It was 77 years ago that India gained independence from the British Raj with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru saying in his famous speech, which can never be forgotten, “Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny. Now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge — not wholly or in full measure — but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”

But this time was also marked with tension and strife as it was decided that India would be divided into
two nations, India and Pakistan. To make this come to life, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer, was commissioned to draw the borders that would divide British India into two countries – Pakistan and India. Some historical accounts said that Radcliffe’s decision to split the country into two came after he simply “drew a line over the map”.

With this, the geographical split was completed, but there also remained the matter of how assets — military, monetary and cultural — would be divided between the two. As we mark this momentous occasion, here’s a look back at how this tricky exercise was carried out.

A committee is formed

On June 16, 1947, a committee, known as The Punjab Partition Committee, was set up by Governor-General Jenkins in close consultation with Lord Mountbatten and others. Its main purpose: to advise on the division of finances, the division of the forces, and the division of the senior administrative services along with their office equipment.

An Economic Times report states that the committee, which was later renamed as Partition Council, consisted of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad, representing the Congress while the All-India Muslim League was represented by Liaquat Ali Khan and Abdur Rab Nishtar. Nishtar was later replaced by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

As Anwesha Sengupta writes in one report titled ‘Breaking up: Dividing assets between India and Pakistan in the times of Partition’, the Partition Council had only 70 days to partition the British Indian state. Within this ridiculously short span, all departmental assets and financial liabilities were to be divided.

Partition of the military

One of the biggest issues before the Partition Council was the division of the defence forces. Under this exercise, two-thirds of the force remained in India while one-third were sent to Pakistan. As per reports, around 2,60,000 men went to India; they were mostly Hindus and Sikhs. On the other hand, around 140,000 men went to Pakistan, most of them being Muslims. The Brigade of Gurkhas was split between India and Britain. However, it did not turn out to be a smooth process.

The Brigade of Gurkhas was split between India and Britain. Other units were also split. For instance, the 19th Lancers in Pakistan exchanged their Jat and Sikh troops for Muslims from Skinner’s Horse in India.

As per the National Army Museum (NAM), several British officers stayed behind for the partition and the transition. Two such notable names were General Sir Robert Lockhart, India’s first Chief of Army Staff, and General Sir Frank Messervy, who became Pakistan’s first Chief of Army Staff.

Many British officers expressed their sorrow over having to leave India. One of the officers recounting the same was quoted by NAM as saying, “The awful thought was that I was leaving India in those circumstances… and leaving Skinner’s Horse people behind. And one of them actually came to me and, with a pleading look, he said, ‘But Sahib, we fought for you in a war, why don’t you fight for us and do something?’ and… I nearly burst into tears.”

Splitting the finances

Another big challenge for India was the division of the money between the two countries. According to the Partition agreement, Pakistan received 17.5 per cent of the assets and liabilities of British India.

The Partition Council also decided that the same central bank would serve both India and Pakistan for over a year. However, the divide was hastened when ties between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Pakistan government deteriorated.

The Partition Council also decided that the two countries would continue with the existing coinage and currency for both India and Pakistan until March 31, 1948. Moreover, it was decided that between April 1 and September 30, 1948, new coins and notes would be introduced in Pakistan, but the old rupee and paisa would still remain valid.

However, one may note that even after the first five years of partition, Pakistani coins were circulating freely in Calcutta and the Reserve Bank of India notes inscribed with the words ‘Government of Pakistan’ were circulating in Pakistan.

History records show that while India paid Pakistan Rs 20 crore on August 15, 1947 as promised, the amount of Rs 75 crore got stuck over a controversy — Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir with the help of mercenaries.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first home minister, made it clear that without a resolution on Kashmir, no payments would be made to Pakistan. However, Mahatma Gandhi, who was unhappy over these events, undertook a fast to ensure Pakistan got what it was promised, forcing the government and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to honour the agreement on January 15 itself, despite objections from Patel.

Interestingly, both countries claim that the other owes them money to date. The Economic Survey of India 2022-2023 reveals that Pakistan owes the country Rs 300 crore as pre-partition debt. On the other hand, Pakistan’s State Bank in 2014 said that India owed it Rs 560 crore.

Divvying up other assets

In addition to the financial and military assets, India and Pakistan also reached a consensus on the division of other movable assets. All moveable assets were divided in the ratio of 80-20, and these included office furniture, stationery items and even lightbulbs, reports The Economic Times.

Moreover, after the partition, antiquities and relics were also sought to be equally divided between the two countries under the Partition Council’s official agreement in the 1950s.

One such famous example was that of the gold-plated, horse-drawn
buggy which belonged to the Viceroy of India. Soon after Partition, India and Pakistan claimed the fancy buggy. The ownership of the buggy was then decided by a coin toss, which India won.

And the process of division was even extended to animals. Anwesha Sengupta in her paper, Breaking up: Dividing assets between India and Pakistan in times of Partition, cites the famous case of Joymoni, an elephant belonging to the Forest Department of colonial Bengal. As per the asset division, Joymoni’s value was equivalent to a station wagon. It was then decided that West Bengal would receive the vehicle and East Bengal would get the tusker.

However, at the time of independence, Joymoni was in Malda, which fell within West Bengal. A new dimension was added to this issue over the payment of Joymoni. The collector of Malda argued that the East Bengal government should pay for the elephant. However, the other side countered that as Malda had used the elephant, they should bear the expenditure.

The paper adds that the dispute eventually moved to diplomatic circles and was probably resolved at the level of chief secretaries.

The columnist in the Eastern Economist had it right: “Separating India and Pakistan was ‘as difficult as unscrambling scrambled eggs, a nearly impossible task. But in the end, it was done.

With inputs from agencies

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Independence Day 2024: How India and Pakistan divided money, military and an elephant amid partition