Description: Sixty years ago this month, india and Pakistan became two separate independent nations, shedding British colonial rule. But independence brought violence and tragedy, because Pakistan was carved out of what had once been a single country, to create a Muslim homeland. Ten million people in the subcontinent were uprooted from their homes and hundreds of thousands died in the upheaval. But there are still lingering problems resulting from Partition. Sixty years on that work is not over. Hundreds of millions in india, Pakistan and Bangladesh are impoverished. And the memories of the violence that accompanied independence remain painful. Many leaders hoped that all could live peacefully together in the new nations one predominately Hindu and the other largely Muslim. The father of Pakistan, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, believed there was no choice but to partition the subcontinent, otherwise, the Muslim minority would have been marginalized. "We must remember that we have to take momentous decisions and handle grave issues facing us in the solution of the complex political problems of this great subcontinent inhabited by 400 million people." Partition led to Hindus and Sikhs streaming out of West and East Pakistan while millions of Muslims sought haven in Pakistan. in sectarian fighting, hundreds of thousands of people died. That bloody history has haunted relations. india and Pakistan have fought three times and the territory that prompted two wars, Kashmir, remains disputed. The third war, in 1971, saw East Pakistan become independent Bangladesh. The two nuclear powers came close to war again in 2002. There have been signs of reconciliation. in the past three years, the two governments have taken steps to improve relations. While many historians think partition was inevitable, they acknowledge it did not become the envisioned path to peace and prosperity. Both india and Pakistan still suffer from domestic sectarian conflict, and they have struggled to end poverty. But both countries have seen strong economic gains in the past several years and they have taken larger roles in world affairs. Citizens of the two countries still hope that means their governments will continue to move closer to the ideals of those who led the drive toward independence.
Tags: anniversary independance india pakistan
Total views: 18