In August 1947, as the monsoon rains brought relief to India, the country was also celebrating its newfound independence from British rule. However, this joyous occasion was overshadowed by a tragic event at the old Delhi railway station. A train arrived, not filled with happy passengers, but with a haunting presence of death.
Welcome to Nutty History, where we explore one of the most shocking events in human history: the ghost trains of India. Much like the United States, India was under British colonial rule for 200 years. When World War II weakened the British Empire, they decided to leave India, but not without leaving a parting gift that would haunt the nation: the division of religious communities.
The British encouraged the idea of a separate nation for Indian Muslims, leading to the formation of the All-India Muslim League. This group, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, demanded the partition of India into two countries. They wanted one to be a Muslim-majority state, which became Pakistan, while the rest of India remained secular, welcoming all religions.
However, the partition was not peaceful. On March 8, 1947, riots erupted when the partition plan was approved. Punjab and Bengal, regions with mixed populations, were divided between India and Pakistan. The once harmonious communities of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims were torn apart.
As violence spread, Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan were forced to flee. Thirty trains were arranged to transport refugees across the new borders. Tragically, these trains became targets for religious extremists, leading to horrific massacres. According to historian Aisha Jalal, these attacks were financially supported by the Muslim League, resulting in one of the most gruesome events in history.
Passengers were trapped in train coaches, attacked with swords and sickles. Many were killed, and the survivors were left traumatized. When these “ghost trains” arrived in India, they carried not just refugees, but also the weight of unimaginable loss and fear.
The partition of India and Pakistan led to widespread violence and displacement. The princely states in Punjab, mostly ruled by Sikhs, chose to join India, except for Kashmir, which faced an invasion from Pakistan. This conflict marked the beginning of the first Indo-Pak war.
In September 1947, militias in Punjab retaliated, leading to further massacres. The violence spread across India, from Bengal to Delhi, leaving millions homeless and grieving. The British, meanwhile, watched from afar as they prepared to return to the UK.
By the time India gained independence, it had a population of 30 million. The 1947 riots claimed the lives of over a million people, leaving deep scars and animosity between India and Pakistan. Despite the horrors, survivors longed to return to their ancestral homes, now considered foreign lands.
The bond among Punjabis transcended religious differences, as shown by the story of our staff writer’s grandparents. They survived a ghost train massacre by pretending to be dead, hiding under the bodies of fellow passengers. Their journey was a testament to human resilience, but it left them with lifelong trauma.
The partition of India and Pakistan remains a contentious topic. Was it necessary, or could it have been avoided? Share your thoughts in the comments, and thank you for exploring this chapter of history with Nutty History.
Research the events leading up to the partition of India and Pakistan. Create a presentation that outlines the key events, figures, and consequences of the partition. Focus on the impact of the partition on different communities. Present your findings to the class, highlighting the human stories behind the historical facts.
Imagine you are a survivor of the train massacres during the partition. Write a diary entry describing your experiences, emotions, and hopes for the future. Use historical facts to make your entry realistic, and share your diary with the class to foster empathy and understanding of this tragic event.
Participate in a class debate on whether the partition of India and Pakistan was inevitable or if there could have been alternative solutions. Prepare arguments for both sides, considering the political, social, and economic factors involved. Engage in a respectful discussion to explore different perspectives on this historical decision.
Analyze maps of India and Pakistan before and after the partition. Identify the regions affected by the division and discuss how the new borders impacted the people living there. Consider the geographical, cultural, and political implications of the partition and share your insights with the class.
Conduct interviews with family members or community elders who have stories or knowledge about the partition. Record their memories and reflections, and compile them into a class project. This activity will help you connect personal narratives with historical events, providing a deeper understanding of the partition’s legacy.
In August 1947, the rainy season brought the long-awaited showers of liberty and independence to India. The whole country was in a mood of celebration and revelry until a train arrived at the old Delhi railway station. The train looked ghostly and reeked of death.
Welcome to Nutty History, and today we bring you the shocking tale of one of the bloodiest upheavals in human history: the ghost trains of India.
Just like the United States, India was also a victim of British colonialism. The British Raj ruled and exploited India and its people for 200 years. However, when the Second World War declared the pillars of the empire too fragile to hold on to the subcontinent, the empire pulled out one last parting gift: pitting Muslims and other religious groups against each other. They encouraged the voices of religious extremists demanding a separate nation for Indian Muslims.
The end result was the All-India Muslim League, which proclaimed itself as the voice of all Muslims in India and demanded the partition of India into two states, one of them exclusive to a certain religion. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, insisted that India’s name should be dissolved and the other state must be named Hindustan, which translates to “land of Hindus,” making it a religiously exclusive state like Pakistan. However, the rest of India declined that suggestion and chose to be a secular state where Muslims were welcome to stay if they desired. In contrast, the founders of Pakistan asked Hindus and Sikhs in the newly formed Pakistan to convert to Islam or leave the land they had lived in for generations.
The riots began on March 8, 1947, when Jinnah had the bill of partition approved by British overseers. States were assigned to either India or Pakistan, with Punjab and Bengal divided between the two nations. The argument for such a decision was based on these states having similar numbers of Muslim and non-Muslim populations. Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims of Punjab were living peacefully, oblivious to the approaching storm.
In Pakistan, leaders of the All-India Muslim League began to instigate native Muslims to round up individuals of other religions and force them to convert to Islam. For the next four months, West Punjab was engulfed in murder, looting, and rapes of innocent civilians. Shocked to see their neighbors turning on them, Hindus and Sikhs were forced to leave Pakistan.
