PM Modi said that 14 August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in the memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, saying the pain of partition can never be forgotten.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo:Twitter)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in the memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, saying the pain of partition can never be forgotten. Modi noted that millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence caused by the partition.
May the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, the prime minister said, keep “reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment”.
The Prime Minister’s announcement on Partition Horrors Remembrance Day comes a day ahead of India’s 75th Independence Day. Pakistan observes its Independence Day on August 14.
Advertisement
Pakistan was carved out as a Muslim country after the division of India by the British colonial rule in 1947, and millions of people were displaced and many lakhs of them lost their lives as large-scale rioting broke out.
Under a plan released by India’s last viceroy Lord Mountbatten on the country’s independence from the British on June 3, 1947, it was announced that India would be splitting into two nations after its independence. The plan, also known as the Mountbatten Plan, announced the principles of partition and gave autonomy and sovereignty to both India and Pakistan. It also gave them the right to form their own constitution.
Millions of people were displaced and many more were killed after large-scale riots broke out as India and Pakistan were divided into two countries after the British colonial rule in 1947. As many as 1 million people, some estimates put the toll at double this figure, were killed in the brutal violence that followed Partition. During the violence of Partition, thousands of women and girls were raped or abducted by both sides.
Fifteen million Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims migrated to either of the countries, often by foot, during Partition. “Refugee specials” trains also carried many people between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Advertisement
