In Pictures

Gallery|India-Pakistan Partition

Seventy years of India-Pakistan partition in pictures

Seventy years on, partition and the violence that accompanied it continues to shape India and Pakistan.

PARTITION PHOTO /PLEASE DO NOT USE
An Indian soldier strikes a pose during a lowering of the flags ceremony at the Wagah border, which divides India and Pakistan. Known for its animated displays of enmity and friendship, the ceremony has come to symbolise 70 years of rivalry between the two countries. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
By Steve Chao
Published On 15 Aug 2017

India and Pakistan – On the 70th anniversary of the partition of British India, 101 East presenter Steve Chao travelled to India and Pakistan to examine the troubled legacy of this historic event.

When British rulers divided the subcontinent into two nations, it prompted the greatest mass migration of people in history and unleashed a wave of violence that claimed more than a million lives.

From the elderly survivors who endured the violent aftermath of the partition to the military commanders and angry nationalists whose hostility shows little sign of fading, these images powerfully depict how the legacy of partition continues to shape India and Pakistan today.

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of India-Pakistan 70 years of partition here.

PARTITION PHOTO /PLEASE DO NOT USE
A one-legged man shows off his patriotism during a daily lowering of the flags ceremony along the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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PARTITION PHOTO /PLEASE DO NOT USE
Citizens on both sides are encouraged to show off their patriotism during the lowering of the flags ceremony along the Wagah border. The two nations have been bitter rivals since partition in 1947. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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Soldiers from India and Pakistan offer a handshake and a stare during the border closing ceremony at Wagah. Over the past 70 years, the nations have fought three wars, and continue to battle for the contested region of Kashmir. Many historians say the violent events of 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided into independent India and Pakistan, continue to taint relations between the two. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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The family of the dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, mourns his death. Khan, a Muslim, was allegedly beaten and killed by a Hindu mob near Mewat, India. His family say his alleged killers wrongly accused him of buying cattle for slaughter. Cows are considered sacred among Hindus. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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It's been 70 years since the partition – the moment the subcontinent was divided by Britain, creating India and Pakistan. The number of survivors who remember that moment, and the violence that left more than a million people dead, are quickly dwindling, leaving many worried that this part of history may soon be forgotten. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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In 1947, the rural areas of the Punjab were the epicentre of violence between Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. British rulers carved the state in two, giving one part to Pakistan, the other to India. Historians say that decision drove riots that led to more than a million deaths. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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For rural communities on the Pakistan and India side of the Punjab region, life remains very much the same as in 1947. The memories of the horrific communal violence unleashed during that period also live on today. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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The border between India and Pakistan is one of the most highly contested in the world – especially in the region of Kashmir. The two nations have fought three wars in the past 70 years. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]
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A Pakistani flag flies over Lahore Fort. From 1849 to 1947 during a century of British rule, the fort was a key garrison for the empire. Today, it is a tourist attraction. [Steve Chao/Al Jazeera]