Drawing a Line in the Sand

Sixty-two years ago today the infamous Radcliffe Line which was to show how the British Raj would be divied up into the newly Independent countries of India and Pakistan. In the years since, there has been much debate over the decision of how and where to divide up the entire Indian territories but it was the nature and attitude by which the decisions were made that left a bad taste in many mouths and impacted the relations in the region for decades to come. I hadn't really studied the history of how the countries were divided up and upon reading a bit more about it, I came to understand why there was a level of resentment over how the process was carried out.

When the two countries gained their independence from India, it was decided that areas with a heavy Muslim population would become part of Pakistan and the heavily Hindu regions would become part of India. How and where these dividing lines were to be laid out came to be the responsibility of the Boundary Commision headed by lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The commission was tasked with marking off the final dividing lines between the countries that would then be accepted by the governments of India and Pakistan. Sounds like a good plan in theory but the execution of the plan left much to be desired. One of the chief problems that neither Radcliffe nor the other lawyers on his Commission team were familiar with this type of work. No advisors with experience in these types of exercises were provided and no assistance was rendered.

The United Nations offered to step in and provide support however the Commission (and the English government) was steadfast in its belief that in accepting aid from the United Nations would show the world that the English weren't able to keep proper control of their Empire without outside support. What this meant was that then there were decisions being made by people who had no knowledge of how to properly survey and lay out boundaries nor take many of the other deciding factors into account. Although the general principle of the division lay in the decision to divide the nations based on where majority populations were living there was no consideration given to some of the non-Muslim or non-Hindu populations such as the Buddhists who lived in what eventually became part of Bangladesh. In addition, most glaringly was the fact that Radcliffe himself had never been to India prior to his assignment to this commission nor did he know anyone there.

When lines and decisions began being laid out, points were raised regarding the fact that in many cases, the border ran right through the center of villages. Rather than going around the village or making adjustments, Radcliffe and his commission to the attitude that no matter what decision was ultimately made, people would be 'hurt' so why pay excessive consideration to the issue. As a result, villages in parts of Punjab province lie in both countries. Many at the time reported with some concern about the haste and speed which was shown by the commission in laying out the borders and equally distressing was the fact that the decisions were held as a very closely guarded secret and were not shared with the governments of either country until the final decision had been made. The purpose seemingly to avoid the constant bickering that had characterized the meetings between the Indian and Pakistani governments up to that time.

If there was any method to the madness behind the decisions made by the Boundary Commission they too were lost to the passage of time almost immediately after the decisions were rendered as Radcliffe destroyed his paperwork and documentation immediately after leaving the country. His attitude was described as being one of haste and urgency at wanting to leave India as he felt his 'fitness' was lacking for the Indian climate. The plans for the division of the land into the two countries was revealed and then Partition began. Anyone who has studied the history of the region probably knows all about the death and destruction that occurred at that time. The exact number of deaths may never be known but it is easy to say that it ranks in the thousands. The seemingly random division has had effects affecting the region even today. Dispute over Kashmir continues and has been the basis for at least three wars and the Kargil War a decade ago. If anything this date in history shows just what can happen when decisions are made in a hasty and half-assed manner.