India and Pakistan become independent

At midnight on 14 to 15 August 1947 British rule over the Indian subcontinent ended after 190 years, with the creation of two states, India and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru spoke of a 'tryst with destiny'. The partition, drawn in a hurry by the lawyer Cyril Radcliffe, which split Punjab and Bengal along religious lines, caused one of the largest migrations in history, of some 14 to 15 million people, and violence in which perhaps one to two million died. Gandhi, who opposed partition, was assassinated by a Hindu extremist in January 1948. Burma and Ceylon became independent in 1948.

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