Every year on August 14, India observes Partition Horrors Remembrance Day to remember the hardships faced by millions of people during the Partition of 1947. The day is dedicated to honouring the struggles, resilience, and courage of those who lost their homes, families, and communities during one of the largest human migrations in history.
Partition Horrors Remembrance Day 2025
Why In News
- Every year on August 14, India observes Partition Horrors Remembrance Day to remember the hardships faced by millions of people during the Partition of 1947. The day is dedicated to honouring the struggles, resilience, and courage of those who lost their homes, families, and communities during one of the largest human migrations in history.
Partition Of India
- Partition of India in 1947 divided the country into India and Pakistan, leading to large-scale violence, displacement, and loss of life. Millions were forced to leave their homes and move across the newly drawn borders, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions. Communities that had lived together for generations were torn apart, and many faced hunger, trauma, and uncertainty.
Why The Day Matters Today
- Modi had announced August 14 in 2021 as the ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ with the stated objective to commemorate the victims and the suffering of the Partition. The day is meant to remind present and future generations about the episode. The day would keep “reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment”, Modi said at the time.
- In 1947, the independence of India was accompanied by the partition of the British India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, sparking one of the largest human migrations in history as Muslims moved to Pakistan and non-Muslims moved from to India.
- The Partition led to widespread rioting and killings that killed hundreds of thousands. Around 8 million non-Muslims moved from Pakistan to India and around 7.5 million Muslims moved from India to Pakistan (both West and East Pakistan; East Pakistan got independence from Pakistan in 1971 and became Bangladesh), according to Government of India’s estimates. Some estimates say that up to 1 million people were killed in the violence.
- “The estimate of those killed has varied from 5,00,000 to over 10,00,000. The generally accepted figure stands at around 5,00,000,” the GoI noted in a document at the time. The Partition of India was a result of the Pakistan movement waged by was rooted in the demand for a separate country for Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League on the basis of ’two-nation theory’ that said that Hindus and Muslims were two nations and could not live together in one country.
- However, the idea of Pakistan or at least a separate country for Muslims had been there for decades before 1940s when Jinnah ratchetted up the campaign.
- The Partition Museum has said, “The demand for a separate nation for Muslims had been raised by various Muslim leaders in the previous decades, most famously by Allama Iqbal at a Muslim League conference at Allahabad in 1930 where he articulated the idea of a Muslim nation within India. The term ‘Pak-Stan’ had been coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali in the 1930s while he was studying at Cambridge University.”
PM Modi’s Message To The Nation
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted an emotional message on social media. He spoke about the “upheaval and pain” endured by countless people and praised their resilience in rebuilding their lives after unimaginable loss. His words reminded citizens that the day is not only about grief but also about resilience.
