Consequences of Partition of India in 1947
The following are the consequences or impacts of the partition of India in 1947:
1. Migration and Violence
After partition, there was a large-scale migration from India to Pakistan, with the expectation that religious minorities would remain in their home states. Approximately 14.5 million individuals crossed borders in search of safety after the division. There were 7,226,600 displaced people in Pakistan according to the 1951 Census, compared to 7,295,870 in India. With the net population gain from mass migration included, the total is approximately 14.5 million.
2. Areas Affected by Division
- Punjab: Punjab was split during India’s Partition into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India, with the Hindu and Sikh East Punjab state becoming part of India and the Muslim West Punjab province becoming part of Pakistan. Millions of people were displaced as a result, and some have called it a revenge genocide. It also caused a dispute between communities.
- Bengal: After being split into West Bengal and East Bengal, Bengal eventually became Bangladesh. Hindus in East Bengal were attacked, which resulted in a huge refugee crisis. An estimated 3.3 million people migrated as a result of the division.
- Chittagong Hill Tracts: Chittagong Hill Tracts, which were inhabited by a small population, were an exception. Situated on the eastern edge of Bengal, it offered a hinterland to Chittagong, which is predominantly Muslim. Even though there was a 98.5% Buddhist majority in the Tracts in 1947, Pakistan was given the region.
- Sindh: Hindus constituted the majority of Sindh’s upper and middle classes during the partition. But when a big influx of Muslim refugees came in 1947, there was a major influx of Hindus to India as well as communal bloodshed. However, the Sindh province of Pakistan still has a significant Sindhi Hindu population.
- Gujarat: Over a million Hindu refugees moved to Gujarat, causing a decline in population, while 642,000 Muslims fled to Pakistan, 75% of them settled in Karachi.
- Delhi: The Mughal Empire’s capital, Delhi, saw major architectural and cultural transformations when the British Raj moved its colonial capital there in 1911. The 1947 refugee inflow, however, caused problems for the city and resulted in violence and massacres among the communities. 830,000 persons are thought to have migrated overall during the split, with the Muslim population declining from 33.2% in 1941 to 5.3% in 1951.
- Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir State soldiers assisted radical Hindus and Sikhs in 1947 as they massacred and expelled Muslims from Jammu. The region is now primarily Hindu as a result of the bloodshed.
Read More: Partition of Bengal
3. Resettlement of Refugees
According to the 1951 Indian Census, 2% of the country’s population was made up of refugees; most of these were Sikh and Hindu Punjabi refugees from West Punjab who made their way to Delhi and East Punjab. The biggest surge in refugees was in Delhi, where there were housing complexes and programs offering loans, jobs, and education. Hindus from East Pakistan immigrated to India, mostly to Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, with a large Sindhi Hindu population.
4. Missing People
There are 1.3 million missing Muslims and 0.8 million missing Hindus/Sikhs along the Punjab border, according to the 1931 and 1951 Census statistics, for a total of 2.2 million missing persons.
5. Rehabilitation of Women
The governments of Pakistan and India pledged to return women kidnapped during riots. In 1949, 6,000 women in Pakistan and 12,000 in India had recovered. 20,728 Muslim women had recovered by 1954. Women in Bengal and Punjab benefited from partition in a number of ways, including liberation and increased political participation.
Partition of India 1947 with Historical Facts and Map
The Partition of India in 1947 was one of the most defining events in the history of India. With no accurate accounts of how many died or lost their homes, estimates suggest that perhaps up to 20 million people were affected by the Partition. The Partition of India in 1947 divided British India into two separate countries. They were the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Two new countries were formed as a result of this split.
Presently, the Dominion of Pakistan is referred to as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Dominion of India is known as the Republic of India. In this article, we will look into the background of the Partition of India 1947, its causes, and the Impact of Partition on the Indian Economy.
Table of Content
- About Partition of India 1947
- Pre-Partition Map of India Before 1947
- Historical Background of Partition of India 1947
- Causes of Partition of India 1947
- Geographical Partition of India 1947
- Post-Partition Migration
- Consequences of Partition of India in 1947