The Hindu-majority independent nation of India followed the next day. On August 14, 1947, the independent, Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan was formed. “It is high time that the British Government applied their mind definitely to the division of India and the establishment of Pakistan and Hindustan, which means freedom for both,” Jinnah said in 1945.Īs religious riots broke out across British India, leaving tens of thousands dead, British and Indian leaders began to seriously consider a partition of the subcontinent based on religion.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a politician who headed up India’s Muslim League, began demanding a separate nation for India’s Muslim population.
After World War II, Parliament decided British rule in India should end by 1948.īritain had historically had separate electorates for Muslim citizens and reserved some political seats specifically for Muslims that not only hemmed Muslims into a minority status, but fueled a growing Muslim separatist movement. Though it feared civil war between India’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority, Britain faced increasing pressure to grant independence to its colony.
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