14/08/2023
In August 1947, British India won its independence from the British.
At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, freedom was attained at the price of the country being divided into two independent domains – India and Pakistan.
The partition of India forced millions of people to leave their homes to move to the other state. This was the largest forced migration of people that has ever happened, which wasn't because of war or famine.
As many as 2,000,000 people - Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs - perished as the sharp dagger of religious communalism sliced away at the country. 14 million people bid goodbye to their ancestral homes and made their way to territories they had never known.
People belonging to minority communities camped at forts like Humayun's tomb and Purana Qila as these buildings were turned into refugee camps for millions of such refugees.
It also has the damning distinction of being one of the most violent human migrations in history, with at least a million people murdered in communal riots that followed the Partition, and many others r***d or maimed.
By the time it was all over, a million people — maybe more — had died.
Not just people, books and many non-living objects were also distributed between the two nations.
Independence day is not something to be celebrated but to look back at the past and see how much it costed us to get independence.
Happy independence day to India and Pakistan. Though we are divided in geography, we are always bound by our shared history, culture and heritage. 🤍
#1947