The Unresolved Legacy of Partition

India and Pakistan mark their Independence Days on August 15th and August 14th, respectively. However, Bangladesh, the third part of the Indian subcontinent, does not observe these dates as its Independence Day. Prior to 1971, Bangladesh used to celebrate 'Yome-Azadi' or Independence Day on August 14th annually. The region continues to experience a series of anomalies, disputes, and contradictions. In India, properties left behind by those who moved to Pakistan during the partition are referred to as 'enemy property.' This includes assets such as land, houses, businesses, bank accounts, and other properties, like Muhammad Ali Jinnah's property in Mumbai and Pervez Musharraf's property in Uttar Pradesh. The Indian government took control of these properties for public use. The issue of enemy property in India remains a topic of debate and reconsideration.

The Indian government has used these properties for various public projects such as the construction of schools, hospitals and government offices. In some cases these properties have been returned to the people who left them. The issue of enemy property continues to be a topic of legal and political debate. India and Pakistan were partitioned 78 years ago but financial claims remain outstanding between the two countries due to the division of property. When the British Empire divided the countries, Lord Radcliffe drew lines on the map but the division of properties was a very difficult negotiation. The properties ranged from movable assets such as office furniture and light bulbs to personnel, government departments, defence forces and central forces that needed to be carefully divided. Even today both countries claim that the other country owes them money, which stems from disagreements over the payment of dues. While the geographical division had been reached, the matter of property remained - not only monetary but also personnel and artworks. This was a division that would be very difficult to negotiate.

The allocation of these assets was approached with differing levels of seriousness. The decision on who would own the Viceroy of India's horse-drawn carriage was made by flipping a coin, which India won. Consequently, the carriage was placed at Rashtrapati Bhavan for the President of India's use. In 2014, President Pranab Mukherjee utilized the carriage, marking its use three decades after it was withdrawn from public events due to security concerns. Under the Partition Agreement, Pakistan was allocated 17.5 percent of British India's assets and liabilities. However, the Partition's implications extended further as the newly established Central Bank of Pakistan and the Reserve Bank of India had to resolve the distribution of cash reserves. At that time, India possessed approximately Rs 400 crore, from which the Partition Council assigned Rs 75 crore to the Central Bank of Pakistan, including a Rs 20 crore working balance provided to Pakistan as an advance on August 15, 1947. Following independence, both India and Pakistan were served by a single central bank for a little over a year, with the RBI managing India's finances from August 1947 to September 1948.

Originally the two countries were to share the central bank until October 1948 but the partition was pushed forward by a month after relations between the RBI and the Pakistan government deteriorated sharply over a payment of Rs 55 crore. India and Pakistan also shared currency during this period, with the Expert Committee deciding to continue the existing coinage and currency for both India and Pakistan until March 31, 1948. Now 78 years later both India and Pakistan claim that the other side owes them money. Every year in the Economic Survey India diligently adds a line in the ‘Outstanding liabilities of the Central Government’ section titled ‘Amount due from Pakistan on account of part of pre-partition debt’. There was a debt of about Rs 300 crore which was carried forward since partition. On the other hand, Pakistan claimed in 2014 that India owed it Rs 560 crore because RBI refused to hand over certain assets to the Pakistan government. Like the Economic Survey, the State Bank of Pakistan has also added a line in its balance sheet claiming that it owes money to the Reserve Bank of India. The amount owed has increased due to inflation, exchange rates, etc.

The typical bureaucratic process of partition now appeared absurd. Alternate volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica were distributed to each nation. For dictionaries, they were split in half, with volumes 'A' to 'K' going to India and the remainder to Pakistan. Collins and Lapierre describe how 'arguments, negotiations, and disputes arose over the allocation of goods.' Department heads attempted to conceal their best typewriters or swap their damaged desks and chairs with those designated for their competing community. Some offices fell silent, as officials exchanged ink bottles for water jars, umbrella stands for hat pegs, and 125 pin cushions for chamber pots. The debate over dishes, silverware, and paintings in state residences was intense. However, one item was not debated. The wine cellars always went to Hindu India, while Muslim Pakistan received credit for their contents. Such trivial and meaningless disputes persisted without end.'