms of the Partition approved by the Council were- Monetary and liquid assets (currency notes, coins, revenue stamps and gold reserves) were divided in the ratio of 82.5% for India and 17.5% for Pakistan. How was assets divided? Movable and non-liquid assets (tables, chairs, ink pots, blotting paper, books and even brooms inside government premises) were divided between India and Pakistan in the ratio of 80:20. Railway rolling stock and government vehicles were divided in proportion to the rail track and roadway inherited by each country. Why were liquor and vehicles given to India? According to a report, there were many other interesting aspects of the division of assets. Vehicles, clothes for government employees, wine cellars to store alcohol were given to India as Pakistan had become an Islamic republic after independence. At the same time, Quora and some media reports have said that some fundamentalist Maulanas of Pakistan wanted the Taj Mahal to be dismantled and sent to Pakistan because it was built by Islamic ruler and Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
How a British judge divided India and Pakistan in just 5 weeks
In 1947, India and Pakistan were split by a man who had never seen the subcontinent before. Sir Cyril Radcliffe had just five weeks to draw borders that would change millions of lives forever. The result? A rushed line that caused mass migration, bloodshed and decades of conflict Refugees crowd onto a train as they try to flee India near New Delhi in September 1947. Some 15 million people crossed new borders during the violent partition of British-ruled India. At times, mobs targeted and killed passengers travelling in either direction; the trains carrying their corpses became known as "ghost trains." File Image/AP Seventy-eight years ago, on August 15, 1947, British India was split into two new sovereign nations — India and Pakistan — marking the end of over three centuries of colonial rule. But independence did not come with clarity. Instead, it came with confusion, panic, and heartbreak, as the land was hastily through a boundary whose foundations were drawn up in less than six weeks by a man who had never visited the region before. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The border that would divide one of the most diverse and densely populated regions in the world, affecting millions of lives, came to be known as the Radcliffe Line. It marked the end of British India and the beginning of two new nations: a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan (which later split into Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1971). But the hurried nature of this division continue to define the politics in the region nearly eight decades later. Why was the partition of India rushed? By the end of World War II, Britain was financially and militarily depleted. The colonial administration in India was becoming increasingly untenable amid growing nationalist unrest. Large-scale violence during the August 1946 communal riots had raised fears of a civil war. While the British had initially set a deadline of July 1948 for their withdrawal, the urgency to leave escalated. Map speculating on a possible division of India from The Daily Herald newspaper, June 4, 1947. Image/Wikimedia Commons The timeline was advanced by a full year, and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, announced in June 1947 that independence would be granted in August of that same year. Mountbatten's announcement of partition into two dominions — India and Pakistan — did not come with clarity on where the dividing lines would lie. The task of determining those borders fell to an English judge who had never studied, written about, or even visited India: Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Who was Cyril Radcliffe, why was he chosen? Radcliffe was a barrister with no prior connection to India. On July 8, 1947, he arrived in the country for the first time — just over a month before the date set for independence. He was assigned to chair two boundary commissions, one each for the provinces of Punjab and Bengal, which were to be divided due to their mixed religious demographics. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Cyril Radcliffe also served as the first chancellor of the University of Warwick from its 1965 foundation until 1977. Image/National Portrait Gallery, London The reasoning behind his selection was based on his presumed impartiality. His lack of familiarity with Indian politics and geography was seen as a virtue, under the logic that someone with no personal or political bias could be trusted with an even-handed decision. However, his lack of local knowledge quickly became a liability. Radcliffe himself acknowledged the limits of his capabilities and the near-impossible task at hand. In a 1971 interview with journalist Kuldip Nayar, Radcliffe recalled how close he had come to assigning Lahore to India before being warned that Pakistan would be left without any major urban centre if that were to happen. He told Nayar, 'The time at my disposal was so short that I could not do a better job. However, if I had two to three years, I might have improved on what I did.' Despite recognising the enormity of the task and his unsuitability, Radcliffe accepted the assignment out of a sense of duty. