60th Anniversary of India-Pakistan Partition - VOA Story

Sixty years ago this month, India and Pakistan became two separate independent nations, shedding British colonial rule. But independence brought violence and tragedy, because Pakistan was carved out of what had once been a single country, to create a Muslim homeland. Ten million people in the subcontinent were uprooted from their homes and hundreds of thousands died in the upheaval. But there are still lingering problems resulting from Partition.

Sixty years on that work is not over. Hundreds of millions in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are impoverished. And the memories of the violence that accompanied independence remain painful.

Many leaders hoped that all could live peacefully together in the new nations -- one predominately Hindu and the other largely Muslim.

The father of Pakistan, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, believed there was no choice but to partition the subcontinent, otherwise, the Muslim minority would have been marginalized. "We must remember that we have to take momentous decisions and handle grave issues facing us in the solution of the complex political problems of this great subcontinent inhabited by 400 million people."

Partition led to Hindus and Sikhs streaming out of West and East Pakistan while millions of Muslims sought haven in Pakistan.

In sectarian fighting, hundreds of thousands of people died.

That bloody history has haunted relations. India and Pakistan have fought three times and the territory that prompted two wars, Kashmir, remains disputed. The third war, in 1971, saw East Pakistan become independent Bangladesh. The two nuclear powers came close to war again in 2002.

There have been signs of reconciliation. In the past three years, the two governments have taken steps to improve relations.

While many historians think partition was inevitable, they acknowledge it did not become the envisioned path to peace and prosperity.

Both India and Pakistan still suffer from domestic sectarian conflict, and they have struggled to end poverty. But both countries have seen strong economic gains in the past several years and they have taken larger roles in world affairs.

Citizens of the two countries still hope that means their governments will continue to move closer to the ideals of those who led the drive toward independence.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• India
• Pakistan
• Independance
• Anniversary

[anandjee]

East-West Germany can join up. America and Russia can be friends. Why do we hate each other. In the UK many of my friends are Muslims from India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh. All of my brothers have muslim nick names. It's time to join hands. ATLEAST LETS NOT HAVE WARS - except on the Cricket field!!

Love to all

Dr Anand

Overseas Citizen of India

I attach a video of a saintly person_ born Muslim , but also had no probs with Hindu Icons

[saesms]

do a google for famous quotes on india and see the qords of foreigners on india. do the same for pakistan and try to find one you will know the difference between the two nations.

oooooops is pakistan a nation sorry

[banglaupload]

actually there should have been several independent states all over the sub continent so no one was under no one and all the states should form a union like usa today. but our jinnah and neheru were so greedy for their recognition of "first prime minister" that they made suffer all the people just for their lust of the "prime minister chair".

[DATTAINDIAN]

@Dark2Dangerous look brother "bade bade deshome aisi chhoti chhoti bate hoti rehati hai". if i could request u plz read history books of british or others about the partition of india to see the truth .partition was blunder for the country but wht we've learned from it is nothing .

[DATTAINDIAN]

anniversary wtf people partition make us half strong idiot people it doesn't matter with hindu or muslim .pakistani people are trying to copy arab culture .but we belong to sub-continent.history books in your country had changed . read the books available in other parts of the world written bye neutral people. i m nastik i dont believe in any kind of god .

[Dark2Dangerous]

Punjabi torture? You mean across the border of the brutal Sikh massacre of 1984. How about the continued Indian oppression and brutal killings of Kashmiris, Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002, ongoing brutalities in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland? So much for democracy its time India gave up its territory to the new states. There’s even a massive Maoist uprising in your eastern parts. Enjoy what’s left of your Jai Hind ;)

[mannycan]

Jinnah wanted a separate state for muslims, his argument: "muslims will me marginalized" in united India! Well ok, let history be my witness, isn't Pakistan marginalizing it's own citizens? Millions of sindhis and balochs, why doesn't the pakistani govt give them what they want, their own nation! Stop the punjabi torture.

[salicouscrumb]

Good concise video - cheers for posting!