Partition of India in 1947 was a significant step towards Indian Independence. It was accompanied by the change of political boundaries together with dissolution of the British Raj in Indian Subcontinent and creation of two independent territories namely – India and Pakistan. There were many issues faced during the partition among which boundary division settlement and division of resources were major ones.
Here are some of the significant challenges-
• Linguistic reorganization: Boundaries of the British Indian provinces had been drawn and redrawn in a haphazard manner without any thought to cultural and linguistic cohesion. Continued demand for linguistically homogeneous provinces led to emergence of secessionist trends.
• The division of assets: Tensions stretched to a breaking point with Pakistan over the division of assets. According to the Indo- Pakistan financial settlement of 1947 India had to pay rupees 55 crores as the latter’s share of the assets.
• Demarcation of Boundaries: The demarcation of boundaries between India and Pakistan was a challenging task. Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British jurist who had never been to India before, was appointed to head the Boundary Commission. Radcliffe’s award on August 17, 1947, divided the provinces of Punjab and Bengal based on the principle of religious majorities. This led to significant population transfers and the displacement of millions of people.
• Origin of the Kashmir Problem: The Maharaja Hari Singh was a Hindu while 75% of the population was that of Muslims. Kashmir was strategically important for both India and Pakistan, however, the famous movement lead by Sheik Abdullah waned integration with India. The Maharaja, on the other hand, feared democracy in India and communalism in Pakistan, thus hoping to stay independent.
• Integration of the Princely States: After Independence and many as 532 princely states were there in India. The unification of these states into newly formed Indian Union was challenging as they demanded there own independent domain. This led to internal tension and required deft diplomatic and administrative efforts.

Conclusion – India struggled with the deeply rooted socially inequalities, case system and different religious beliefs between Hindu and Muslim. This led to division of India into different states based on the ideologies, religion and linguistic values of the people in that area.

Partition of India in 1947 was a significant step towards Indian Independence. It was accompanied by the change of political boundaries together with dissolution of the British Raj in Indian Subcontinent and creation of two independent territories namely – India and Pakistan. There were many issues faced during the partition among which boundary division settlement and division of resources were major ones.

Here are some of the significant challenges-

• Linguistic reorganization: Boundaries of the British Indian provinces had been drawn and redrawn in a haphazard manner without any thought to cultural and linguistic cohesion. Continued demand for linguistically homogeneous provinces led to emergence of secessionist trends.

• The division of assets: Tensions stretched to a breaking point with Pakistan over the division of assets. According to the Indo- Pakistan financial settlement of 1947 India had to pay rupees 55 crores as the latter’s share of the assets.

• Demarcation of Boundaries: The demarcation of boundaries between India and Pakistan was a challenging task. Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British jurist who had never been to India before, was appointed to head the Boundary Commission. Radcliffe’s award on August 17, 1947, divided the provinces of Punjab and Bengal based on the principle of religious majorities. This led to significant population transfers and the displacement of millions of people.

• Origin of the Kashmir Problem: The Maharaja Hari Singh was a Hindu while 75% of the population was that of Muslims. Kashmir was strategically important for both India and Pakistan, however, the famous movement lead by Sheik Abdullah waned integration with India. The Maharaja, on the other hand, feared democracy in India and communalism in Pakistan, thus hoping to stay independent.

• Integration of the Princely States: After Independence and many as 532 princely states were there in India. The unification of these states into newly formed Indian Union was challenging as they demanded there own independent domain. This led to internal tension and required deft diplomatic and administrative efforts.

Conclusion – India struggled with the deeply rooted socially inequalities, case system and different religious beliefs between Hindu and Muslim. This led to division of India into different states based on the ideologies, religion and linguistic values of the people in that area.