AD 1947-2000

On August 15 1947 India was divided into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan. India was predominantly Hindu, and Pakistan predominantly Muslim, and millions fled their homelands in an attempt to leave areas where they were in a minority. Tension between India and Pakistan grew and religious fundamentalism in both countries began to rise. In 1948 they went to war over the partitioned state of Kashmir. Tensions over Kashmir continue to run high.

Early in the 1950s riots broke out in East Pakistan (formerly East Bengal) as people complained of being treated like a colony of West Pakistan. In 1966 leaders in East Pakistan demanded its independence. The region suffered from a terrible monsoon in 1970 and thousands of refuges crossed into India. Shortly afterwards tanks from Pakistan appeared on the streets causing millions more to flee. India joined the fight and in January 1972 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the first prime minister of an independent Bangladesh.

During the 1990s economic liberalism was introduced in India, and the middle classes grew significantly. India has now become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and the largest democracy. However Hindu nationalism and its main advocate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to be a problem for the secular government. In the late 1990s both India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons.