Decolonization · 1947-1948

1947: independence and the partition of India

In August 1947 British rule in India ended and two states were born: India and Pakistan. A new border cut through Punjab and Bengal, and millions of people fled in both directions. Students compare the 1938 and 1960 maps and hear the voices of those who had to move.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1960
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In August 1947 British rule in India ended and two states were born: India and Pakistan. A new border cut through Punjab and Bengal, and millions of people fled in both directions. Students compare the 1938 and 1960 maps and hear the voices of those who had to move.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why British India was divided into India and Pakistan in 1947.
  • Locate the new borders in Punjab and Bengal and the two parts of Pakistan.
  • Describe the human cost of partition from the point of view of the people who had to move.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1960

From one to two

Open the map in 1938 and find British India. Then move the slider to 1960. Which new countries do you see, and why does Pakistan have two parts?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1960

Punjab

Zoom in on Punjab, the land of five rivers between Lahore and Amritsar. The new border ran right through it. Ask the atlas: "What was the Radcliffe Line?"

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1960

Bengal

Travel east to Bengal. Find Calcutta (Kolkata) and Dhaka. Which city went to India and which to Pakistan? Why was it so painful to split a region with one language?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did the Muslim League demand a separate state, Pakistan?
  2. The border was drawn in about five weeks by a British lawyer who had never been to India before. What could go wrong?
  3. Between 10 and 20 million people crossed the new borders, and hundreds of thousands were killed. Why did neighbors turn on each other?
  4. Gandhi fasted to stop the violence and was murdered in January 1948. Why did some people hate him for wanting peace?
  5. India and Pakistan both celebrate independence, but families also remember partition with grief. How can one event mean freedom and loss at the same time?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Akbar, the Mughal emperor who tried to bring Hindus and Muslims together in one empire. Then compare: in 1947 the leaders of India, Pakistan and Britain chose partition. What other choices did they have?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.