CBSE Class 12 History – Understanding Partition

Chapter Overview

This chapter examines the historical background, political negotiations, and human experiences surrounding the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. It also discusses the role of oral history in understanding personal memories of violence, displacement, communal stereotyping, and reconstitution. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Important Keywords

• Separate Electorates: Voting blocs by religion introduced by British to divide communities. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
• Two-Nation Theory: Idea that Hindus and Muslims constituted separate nations. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
• Partition: Division of British India into India and Pakistan (14–15 August 1947). :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
• Oral History: First-person recollections used to understand lived experience. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• Communal Violence: Mass killings, rapes, displacement across religious lines. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
• Refugees: 12–20 million displaced during the Partition. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}