Independence and its aftermath

British Punjab Province,before 1947

In 1947 the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab. The western Punjab was assimilated into new country ofPakistan while the east Punjab stayed in India. This led to massive rioting as both sides committed atrocities against fleeing refugees. The Partition of India in 1947 split the former Raj province of Punjab; the mostly Muslim western part became the Pakistani province of West Punjab and the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became the Indian province of Punjab. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. The undivided Punjab, of which Punjab (Pakistan) forms a major region today, was home to a large minority population of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus unto 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.

At the time of independence in 1947 and due to the ensuing horrendous exchange of populations, the Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus migrated to India. Punjabi Muslims were uprooted similarly from their homes in East Punjab which now forms part of India. Approximately 7 million plus who moved to Pakistan, over 6 million settled in Punjab. In 1950, two new states were created; the former Raj province became the state of Punjab, while the princely states were combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). Himachal Pradesh was created as a union territory from several princely states and Kangra district. In 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas were transferred to Himachal Pradesh.

Formation of current Punjab

The capital of the undivided Province of Punjab, Lahore, ended up in Pakistan after partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab was built at Chandigarh.

After years of struggle by the Akali leadership(Punjabi Suba Movement) and detention of thousands of Sikhs and loss of many lives Punjab was divided on a linguistic basis. On 1 November 1966, the majority Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory but serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Punjab, mainly due to the late Pratap Singh Kairon. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian National Congress led central government and the main Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. Hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Akali Dal as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which asked for granting maximum autonomy to the region of Punjab and other states and limited role and powers of the Central Government.