Pakistan and India gained their independence in the year 1947 from the British rule. At this point, a major partitioning took place in the eastern region where Bengal province was divided into two separate states. Of the states was referred to as the Indian state while the other was the Pakistani state. The British Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten spelt out the partitions plan to be followed. Under Lord Mountbatten’s rule, all the states were to choose, on their own, the partition to which they could belong. However, there were guidelines, rules, and regulations applied in this process.
Various factors led to the partition of this region. First, Nehru and other Congress leaders were reluctant to participate in lengthy and tedious negotiation that would have delayed the creation of India. There was also a lot of pressure by the Muslim League and Jinnah to establish a Muslim state. There were complex aspects about the social, cultural and, religious set up of the region that even the British did not understand. Due to this deficient understanding of the region, the Britons gave easily into the partitioning request (Evans, para. 2).
After the partitioning of this region, there were so many challenges that have faced the two regions. There have been massive opposition movements and conflicts among people across the borders. The Muslims moved from India to Pakistan while those practicing the Hinduism moved from Pakistan to India. These movements led to violence and disputes between the two cultures. However, the two newly formed governments were not ready to control the disaster. This made many people to lose their lives during the violence. A significantly huge number of people, especially from the minority populations, fled to safer parts of the subcontinent to secure their lives (Evans para. 3).
Reference
Evans, Charles. "Notes On The Partition Of South Asia". Ctevans.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
