Few Americans know the story of modern India and Pakistan’s chaotic birth in 1947, or the Partition, as it is known, when British forces hurriedly retreated from South Asia. More than 14 million people were uprooted from their ancestral homes and an estimated 3 million perished due to violence, hunger, suicide, and disease. The history books I read in my Florida high school spoke about Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful marches as a means to independence in South Asia, but never mentioned the bloodletting and the unprecedented refugee crisis caused by the retreat of an empire bankrupted by World War II.

East Punjab (India) and West Punjab (Pakistan) were divided during the 1947 Partition.
West Punjab is Pakistan's most populous province, containing major metropolises like Lahore, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi.	East Punjab is a state in northwestern India, with prominent cities including Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Chandigarh.