Known around the world as the Great Calcutta Killings: they set the pattern for the Partition violence that was to engulf India for the next two years. ibid.
The worst violence of all took place in Punjab. ibid.
This is the north Indian city of Amritsar. And a few miles in that direction is the Pakistani border. But just seventy years ago that border didn’t even exist. My Family, Partition and Me II: India 1947
West Bengal – ten months after they fled, the line of partition divided the state, and their village Mandari became part of the new Muslim homeland of East Pakistan. 1,500 miles to the west, Partition also split my Sikh family’s home of Punjab down the middle. ibid.
Lahore A Blazing Inferno: Life Completely Paralysed. ibid. Amrita Bazar Patrika 23rd June 1947 headline
This is one of the world’s most dangerous borders holding neighbours India and Pakistan apart. 2,000 miles long it slices through extraordinary landscapes and divides millions of people who once lived alongside each other. Dangerous Borders: A Journey Across India and Pakistan I, BBC 2017
Karachi: a vibrant metropolis of over 20,000,000 people. ibid.
These African Pakistanis have been on the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of years. ibid.
There’s only three places on the entire border between India and Pakistan where you can cross. ibid.
There has been frequent conflict along this border. To this day very few can cross. Dangerous Borders: A Journey Across India and Pakistan II
This [solar park] is just one part of a huge collaboration between Pakistan and China. ibid.
We’re in the beating heart of the Punjab: Lahore. ibid.
It’s estimated that up to two million Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus died, and over fourteen million people were forced to move during partition. ibid.
70% of Pakistanis are under the age of 20. ibid.
I plan to explore Pakistan’s remote north heading to the city of Gilgit, passing through the Hunza valley and ending my journey in Thalay, just twenty-five miles from the disputed border with India where troops face each other in a bitter stand-off. The two countries have fought four wars since partition: In 1947, ’65, ’71 & ’99. Dangerous Borders: A Journey Across India and Pakistan III
Jammu & Kashmir: I’m three hundred miles away … Here they are just as battle ready. ibid.
28 people were killed last year by cross-border shooting and shelling. ibid.
Last year during four months of mass protests against the India army more than 100 Kashmiri civilians were killed and 17,000 were injured. ibid.
On 15th August 1947 Britain gave up its Indian empire partitioned into two newly independent created countries – India and Pakistan. The seven days leading up to the handover of power were some of the most tumultuous of the twentieth century. By the end of the week one of the biggest migrations in human history had begun. Seven Days in Summer: Countdown to Partition, BBC 2017
But the Muslim League, a political party led by British trained barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah, demanded a separate homeland for Indian Muslims. ibid.
When Lord Mountbatten announced back in June that partition would take place in just 61 days he shocked everyone including his own advisers. ibid.
An event that’s had a huge impact on all our lives – the Partition of India. In 1947 the British divided India in two creating a newly independent India and a new country – Pakistan. People of different faiths turned on each other: seventy million people became refugees overnight and over a million lost their lives. India’s Partition: The Forgotten Story, BBC 2017
The answer depends on who gets to tell it. ibid.
Pakistan itself means Land of the Pure. ibid.
Divide and Rule … The vast majority of Muslims did not prescribe to this … so what changed? ibid.
Jinnah … remained adamant that the Muslim League will represent all Muslims. ibid.
The violence was allowed to go on unchecked. ibid.
Mountbatten oversaw the negotiations for the final end of British rule … Nobody was happy with the Mountbatten plan. ibid.
Now I’m not here very long. What about if I went straight for trying to be a guru? Louis Theroux’s Indian Gurus s3e2, BBC 2000
India: land of spirituality. I was following in the footsteps of the thousands of westerners who come east in search of enlightenment, wondering if I too could find the meaning of life. ibid.
Delhi: capital of India and a mega-city bursting at the seams … More than 26 million people, live, thrive and survive here. World’s Busiest Cities s1e4: Delhi, BBC 2017
It’s hectic and hot, over 40 degrees C and it’s only May. ibid.
Delhi is a magnet for people in search of a better life. ibid.
A total area greater than Belgium … a population larger than the whole of Australia. ibid.
New Delhi – an expansive modern capital would be bolted on to Old Delhi. ibid.
Among the most polluted cities in the world. ibid.
I’m in the backstreets of Delhi with the man who is about to end my life. Scam City s1e6: New Delhi, National Geographic 2012
Some 60,000 survive by begging. Primary targets include tourists. ibid.
Alongside with the fake bandage [begging] scam the gang sell almost-dead flowers. ibid.
The herbal medicine I was prescribed hasn’t worked. ibid.
The kids work the passing traffic like old pros. ibid.
India’s 1.2 billion citizens make up half of the entire Commonwealth population. Queen of the World s1e2, ITV 2018
‘Dozens of companies managed to corner billions of rupees using proxy political connections which cut across party lines.’ An Insignificant Man, news, Vice 2017
‘It seems that our political establishment is steeped in corruption.’ ibid.
Arvind Kejriwal, a tax officer, quit his job to become an activist. He was one of the authors of an anti-corruption law … Yogendra Yadav, a political analyst, joined forces with Arvind Kejriwal. ibid.
‘No-one wants to change the system … We need to start somewhere.’ ibid. Arvind
‘The biggest question is, Will people vote for them?’ ibid. TV news presenter
‘Where did all the money go? It has gone to the corporations!’ ibid. Arvind
In this struggle 400,000 people have shown solidarity with Kerjriwal, who has been fasting for 11 days. ibid. caption
‘This is the story that’s breaking: the sting operation on the AAP.’ ibid. news
‘Delhi is an impossible state to predict. The face is, Sheila Dikshit has been in power for fifteen years now in Delhi.’ ibid. reporter
‘Congress is nowhere in the race.’ ibid.
The AAP fought national elections and suffered crushing defeat. Differences began to emerge between Arvind and Yogendra over the future of the party. State elections were re-held in Delhi. Arvind tried to make amends with the people, campaigning aggressively. The AAP won 67 out of 70 seats in an historic mandate. The AAP government reduced power bills by 50% and provides 700 litres of free water daily to every household in Delhi. Two years after founding the AAP, Yogendra Yadav was expelled for ‘anti-party’ activities. Yogendra Yadav launched a new political party called ‘Swaraj India’. Arvind Kejriwal is currently the chief minister of Delhi. ibid. captions
Guns just like this were fired by British empire troops in a public park in Amritsar, India, on 13th April 1919. Hundreds of people were killed. The Amritsar massacre was the moment Britain lost the largest empire in history. The Massacre that Shook the Empire, Channel 4 2019
Among the confirmed dead were fifteen children. ibid.
The fancy punishments in Amritsar in 1919 were orchestrated by General Dyer, the officer who gave the order to open fire that led to the massacre. ibid.
It’s a region that’s been at war for more than 70 years: Kashmir, a place rich in culture and tradition, home to Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. A state which has for decades fomented hate and fanaticism, driving apart two countries who were once one. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e5: Kashmir Powder Keg, History 2020
Each nation secretly seeks to assert its control over the region. But with every clandestine confrontation the stakes get higher. ibid.