ConflictSouth Asia
The Partition of India
A border drawn in five weeks, and fifteen million displaced
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Radcliffe burned his notes afterwards and refused payment. The partition created disputes over Kashmir still unresolved between two nuclear powers, and East Pakistan later broke away as Bangladesh in 1971. Gandhi's non-violent strategy had won independence, but he was killed by a Hindu nationalist a few months after partition.
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When India became independent the country was divided into India and Pakistan along religious lines. The border was drawn in five weeks by a British lawyer who had never been there. Around fifteen million people had to move, and hundreds of thousands were killed.
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