Challenges

Independent India, however, had to face several challenges. Immediate Challenges—territorial and administrative integration of princely states, communal riots, rehabilitation of nearly 60 lakh refugees migrated from Pakistan, protection of Muslims living in India as well as those going to Pakistan from communal gangs, need to avoid war with Pakistan,

Communist insurgency, etc.

Medium Term Challenges—framing of the Constitution for India, building of a representative, democratic and civil libertarian political order, elections, and abolition of feudal set up in agriculture, etc.

Long Term Challenges—national integration, economic development, poverty alleviation, etc.

India, as well as Pakistan, faced the consequences of partition. The Independence Act had laid the procedure for the resolution of three major problems—(i) the settlement of boundaries between the two nations; (ii) the division of apparatus and personnel of Indian Civil Services and some other services; and (iii) division of military assets and formations.

Radcliffe’s Boundary Award and the Communal Riots

In accordance with the partition plan, the respective legislative assemblies of Punjab and Bengal met in two sections (one representing the Muslim majority districts and other of the

rest of the province) and decided by simple majority in favour of the partition of the two provinces. West Punjab which went to Pakistan received 62,000 square miles of territory and

15.7 million people (census 1941), of whom 11.85 million were Muslims. East Punjab (India’s share) received 37,000 square miles of land area, with a population of 12.6 million, of whom 4.37 million were Muslims. Likewise, West Bengal became part of India with a territory of 28,000 square miles, and a population of 21.2 million, of whom 5.3 million were Muslims. East Bengal, which constituted East Pakistan, got 49,400 square miles of territory and 39.10 million people (27.7 million Muslims and the rest non-Muslims). Thus on both sides of the Radcliffe Line, sizable sections of populations became minority (religion-wise)—20 million non-Muslims in Pakistan and 42 million (later reduced to 35 million) Muslims in India.