Futurity

Trauma of partition haunts India and Pakistan today

Tensions between India and Pakistan today are better understood in light of the Partition of India in 1947, the largest mass migration in human history.

A recent escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan has put a spotlight on the violent history of the two countries’ independence.

Historian Priya Satia says that history continues to haunt the Indian subcontinent.

The two nations have co-existed uneasily since the 1947 partition of India, which ended almost two centuries of British rule in the region and led to the largest mass migration in human history.

Between half a million to 2 million people died during partition.

Partition created the independent nations of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India, separating the provinces of Bengal and Punjab along religious lines, despite the fact that Muslims and Hindus lived in mixed communities throughout the area, Satia says.

Although the agreement required no relocation, about 15 million people moved or were forced to move, and between half a million to 2 million died in the ensuing violence.

refugees board train in punjab during partition
Partition of Punjab, 1947. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Satia, a professor of British history at Stanford University, has studied partition as part of her work, focusing on the personal stories of its victims. Her current project examines the work of poets who wrote about partition and its aftermath.

A daughter of immigrants shaped by the event, Satia explains how this historical event unfolded and its continuing effects today.

The post Trauma of partition haunts India and Pakistan today appeared first on Futurity.

More from Futurity

Futurity4 min read
Folic Acid In Table Salt Prevents Birth Defects
Researchers have proven, for the first time in a field study, that using folic acid-fortified iodized table salt can prevent multiple severe birth defects. The importance of women having enough folic acid in their bodies before and during pregnancy t
Futurity3 min read
Organic Farms Can Boost (or Lower) Pesticides On Nearby Fields
Organic farming significantly affects the amount of pesticide used in neighboring fields, according to a new study. The study, published in Science, found that the impact depends on the density and spacing of organic and conventional fields. Clusteri
Futurity3 min read
Baseball Players With Longer Contracts Don’t Always Work As Hard
Major League Baseball’s opening day is March 28, and chances are, some players will be working a bit harder this season than others, according to a new study. That’s because every one year increase in guaranteed contract length for MLB players leads

Related