 In 1947, India got
its independence from Great Britain, and then was partitioned
into two nations according to religious majority.
For about 90 years, India and Pakistan were one country. This
country was known as British India. Kashmir was an independent
country. In 1947, Great Britain gave India its independence.
When this happened, India was partitioned, or divided, into two
nations. This partition was based on the two main religions in
this region, Hinduism and Islam. The Hindu section became India,
and the Muslim sections became Pakistan. Kashmir was led by a
Hindu government, but most of its population was Muslim. When
Pakistan invaded Kashmir in 1947, Kashmir's Hindu ruler, Hari
Singh, at left, asked for protection from India, which led to
a war between India and Pakistan. The United Nations ended the
war by splitting Kashmir between the two nations. Pakistan, and
many Kashmiris, were upset that India got more land than Pakistan
did. These frustrations led to another war in 1965, seen in the
bottom photo. A third war between these countries erupted in
1971, when India supported the independence of East Pakistan,
which is now the nation of Bangladesh. Why are so many wars
fought over religious differences? In 1998, both India and
Pakistan announced that they had nuclear weapons. The right photo
is an image of Pakistan's first nuclear test. Nuclear weapons
are very, very dangerous. So far, these two countries have not
used them on one another, although both have threatened to.
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In 1947, India got
its independence from Great Britain, and then was partitioned
into two nations according to religious majority. 
