India Becomes Independent

Setting the scene

British rule in India began with the East India Company in 1757 and direct Crown control after the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. By the 1920s, Mohandas Gandhi led a nonviolent independence movement using civil disobedience, boycotts, and the Salt March of 1930. World War II weakened Britain economically and morally—India contributed 2.5 million soldiers—and the 1942 Quit India Movement showed mass support for independence. The Labour Party's 1945 election victory brought a government committed to decolonization.

What happened

After failed negotiations and rising communal violence between Hindus and Muslims, Britain's last viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, advanced the independence date to August 15, 1947. The Indian Independence Act partitioned British India into two dominions: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Cyril Radcliffe, who had never visited India, drew the borders in five weeks. On midnight August 14-15, Jawaharlal Nehru gave his 'Tryst with Destiny' speech as India became independent. Pakistan followed hours later.

Why it still matters

Partition triggered the largest mass migration in history—15 million people crossed borders—and communal violence that killed 1-2 million. India became the world's largest democracy, maintaining that status for 75+ years despite poverty and diversity. Pakistan split in 1971 when East Pakistan became Bangladesh. India's independence inspired decolonization across Asia and Africa, ending the British Empire. The partition's legacy includes three India-Pakistan wars, the Kashmir conflict, and ongoing tensions, but also demonstrated that nonviolent resistance could defeat an empire.

Background

Partition triggered one of the largest migrations in modern history.