Independence and Partition
During World War II Indian troops fought for the Allies, and the country united to repulse a threatened Japanese attack through Burma. Gandhi, however, renewed his noncooperation campaign, and he and the president of the Congress party, Jawaharlal Nehru, were imprisoned for several years. The Muslim League, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, demanded a separate Muslim state. At the close of the war the British government announced that India would be granted independence.
The Congress party reluctantly agreed to the separate Muslim state of Pakistan, and in August, 1947, the two countries became fully independent British dominions, with Nehru as India's first prime minister. Violence broke out immediately between Muslims and Hindus, and thousands of persons were killed. In 1948 Gandhi, who had worked to bring peace, was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.
Independent India. The independent country of India was founded on Aug. 15, 1947, the day after the northwestern and northeastern parts of the Indian subcontinent became the independent country of Pakistan. Burma (now Myanmar) and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) won independence in 1948. East Pakistan broke away in 1971 and became the independent country of Bangladesh.