The Man Who Drew the India-Pakistan Border Burnt His Papers

A long time ago, a big country called British India was split into two new countries, India and Pakistan.

A British lawyer named Cyril Radcliffe was asked to draw the line on the map showing where one country would end and the other would begin.

He had never been to India before and was given only a few weeks to do the job.

The line he drew cut through villages, farms, train lines and canals, separating families and neighbours.

Many people had to leave their homes, and there was terrible violence.

After finishing his work, Radcliffe burned many of his own private papers before leaving, so people do not know exactly what he was thinking.

Some people later said that a leader named Lord Mountbatten influenced one part of the border, but there is no proof.

Radcliffe himself said he might have drawn a better line if he had been given two or three years.

Today, the border he drew still divides India and Pakistan.