In August 1947, India gained independence after 200 years of British rule. What followed was one of the largest and bloodiest forced migrations in history. An estimated one million people  lost their lives. Before British colonization, the Indian subcontinent was a patchwork  of regional kingdoms known as princely states populated  by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Jews. Each princely state had  its own traditions, caste backgrounds, and leadership. Starting in the 1500s, a series  of European powers colonized India with coastal trading settlements. By the mid-18th century,  the English East India Company emerged as the primary colonial power  in India. The British ruled some provinces directly, and ruled the princely states indirectly. Under indirect rule, the princely states remained sovereign but made political and financial  concessions to the British. In the 19th century, the British began to  categorize Indians by religious identity— a gross simplification  of the communities in India. They counted Hindus as “majorities” and all other religious communities  as distinct “minorities,” with Muslims being the largest minority. Sikhs were considered part of the Hindu community by everyone but themselves. In elections, people could only vote  for candidates of their own religious identification. These practices exaggerated differences, sowing distrust between communities that had previously co-existed. The 20th century began with decades  of anti-colonial movements, where Indians fought for independence from Britain. In the aftermath of World War II, under enormous financial strain  from the war, Britain finally caved. Indian political leaders had  differing views on what an independent India  should look like. Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru represented the Hindu majority and wanted one united India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah,  who led the Muslim minority, thought the rifts created by colonization were too deep to repair. Jinnah argued for a two nation division where Muslims would have a homeland  called Pakistan. Following riots in 1946 and 1947, the British expedited their retreat, planning Indian independence behind closed doors. In June 1947, the British viceroy announced that India would gain independence by August, and be partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan— but gave little explanation of how exactly this would happen. Using outdated maps, inaccurate census numbers and minimal knowledge of the land, in a mere five weeks, the Boundary Committee drew a border dividing three provinces  under direct British rule: Bengal, Punjab, and Assam. The border took into account where  Hindus and Muslims were majorities, but also factors like location and population percentages. So if a Hindu majority area bordered another Hindu majority area, it would be included in India— but if a Hindu majority area bordered Muslim majority areas, it might become part of Pakistan. Princely states on the border had to choose which of the new nations to join, losing their sovereignty in the process. While the Boundary Committee worked  on the new map, Hindus and Muslims began moving to areas where they thought they’d be a part  of the religious majority— but they couldn’t be sure. Families divided themselves. Fearing sexual violence, parents sent  young daughters and wives to regions they perceived to be safe. The new map wasn’t revealed  until August 17th, 1947— two days after independence. The provinces of Punjab and Bengal became the geographically separated  East and West Pakistan. The rest became Hindu-majority India. In a period of two years, millions  of Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan left for India, while Muslims living in India  fled villages where their families had lived for centuries. The cities of Lahore, Delhi, Calcutta,  Dhaka, and Karachi emptied of old residents  and filled with refugees. In the power vacuum British forces left behind, radicalized militias and local groups  massacred migrants. Much of the violence occurred in Punjab, and women bore the brunt of it, suffering rape and mutilation. Around 100,000 women were kidnapped  and forced to marry their captors. The problems created by Partition went far beyond this immediate deadly aftermath. Many families who made temporary moves  became permanently displaced, and borders continue to be disputed. In 1971, East Pakistan seceded and became the new country of Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the Hindu ruler of Kashmir decided to join India— a decision that was to be finalized by a public referendum of the majority Muslim population. That referendum still hasn't happened as of 2020, and India and Pakistan have been warring over Kashmir since 1947. More than 70 years later, the legacies of the Partition remain  clear in the subcontinent: in its new political formations and  in the memories of divided families.