Radcliffe Line

The Radcliffe Line became the formal International border between the Modern India and the Pakistans (which also included what is now Bangladesh) during the Partition of British India. The communal line divided Bengal into Indian held West Bengal and East Bengal which became East Pakistan province in 1956. The Religious line was decided by the Border Commissions headed by Cyril Radcliffe [en], who was to divide equitably 175,000 square miles (450,000 km²) of territory with 88 million people. The line took effect on the 17th of August in 1947 after the Partition of British India. When the Great Partition was implemented, there were some problems:

• The Chittagong Hill Tracts had a moslty Buddhist population, but they were given to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

• To counterbalance the relatively small share of Gurdaspur District awarded to Pakistan, Radcliffe attempted to instead transfer Ferozepur and Zira Tehsils in Muslim-Majority Ferozepur District to Pakistan. This was opposed by the Maharaja of Bikaner because Harike headworks on the confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas rivers, from where a canal originated, was the only source of water for his desert state was in Ferozepur District. It was only after he threatened Lord Louis Mountbatten, that he would accede his princely state to Pakistan if Ferozepur was awarded to West Punjab province, that the award was changed at the last minute and all of Ferozepur District was transferred to East Punjab instead within the Republic of India.

• The Gurdaspur District was mostly Muslim, but this too was given to Hindu India.

• Sometimes the boundary line divided villages, so one part of the village was in each country. At other instances, it went through houses, different rooms of the same house were in different countries.

The Radcliffe commission had no power to divide the territory of the Princely states of British India. Only Kashmir Region was divided in 1949 by UN. Ceasefire Line.

Related pages

• Punjab (India)
• Bengal (India)

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