Thirty trains were arranged to carry refugees from one side of the border to the other. However, as these trains prepared to depart, religious extremists arrived at the stations and charged at them. According to historian Aisha Jalal, these mobs were financially supported by the Muslim League and carried out one of the most horrendous massacres in human history. Helpless passengers were cornered in train coaches as these mobs invaded and began attacking people with swords and sickles. Corpses piled on top of each other, creating heaps of dead bodies.
Women witnessed their loved ones slaughtered, while men were forced to watch their family members defiled and then killed or abducted. The only passengers who survived were those who successfully hid or pretended to be dead. When the trains arrived in India, many were too scared to come out and ask for help or water. Some massacres were committed by delaying the departure of trains, while others were obstructed before they could cross the borders. Most passengers didn’t just lose their homes, wealth, and relatives; they also lost their lives and dignity.
The first ghost train marked the celebrations of independence, turning them into tragedy. Soon, more ghost trains full of corpses arrived at Amritsar, Ambala, and Firozpur. The very trains that were supposed to unite families turned new India’s morning into mourning. Some historians believe that the massacres on the trains were meant to provoke other communities in India, making Muslims who opted to stay feel unsafe and prompting them to migrate to Pakistan.
India before independence was a union of small princely states. When British imperialists receded from India, these states were forced to choose to merge with Pakistan or India. All princely states in the region of Punjab had Sikh rulers and were inclined to join the Indian Union, except for King Hari Singh of Kashmir. Hari Singh didn’t want to join either side and desired to maintain his sovereignty. While India reluctantly respected that, Pakistan responded with an invasion. Cornered with no army to defend his kingdom, King Hari Singh pleaded with India to help remove the Pakistani militia. India’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Sardar Patel, agreed to help in return for Hari Singh’s agreement to make Kashmir a part of India. This resulted in the first Indo-Pak war.
The Muslim League tried to pressure other Punjab princely states to join Pakistan and threatened them with invasion if they did not comply. Frustrated by these tactics and the sponsored communal discord, these princely states united and armed their own militias. In September 1947, these militias massacred 20,000 Muslim refugees in New Delhi and East Punjab before the Indian Army restored peace.
The flare of religious violence in Bengal spread to Assam and Bihar and soon reached Delhi. India was engulfed in riots from the western border to the eastern border, as millions lost their homes and loved ones. The British regime spectated, waiting for their return to the United Kingdom.
On the eve of independence, united India had a population of 30 million. In the 1947 riots, a total of three million people lost their lives, with more than one million killed. Heavy civilian casualties followed, sowing the seeds of animosity and dispute between the two neighboring countries.
Despite all this, those who survived yearned to return to their ancestral homes, but they were now considered aliens in the country they were born in. The bond of humanity among Punjabis transcends beyond religions. Our own staff writer, who wrote the script for this video, would not have been able to write it if rioters had found his grandparents on one such ghost train. His grandparents survived the ordeal by pretending to be dead and hiding under the corpses of fellow passengers. They traveled in a train full of dead people while holding their breath for 400 kilometers, only to collapse at Delhi’s railway station. They still faced the challenge of restarting their lives with nothing but a lifelong trauma ahead of them.
Do you think the India-Pakistan partition was avoidable, or was it really necessary? Tell us in the comments, and thanks for watching Nutty History.
Massacre – A brutal and indiscriminate slaughter of many people, often in a conflict or war setting. – The massacre at Amritsar in 1919 was a turning point in the Indian independence movement, as it galvanized public opinion against British rule.
Partition – The division of a region or country into separate political entities, often leading to significant social and political upheaval. – The partition of India in 1947 led to the creation of two independent nations, India and Pakistan, and resulted in widespread displacement and violence.
Refugees – People who are forced to flee their country due to war, persecution, or natural disaster, seeking safety and asylum elsewhere. – The partition of India created millions of refugees who crossed borders in search of safety and a new home.
Violence – The use of physical force to harm someone, to damage property, or to cause fear, often seen in conflicts and social unrest. – The violence that erupted during the partition of India resulted in significant loss of life and property.
Communities – Groups of people living in the same area or having a particular characteristic in common, often sharing cultural, religious, or social ties. – The partition of India disrupted long-standing communities, as people were forced to migrate based on religious identity.
Independence – The state of being free from outside control or not subject to another’s authority, often achieved after a struggle or conflict. – India’s independence from British rule in 1947 marked the end of colonialism and the beginning of a new era for the nation.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs, often used to understand the present and anticipate the future. – Understanding the history of the partition of India is crucial to comprehending the current geopolitical tensions in South Asia.
Trains – Railway vehicles that transport people or goods, often playing a significant role in migration and economic development. – During the partition of India, trains became a symbol of both hope and tragedy as they carried refugees to their new homes.
Pakistan – A country in South Asia that was created in 1947 as a result of the partition of India, intended to be a separate state for Muslims. – The creation of Pakistan was accompanied by significant challenges, including the integration of diverse ethnic groups and the establishment of a stable government.
India – A country in South Asia that gained independence from British rule in 1947, becoming a sovereign nation with a rich cultural and historical heritage. – India’s journey to independence was marked by a non-violent struggle led by figures like Mahatma Gandhi, who advocated for civil disobedience against colonial rule.