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD By August 12, just five weeks after he began, he submitted his recommendations to Mountbatten. He departed India the very next day and never returned. Notably, he refused to accept payment for his work after learning about the communal violence that erupted. How were the India-Pakistan borders decided? Radcliffe was instructed to draw the borders based on religious demographics — primarily the distribution of Hindus and Muslims — but was also told to factor in 'other considerations.' These additional variables were never clearly defined but are believed to have included infrastructure, such as irrigation networks and railway systems, as well as economic and administrative viability. Map 'Prevailing Religions of the British Indian Empire, 1909' Key: Pink Hindu Green Muslim Diagonal lines Sikh (small area in Punjab) Yellow Buddhist (Burma and Chittagong Hill Tracts) Blue Christian (Goa) Purple Animist (several inland hilly areas) The Andaman islands are not mapped. Image/John George Bartholomew - The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Oxford University Press, 1909. The ambiguity surrounding these considerations meant that Radcliffe had immense discretionary power. He was not only tasked with dividing land but with drawing a line through the hearts of communities, districts, and even families. His decisions, although aided by local legal advisers — two each from the Congress and the Muslim League — were ultimately final. With Radcliffe holding the deciding vote in each commission, his judgement became the basis for the creation of two nations. The job was made more difficult by the complex demography of the subcontinent. In provinces like Punjab and Bengal, there was no overwhelming religious majority. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Populations were mixed at various administrative levels — districts, tehsils, towns, and even villages. The Punjab Boundary Commission saw conflicting claims. The Muslim League insisted on the inclusion of Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, and laid claim to areas such as Ferozepur, Jullundur, Amritsar, Ambala, and Hoshiarpur based on the principle of contiguous Muslim-majority regions. The Congress, meanwhile, argued that Hindu and Sikh economic dominance in certain areas like Lahore and Gurdaspur should tilt the decision in India's favour. The Akali Dal, representing the Sikhs, also lobbied hard, focusing on control over canal systems vital to agriculture. A discussion on the partition of India involving (from left) Jawaharlal Nehru, vice president of the interim government; Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay, counsellor to Lord Mountbatten; Lord Mountbatten, India's viceroy; and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, president of the All India Muslim League. In Bengal, the challenge was even greater. The border here was nearly six times longer than in Punjab. Religious and political loyalties were deeply entwined with economic and cultural realities. The Hindu Mahasabha also added its own voice. Radcliffe was so pressed for time that he could not even attend key public hearings in Lahore, remaining instead in Bengal to complete his assignment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ultimately, Punjab was split into East Punjab (India) and West Punjab (Pakistan), while Bengal was divided into West Bengal (India) and East Bengal (Pakistan, later Bangladesh). The provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, being Muslim-majority, were awarded entirely to Pakistan with minimal contestation. What happened after the partition? The consequences of Radcliffe's lines were immediate and catastrophic. Over 10 million people were displaced in the months that followed, as Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan and Muslims moved toward Pakistan from India. This migration, unlike any before it, was marked by brutal violence, massacres, and sexual violence on a horrifying scale. Indian soldiers walking through the debris of a building in the Chowk Bijli Wala area of Amristar, Punjab, during unrest following the partition. File Image/AFP Estimates suggest that between 200,000 and one million people were killed during the mass movement. Thousands more died from disease and starvation in refugee camps. Women were especially vulnerable; tens of thousands were raped, abducted, or mutilated, regardless of religious identity. Families were torn apart, homes were abandoned, and entire towns were emptied of their original populations. The postal services, military divisions, currency systems, and civil administrations of what had been a unified colony had to be split almost overnight. While Punjab saw much of the immediate bloodshed, the consequences of partition in Bengal were drawn out over decades. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Waves of refugees from East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh, continued arriving in West Bengal well into the late 20th century. By 1981, it was estimated that one in every six people in West Bengal was a refugee, significantly impacting the state's population density, economy, and political dynamics. A refugee special train at Ambala Station during the Partition of India. Image/Govt of India The issues faced by these displaced populations — landlessness, job insecurity, communal tensions—continue to affect the region today. In many ways, the legacy of Radcliffe's border-drawing still dictates the demographic and political challenges of the eastern part of India. In the words of Lord Mountbatten, 'For more than hundred years you have lived together… My great hope was that communal differences would not destroy all of this…' But communal differences did indeed fracture the unity. The line drawn by the English judge with little knowledge of the subcontinent created a wound that has never fully healed. What happened to Kashmir? While the Radcliffe Line dealt primarily with British provinces, princely states — semi-autonomous regions under local rulers — were allowed to choose which nation to join. Among them, Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region ruled by a Hindu Maharaja, became the most contentious. