History of Pakistan
The Massacre of Muslim Refugees in India
Seventy years ago, on 14th August, 1947, as 200 years of British rule came to an end,
India was divided into two independent states, Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority
India. It was one of the most painful births in modern history. More than 12 million people were
displaced as Muslims in Punjab and Bengal fled across the hastily drawn borders into Pakistan
and Hindus and Sikhs made the opposite journey into India. In the sectarian violence that ensued,
2 million people were killed, tens of thousands of women were raped and abducted, homes were
plundered and villages were torched. Trains filled with refugees crossing the border were
stopped and every man, woman and child on board slaughtered. Only the engine driver was
spared, so he could take his grisly cargo to its destination.
Annexation of Princely States
At the time of Indian independence in 1947, there were 552 princely states, having
different types of revenue sharing arrangements with the British.Through a combination of
factors, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V. P. Menon convinced the rulers of the various princely
states to accede to India. Having secured their accession, they then proceeded, in a step-by-step
process, to secure and extend the central government's authority over these states and transform
their administrations. Although this process successfully integrated the vast majority of princely
states into India, it was not as successful for a few, notably the former princely states of Jammu
and Kashmir, Tripura and Manipur, where active secessionist separatist insurgencies continued
to exist due to various reasons. While insurgency in Tripura has been neutralized today, it still
continues to exist in Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur.
Kashmir issue
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict primarily between India and Pakistanover the
Kashmir region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as a dispute over the
former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claim the entirety of the
former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. India controls approximately 55% of the land area
of the region and 70% of its population, Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land, while
China controls the remaining 15%. India administers Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and
the Siachen Glacier. Pakistan administers Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. China administers
the mostly uninhabited Shaksgam Valley, and the Aksai Chin region. After independence, states
were thereafter left to choose whether to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent. Jammu
and Kashmir, the largest of the princely states, had a predominantly Muslim population ruled by
the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh. He decided to make accession to India. On 11 August, 1947 the
Maharaja dismissed his prime minister Ram Chandra Kak. Observers and scholars interpret this
action as a tilt towards accession to India and escalated into three wars between India and
Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes.