The British Indian Empire lasted for nearly two centuries until 1947. Independence, however, came with a division of British India into the two sovereign countries of India and Pakistan in 1947. This seminar begins with an appraisal of the historical antecedents of the Partition of British India. It will then consider some of the important aspects and ramifications of Partition including the creation of the new boundary, the human tragedy that unfolded in the aftermath of the Partition, the nature of state formation, and the gendered impact of the events. The seminar considers individuals, groups, nation states and bureaucratic intervention, ethnic and religious nationalisms, and their interplay through the violent aftermath of the creation of India and Pakistan.
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