Part II - Dividing Punjab: Independence & Partition

By August 1947, there was no longer any question that colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent was coming to an end. The announcement of the 3 June Plan had confirmed that British India would be partitioned into the independent nations of India and Pakistan, while Punjab itself would be divided between the two. Yet, as the date of independence approached, another crucial question arose - where would the new border actually be?

For the many communities and people who lived in Punjab, the answer would determine not only which country they belonged to, but also whether they could remain in their ancestral homes and villages.

Punjab in Early August 1947

In Punjab, the first weeks of August 1947 were uncertain. Although Partition had already been accepted politically, the exact boundary dividing Punjab had not yet been announced. Sir Cyril Radcliffe and the Punjab Boundary Commission had completed much of their work, but the final award - borderline remained confidential.

Across the province, rumours spread rapidly. Newspapers speculated about which districts would become part of India or Pakistan, politicians debated likely outcomes, and ordinary families tried to predict whether their villages would soon lie on one side of the border or the other. In many areas, communities began preparing for the worst despite having no official confirmation of where the frontier would be.

Violence had already begun to escalate throughout parts of Punjab. Local administrations struggled to maintain order, while communal mistrust grew as uncertainty continued.

The Punjab Boundary Force

Recognising the growing instability, the British established the Punjab Boundary Force on 1 August 1947; approximately 50,000 soldiers drawn from the British Indian Army, were tasked with maintaining peace across the districts expected to be most affected by Partition.

The force operated across both eastern and western Punjab and represented one of the largest internal security deployments undertaken during the final days of colonial rule. However, it faced an almost impossible task. It was responsible for protecting millions of civilians spread across a vast province already experiencing communal violence, while at the same time the administrative structures of colonial India were rapidly disappearing around it.

Despite its size, the Punjab Boundary Force was unable to prevent the widespread violence that followed.

14 August 1947

On 14 August 1947, Pakistan officially became an independent Dominion within the Commonwealth.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as Pakistan’s first Governor-General, while Karachi became the country’s capital. Across western Punjab, celebrations marked the acceptance of a new nation, with Lahore becoming one of Pakistan’s principal political and cultural centres.

Yet despite these celebrations, many people still did not know whether their own towns, villages or districts officially belonged to Pakistan.

15 August 1947

One day later, on 15 August 1947, India also became independent.

Jawaharlal Nehru delivered a speech as colonial rule formally came to an end after almost two centuries. Lord Louis Mountbatten remained India’s first Governor-General during the transition, while power passed from the colonial administration to the governments of the two newly independent Dominions.

For the first time in generations, Punjab was no longer governed by the British Raj.

Although two independent countries now existed, the people of Punjab still did not officially know where the border between them lay.

The Radcliffe Award

Sir Cyril Radcliffe had been appointed weeks earlier to draw the boundaries between India and Pakistan. Having never previously visited India, he was given five weeks to divide provinces containing tens of millions of people while considering religious demographics, transport networks, irrigation systems and administrative boundaries.

Although Radcliffe completed his recommendations before Independence, the final boundary award was not published immediately. Lord Mountbatten chose to delay its release until after both independence ceremonies had taken place. Historians debate the reasons for this decision, with suggestions ranging from avoiding disruption to the celebrations to concerns that the announcement might immediately trigger further violence.

Despite the reason, the delay meant that the people of Punjabi celebrated independence without knowing which country they officially lived in.

17 August 1947

On 17 August 1947, the Radcliffe Award was finally published.

The boundary confirmed that western Punjab, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Lyallpur and most of Sialkot District, would become part of Pakistan. Eastern Punjab, including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Ambala, became part of India.

Several decisions proved immediately controversial. The allocation of Gurdaspur District, with the exception of Shakargarh Tehsil, to India provided the principal road connection to Jammu and Kashmir, while decisions regarding Ferozepur, canal headworks and railway routes also generated significant political debate.

For countless ordinary families, however, these decisions were far more personal than political. The publication of the Radcliffe Award instantly transformed familiar roads, rivers and fields into an international frontier.

A Province Divided

With the announcement of the boundary, government officials began transferring authority to the administrations of India and Pakistan. Police forces, civil servants and military units were reorganised, new national flags replaced British authority, and institutions that had once governed a single province suddenly found themselves divided between two countries.

For many Punjabis, the announcement brought clarity, but not certainty. Families discovered they now lived in a different country. Trade routes, railway lines and canals that had connected the province for decades were abruptly interrupted by an international border.

What had once been one of the largest and most interconnected provinces of British India had become two separate administrative regions in a number of weeks.

The Beginning of a New Chapter

The division of Punjab was completed in law within a number of days. Yet while governments celebrated independence and new borders appeared on maps, the reality on the ground was only beginning to unfold.

For the Punjabi people, the announcement of the Radcliffe Line was not the end of Partition, but the beginning of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Within weeks, entire communities would leave behind homes, farms and businesses in an exceptionally large scale forced migration.

Punjab had been divided. Its people would now bear the consequences.