India Partition

Colourised archive footage and archive documents tell the story of the division of British-ruled India into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan, and the subsequent outbreaks of violence and refugee crisis.

On 15 August 1947, India officially declared independence, but not without conflict, violence and bloodshed between Pakistan. To commemorate the 75th Independence Day in both India and Pakistan, Channel 4 broadcast a two-part documentary to show the process of how India and Pakistan came to be after the British Empire left.

Anita Rani presents the extraordinary and emotional stories of three British families - one Muslim, one Hindu and one British colonial - who lived in India at the time of Partition in 1947.

Anita Rani presents the extraordinary and emotional stories of three British families, one Muslim, one Hindu and one British colonial, who lived in India 70 years ago, at the time of partition.

In this documentary, British film-maker Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend It Like Beckham and Viceroy's House, travels from Southall to Delhi to find out about the Partition of India - one of the most seismic events of the 20th century. Partition saw India divided into two new nations - independent India and Pakistan. The split led to violence, disruption and death. To find out why and how it happened, Gurinder crosses India, meeting people whose lives were torn apart by Partition and talking to historians who explain the motivations behind the split.

70 year after partition, journalists Adnan Sarwar and Babita Sharma travel the still volatile border of Pakistan and India, discovering the lives of those who live there.

Today India and Pakistan are home to one fifth of the world's population. They are rising powers but hostile neighbours. Their enmity can be traced back to the week of their birth

Sanjeev Kohli and Aasmah Mir discuss the lasting impact of the partition of India at the end of British colonial rule. They begin by listening to the personal stories of their own fathers, who as a Sikh and a Muslim, found themselves living on opposite sides of the divide. They also hear personal testimonies from others who lived through the subsequent turmoil, as well as discovering how subsequent generations view these events.

Set over the seven dramatic days leading up to the Partition of India and creation of Pakistan, this film gives a blow-by-blow account of that tumultuous week.

The world's largest democracy and a rising economic giant, India is now as well known across the globe for its mastery of computer technology as it is for its many-armed gods and its famous spiritual traditions. But India is also the world's most ancient surviving civilisation, with unbroken continuity back into prehistory. Like other great civilisations - Greece or Egypt for example, over the millennia it has enjoyed not just one but several brilliant golden ages in art and culture.