Partition Of India - The Sad Saga Of United India
By: Sharon Supriya
Millions fought for a free country, but when it was destined on them they thought of walking in separate paths. The brave warriors of India who shed their blood for a noble cause, did not think again while tearing down a neighbor into scrambled body, stained with blood. What went wrong, why was the victory celebrated with tears? Will ever the divided heart join again to start a new history?
Here is a story of divided India at the stroke of Independence. Join in with me to the sad saga of the wondrous victory.
India and Pakistan legally came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947 that is after ending nearly 350 years of British presence in India. A research states that the ceremonies for the transfer of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at the time the capital of the new state of Pakistan, so that the last British Viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, could attend both the ceremony in Karachi as well as the ceremony in Delhi. If that was one of the reason, another was an attempt to make it appear that Pakistan was not seceding from a sovereign India. Therefore Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, while India the very next day.
The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead.
What happened after partition ?
Anything divided is a cause of tragic end be it just a single home or an entire country. That's what happened to India. Some brave men were able to unbind their motherland by the chains of British but they were unaware of the internal bleeding within her body that could perish half a million and leave twelve million homeless (According to Richard Symonds).
It left behind a trail of unforgivable crime. In a couple of months, a millions of people were slaughtered on both sides in the religious rioting. Men, women and children who died in the rioting were cremated on a mass scale. Oil and kerosene were used by villagers to burn the dead bodies when wood was scarce. There was nothing called law and order in the country, many died in riots, massacre or just from the hardships of their flight to safety.
BBC in one of its documentary reports that over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland. They traveled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home, which was pictured as the most perfect place to breathe in a new life.
The partition did not hinder the peace of only India but also of Pakistan. One decision left both the countries in devastating states. Many women were raped, men were looted and kids were left on the street to wander with a lost identity. Provinces of Punjab and Bengal was also divided, which caused catastrophic riots and claimed the lives of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike.
About 14.5 million refuges poured across the borders. Based on 1951 Census of displaced persons, 7,226,000 Muslims went to Pakistan from India while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan immediately after partition. Estimates of the number of deaths range around 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 1,000,000. One of the pictures taken by BBC during the partition shows a street filled with dead bodies, where vultures were having their feast. Looking at the tragic scene Bourke-White's biographer Vicki Goldberg, writes “The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead,"
A research states that the partition of India ranks, one of the 10 greatest tragedies in human history. It could have been an evitable event. India got its freedom at the prize of a divide country.
61 years after the dawn of Independence, the two nations are still trying to heal the deep wounds of the heart. Sometimes a sweet exchange of smile and wave in the border thrills for an urge of united India again. However, the two countries have been to war twice since the partition over the possession of Kashmir. The issue that divided that country still breathes fresh in Kashmir. Although the two countries started their new journey with hatred, bloody war, ruined economics and land, today they stand firm in their own growth.
At this hour after the sad tale of divided India, all that I can think of is a humble prayer the can reunite the broken hearts for a brighter tomorrow. Well! It may never happen, but hope is such a thing that can brighten a darkened soul. So, lets hope one day we will join in together to celebrate freedom that most dreamt of gifting their forthcoming generations. Till then, happy Independence Day Pakistan. Happy Independence Day India.
Millions fought for a free country, but when it was destined on them they thought of walking in separate paths. The brave warriors of India who shed their blood for a noble cause, did not think again while tearing down a neighbor into scrambled body, stained with blood. What went wrong, why was the victory celebrated with tears? Will ever the divided heart join again to start a new history?
Here is a story of divided India at the stroke of Independence. Join in with me to the sad saga of the wondrous victory.
India and Pakistan legally came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947 that is after ending nearly 350 years of British presence in India. A research states that the ceremonies for the transfer of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at the time the capital of the new state of Pakistan, so that the last British Viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, could attend both the ceremony in Karachi as well as the ceremony in Delhi. If that was one of the reason, another was an attempt to make it appear that Pakistan was not seceding from a sovereign India. Therefore Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, while India the very next day.
The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead.
What happened after partition ?
Anything divided is a cause of tragic end be it just a single home or an entire country. That's what happened to India. Some brave men were able to unbind their motherland by the chains of British but they were unaware of the internal bleeding within her body that could perish half a million and leave twelve million homeless (According to Richard Symonds).
It left behind a trail of unforgivable crime. In a couple of months, a millions of people were slaughtered on both sides in the religious rioting. Men, women and children who died in the rioting were cremated on a mass scale. Oil and kerosene were used by villagers to burn the dead bodies when wood was scarce. There was nothing called law and order in the country, many died in riots, massacre or just from the hardships of their flight to safety.
BBC in one of its documentary reports that over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland. They traveled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home, which was pictured as the most perfect place to breathe in a new life.
The partition did not hinder the peace of only India but also of Pakistan. One decision left both the countries in devastating states. Many women were raped, men were looted and kids were left on the street to wander with a lost identity. Provinces of Punjab and Bengal was also divided, which caused catastrophic riots and claimed the lives of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike.
About 14.5 million refuges poured across the borders. Based on 1951 Census of displaced persons, 7,226,000 Muslims went to Pakistan from India while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan immediately after partition. Estimates of the number of deaths range around 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 1,000,000. One of the pictures taken by BBC during the partition shows a street filled with dead bodies, where vultures were having their feast. Looking at the tragic scene Bourke-White's biographer Vicki Goldberg, writes “The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead,"
A research states that the partition of India ranks, one of the 10 greatest tragedies in human history. It could have been an evitable event. India got its freedom at the prize of a divide country.
61 years after the dawn of Independence, the two nations are still trying to heal the deep wounds of the heart. Sometimes a sweet exchange of smile and wave in the border thrills for an urge of united India again. However, the two countries have been to war twice since the partition over the possession of Kashmir. The issue that divided that country still breathes fresh in Kashmir. Although the two countries started their new journey with hatred, bloody war, ruined economics and land, today they stand firm in their own growth.
At this hour after the sad tale of divided India, all that I can think of is a humble prayer the can reunite the broken hearts for a brighter tomorrow. Well! It may never happen, but hope is such a thing that can brighten a darkened soul. So, lets hope one day we will join in together to celebrate freedom that most dreamt of gifting their forthcoming generations. Till then, happy Independence Day Pakistan. Happy Independence Day India.
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