Pictures of Indian Partition

[Rahul92]

The cover of Time magazine, October 27, 1947 (It has been available online for quite sometime as the magazine already has an online gallery of all its cover

he cover of this American magazine read:

INDIA
Liberty and death

Writer-Historian Patrick French, in the final words of introduction to his book Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division, tells us about Patrick Henry's phrase from American War of Independence, 'Give me liberty, or give me death,' that was reworked into the slogan, 'Liberty or death' by Indian freedom fighters. Later, Muslim League politician Liaquat Ali Khan transformed the same slogan by proclaiming: 'Pakistan or death.'

The death and destruction that followed has been documented in books, in films and in pictures. Of these, pictures were least available in public domain.

Thanks to Google and Life Magazine a lot of previously unseen photographs are now available online.

Here are some of the photographs of partition taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1947 for Time Magazine [ courtesy Life magazine and Google ]

Sikhs migrating to Hindu section of Punjab after the partitioning of India

Convoy of Muslims streaming past the dead of a previous caravan and the whitened bones of their buffaloes.

Mulsim man carrying his hookah in one hand while balancing pole holding his 5-yr. old son in convoy to West Punjab to escape anti-muslim Sikhs.

 

[Rahul92]

 

[W.G.Ewald]

There was a very intense scene in the movie Gandhi of two caravans passing each other going in opposite directions with tragic conflict ensuing.

 

[agentperry]

that day and today. hate is same on either side.

 

[SPIEZ]

The most Harrowing of all incidents! Holocaust in India( for the non-desi's)