How this border transformed a subcontinent | India & Pakistan

The story of how a hastily-drawn line divided one people into two.

The video conferencing session between the two schools was conducted between students of Gyan Mandir Public School (Delhi, India) and Adamjee Model School (Karachi, Pakistan). The session was coordinated by Ms Anju Anand and Ms Devika Mittal from Indian side and Mr Usama Palla and Ms Suraya Islam from Pakistan. We're grateful they let us drop by!

The British tasked Cyril Radcliffe with the job of drawing a line to separate Punjab and Bengal provinces from India into East and West Pakistan. Muslims and Hindus weren’t the only ones being separated from each other. Sikhs and people from other faiths were affected as well.

A Sikh pilgrimage was divided because of the new border, Punjabi people of all faiths were separated from each other, and a culture was ultimately divided.

This Vox Borders episode looks at how the Radcliffe line changed Punjab and how communities are affected now.

Watch all the episodes of Vox Borders: India here:

Vox Borders is an international documentary series by Emmy-nominated producer Johnny Harris exploring life at the edge of nations.

Start from the beginning. Watch all full episodes of Vox Borders on YouTube in one playlist:

[Vox]

UPDATE: An border crossing known as the Kartarpur Corridor has opened between India and Pakistan, linking two of the holiest sites in Sikhism for the first time in more than 70 years. The 4.7 kilometres corridor connects the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India.

[THALASA]

A Turkish proverb fits in here,
''When the fish are fighting in their own pond, that is when you know the British were there''

[Runaway]

Dhaka resident in 1946: I'm Indian.
Dhaka resident in 1947: I'm Pakistani
Dhaka resident in 1971: I'm Bangladeshi

[TheCertifiedLegend]

I am from West Bengal and the story was same here
Punjabis and Bengalis were suffered the most. This bought a tear to my eye

[vipertasin]

My moms side of family was actually in India, Tripura. During partition they moved to east Pakistan which is now Bangladesh. Its been over 70 years but connection still remains. My grand father often sends fish(we are Bengali after all) over there to his friends. And his friend sends lots of to us fruits during summer.

[ashutoshsharmash]

I heard that there's a saying in Turkey. It goes like this,
"If in the same pond, two fish hate each other, rest assured the British were there."

[wizard]

This dude probably took longer to make this video than that British lawyer did for making that border line.

[ramishrambarran]

As a person of Indian descent ( my forefathers were brought here by the British as indentured labourers) it was very emotional for me seeing the schoolchildren of India & Pakistan interacting.
The colonial powers did untold harm to other countries and this world as a whole.
Trinidad & Tobago
West Indies.

[jeevghumman]

I have to share this story after watching this video.
A couple of weeks i my grandparents came to India after 3 years. Yesterday I was talking to my grandfather asking him everything about his past.
He told me he had to leave everything they owned and had to leave their town. Then I showed him Google Earth and searched his hometown. I showed him the street view and he was so happy when I told him that was were he had lived. I will remember his smile forever.

[niketshukla]

Strange how Britishers are taking years to finalize a Brexit deal but created two different countries in just months!

[ryebtiv]

Indians: suffered
Pakistanis: suffered
Bangladeshis: suffered
Radcliffe : It was too hot out there in India

[souvikmandal]

the fact that those kids are talking to each other with just innocence is just heartbreaking when you put into context what the leaders of both countries are doing. i hope the youth finds it in themselves to not give in to the hate!

[ashwindersekhon]

My grandmother (nani) came from Pakistan to India due to partition, she used to tell us how back in their home in Pakistan they were sitting having tea and suddenly some Muslims came and threatened them to leave Pakistan, so they ran away without even taking a single piece of cloth with her brothers and sisters all got divided while coming to India but fortunately they met after few years, all of them thought they died but they met and were so happy

[vukzivkovic]

As soon as I heard "British lawyer drew the borders" everything made sense

[noor-wbkc]

Ok but that sikh committee still talking care of the Muslim shrines literally melted my heart, God bless them.

[leonardowynnwidodo]

I’m not Indian, but it really pains my heart that people are separated simply out of haste and not proper negotiations. I can’t help but compare the Partition of India to the DMZ between North and South Korea following the Korean War, with many families being separated from each other for decades. I pray that, even if there is no reunification between India and Pakistan, people can visit each other’s “motherland” without any violence. Namaste and Salam to everyone in Hindustani (both India and Pakistan)🙏

[ocnsvic]

It would be awesome if you can add to the borders-india series with a couple episodes from the POV of Pakistan. It would dispel a lot of the misconceptions that people have of that place!

As someone who was born in pakistan, with grandparents from india, a sikh best friend and currently living in England, this series is pretty much perfect for me aha.

[luckymeena]

"Love knows no border "

Neither does Britain

[sadpeepolv]

British people learning history : "so we're the bad guys?"

[ayushchakraborty]

🙏 🤲 respect for you sir! Thankyou so much for uniting our thoughts. Never ever cried in a video before this. Hope someday we will break the borders and unite once again. Love from india 🇮🇳 ♥️