The Partition of India in 1947 marked the end of British colonial rule on the subcontinent and the creation of two independent nations: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The process was driven by the 'Two-Nation Theory' and intensifying communal tensions. The hasty drawing of borders by British official Cyril Radcliffe led to one of the largest mass migrations in history, as millions of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims fled across the new boundaries. The migration was accompanied by horrific communal violence, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 200,000 to 2 million people. The partition also left the status of the princely state of Kashmir unresolved, leading to decades of military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The event remains a foundational and traumatic moment in the modern history of South Asia.