Partition of India
At independence, on August 15, 1947, the colony of British India was divided into two independent nations, India and Pakistan. Pakistan came into being as two separate wings, East Pakistan and West Pakistan. India was formed out of the majority Hindu regions of the colony, and Pakistan from the majority Muslim areas. The 565 Princely States where given a choice of which country to join. Those states that chose a country at odds with their majority religion, such as Junnagadh, Hyderabad, and especially Kashmir, became the subject of much dispute. The Partition was a highly controversial arrangement, and is responsible for much of the tension on the Indian subcontinent in the present day.
See also
