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Year 9

Decolonisation and the partition of India

I can describe how the granting of India's independence led to the partition of the country into India and Pakistan, which was a violent process.

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New
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Year 9

Decolonisation and the partition of India

I can describe how the granting of India's independence led to the partition of the country into India and Pakistan, which was a violent process.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A strong nationalist movement existed in India in the early 20th century; WW2 led to increased calls for independence.
  2. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims increased after WW2 and India's Muslims demanded their own state: Pakistan.
  3. In 1947, India was partitioned into two states: India and Pakistan; East Pakistan would become Bangladesh in 1971.
  4. Partition resulted in mass migration, which displaced 17-18 million people and unleashed a wave of lethal violence.
  5. Partition created a legacy of mistrust and hostility between India and Pakistan.

Keywords

  • Nationalist - someone who strongly believes in and supports their own country, placing its interests above those of other nations

  • Strike - when people stop working as a form of protest

  • Famine - a severe shortage of food that affects a large number of people, leading to widespread hunger and starvation

  • Viceroy - someone appointed by a monarch or ruler to govern a territory or colony in their name

  • Partition - to divide into parts

Common misconception

The borders drawn during Partition were clear and accepted by all.

The Radcliffe Line, which demarcated the borders, was highly contentious and led to significant disputes and confusion, which resulted in violence.

As pupils work through this unit, they could keep lists of similarities and differences between the process and experiences of decolonisation in the different world regions.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
When was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed?
1780
1790
Correct answer: 1800
1810
Q2.
What did most Irish nationalists campaign for in the late 19th century?
Correct answer: Home Rule
nationalism
war with Britain
Q3.
Why was there an increase in support for the republican cause after the Easter Rising?
Many Irish people already believed in and wanted Irish independence.
Many Irish people felt the republicans should focus on World War One (WW1).
Correct answer: Many Irish people were angry at the brutal response of the British government.
Q4.
Who established the Irish Republican Party (IRA)?
Éamon de Valera
James Connolly
Correct answer: Michael Collins
Q5.
What word means to divide something into parts, especially two parts of a country into new states or countries?
Correct Answer: partition, to partition
Q6.
Put the following events into chronological order.
1 - 200 000 Irish men volunteered to fight during WW1.
2 - The Easter Rising led to the death of 485 people in Dublin.
3 - Sinn Féin won a landslide republican victory in Ireland.
4 - The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Why did many Indian people demand independence from British rule in the late 19th century?
Correct answer: They were treated as inferior.
They were forced to fight for the British.
Correct answer: Their resources were exploited.
Their land was increasingly taken from them.
Q2.
What was the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1921?
violent resistence
Correct answer: nonviolent resistance
Correct answer: civil disobedience campaigns
gaining publicity through terrorism
Q3.
What complicated the creation of an independent India after World War Two (WW2)?
Correct answer: tensions between India's Hindu and Muslim populations
tensions between India's Buddhist and Sikh populations
tensions between India's Christian and Hindu populations
Q4.
What is the term for someone appointed by a monarch or ruler to govern a territory or colony in their name?
Correct Answer: viceroy
Q5.
When was partition implemented in India?
1945
1946
Correct answer: 1947
Q6.
Match the following people to their descriptions.
Correct Answer:Mahatma Gandhi,leader of the INC

leader of the INC

Correct Answer:Muhammad Ali Jinnah,leader of the Muslim League

leader of the Muslim League

Correct Answer:Lord Mountbatten,British Viceroy of India

British Viceroy of India

Correct Answer:Cyril Radcliffe,British lawyer

British lawyer

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