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Maharaja's decision to accede to India after independence was met with outrage in Pakistan. This triggered the first India-Pakistan war in 1947-48 and sowed the seeds for a dispute that continues more than seven decades later. A battery of Indian army artillery guns fire at the positions of Islamic guerillas in the Dras sector of Kashmir, June 1, 1999. File Image/AP Four wars, multiple skirmishes, and enduring political hostility between the two countries all stem from the unresolved status of Kashmir, a region whose fate was influenced by the same hasty decisions that defined partition. What is Radcliffe's legacy? Radcliffe returned to Britain after submitting his report and remained largely silent about the partition for the rest of his life. He passed away in April 1977, having never revisited India. He knew the consequences of his work were tragic, and he was reportedly deeply affected by the human cost that followed. In this September, 27, 1947 file photo, Muslim refugees crowd onto a train bound for Pakistan, as it leaves the New Delhi, India. File Image/AP According to a poem written about him and countless historical analyses, Radcliffe's line has been seen as a tool of fate, determining the identity and destiny of people with clinical indifference. "…He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect, But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect…" - an excerpt from British-American poet Wystan Hugh Auden's 'Partition'. His decisions have been the subject of intense historical scrutiny. Many scholars argue that the Radcliffe Line is among the most arbitrary and unscientific international borders ever drawn. To understand the borders of India and Pakistan is to confront one of the most tragic chapters in the history of the subcontinent. As generations grow up hearing tales of the freedom struggle, it is equally important to remember the stories of those who lost homes, families, and lives because of a line. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
India Today
3 days ago
- General
- India Today
Why Independence came late for these Indians in 1947
India's independence from British colonial rule was officially declared on August 15, 1947, and the day has since been celebrated nationwide with great pride. However, in two districts of West Bengal, primarily in Nadia and parts of Malda, Independence Day holds a special significance on August unusual observance is not just a matter of local pride but a reminder of a complicated chapter in India's partition history. Due to a cartographic error by the Boundary Commission during the division of British India and delays in finalising territorial boundaries, some areas of Nadia were mistakenly included in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).advertisementAfter protests and a correction ordered by then-Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, these areas were officially recognised as part of India only on the night of August 17, 1947. Consequently, the Indian flag was hoisted there on August 18, marking their true day of freedom. Since 1991, the people of these districts have commemorated August 18 as Independence Day alongside the national celebrations on August 15, creating a unique dual observance that highlights this local history of resilience and CARTOGRAPHIC ERROR THAT CHANGED HISTORYWhen British India was partitioned, the Radcliffe Line, drawn by Cyril Radcliffe, was meant to divide territories between India and Pakistan. However, this boundary line mistakenly placed parts of Nadia district, including areas with predominantly Hindu populations, into East Pakistan. This error caused immediate unrest and fears among the local people, who were uncertain about their future and people of Nadia, including leaders and influential families, protested vigorously against the inclusion of their districts in East of these protests reached the outgoing British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, who then instructed Radcliffe to rectify the boundary error. As a result, a redrawn map correcting the mistake was announced on the night of August 17, the boundary revision, the Pakistani flag that had been hoisted in parts of Nadia was taken down, and the Indian Tricolour was raised on August 18, date has since been celebrated locally as the true day when these areas achieved independence from colonial rule and became part of India.A SYMBOL OF HISTORICAL MEMORY AND LOCAL IDENTITYToday, the August 18 Independence Day celebration reflects the community's deep connection to its history and identity. It serves as a reminder of the complex and sometimes painful process of partition and celebrations are supported by local officials, cultural groups, and even the Border Security Force, ensuring this unique tradition continues to thrive alongside India's broader national August 15 remains India's official Independence Day, August 18 stands as a powerful symbol in parts of Nadia district to commemorate their late but meaningful freedom, a story of correction, resilience, and pride that enriches the tapestry of India's independence narrative.- Ends
