As India and Pakistan celebrate Independence Day one day apart, the scars of the devastating partition of the two countries remain apparent. Every year, Indians and Pakistanis who lived through the era, or whose ancestors did, recall how suddenly and abruptly the lines between the two nations were drawn. For this, they have one person to blame: English jurist Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
The assertion that the British barrister was out of touch with the Indian subcontinent is reflected in the fact that he set foot in India for the first time on July 8, 1947, when he was assigned the mammoth task of dividing Indian territory along religious lines. Not only that, he was given just five weeks to complete a task with a long-lasting impact on the people of three nations. With no survey team, no knowledge of the subcontinent, outdated census data and a map, Radcliffe completed the task on August 12, 1947, just three days before India gained independence.
He submitted his recommendations to the Punjab and Bengal Boundary Commissions and to the Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, with little time frame and very little discussion undertaken. The matter was made worse by the fact that the final demarcation, popularly called the Radcliffe Line, was only published on August 17, 1947, two days after India had already declared independence.
People found out only then exactly how Indian territory had been divided into three parts: India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The boundaries sent shockwaves through Punjab, Bengal and other border states. With only days to decide which side of the new border they would live on, and many believing the arrangement was temporary, panic gave way to violence. Historians estimate that between 200,000 and 2 million people died during the Partition.
— Daily Archives, World Desk