What effects did the 1947 Partition have on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh?

These new countries after partition had became weak and weaker at both fronts financially and militarily. There is constant boundary dispute. India Pak had a long common boundary and fought 4 wars after independence in 1947 but the main dispute remains unresolved.Bangla desh is the result of war in 1971 between india and pak but it still had dispute with india on many issues like sharing of water and boundary. The firing at border with pak and bangla is routine affair.There is minimum harmony among them. Bangla desh is creation of unsatisfaction of east pakistani nationals with the discriminatory policies of rulers west pakistan. It had proved failure of two nation theory propagated by Quade Azam Md ali http://jinna.It is also failure of religion to bind the people. It proves that equality ,self respect and self reliance is more important factors. The citizens in all 3 countries have many things in common and do similarly.These all 3 countries are backward in education and poor in infrastructure facilities but rich in human resources.They are not able to cope with the present situation and need to implement new policies to feed their citizens. This region is known as one of the poorest area in Asia.All 3 nations are facing similar challenges.India had adopted parliamentary democracy with secular socialist republic but in  both other nations the democracy is in nascent stage and there is always doubt of militaty coup.Pakistan just escaped it again recently. Many times the democratically elected govts were toppled in pak and bangla desh by military generals. If these all 3 nations unite again to make it a great india,  it may be one of the richest country in the world as like during mughal period or during mauryan empire and it would be a golden bird again. These countries are rich in natural resources and young skilled manpower . Due to division of India , Millions of people had died due to outbreak of  riots, epidemics and hunger and vagaries of weather, insecurity and improper planning by govt. Thete is vast potential for development in this region.

From the perspective of an Indian, when I look at the present political situation in India where the loyalties or political belief's of most Indian citizens are clearly divided between the nationalist BJP and the pseudo-secularist parties like Congress, TMC, JDU etc. it is good that the Indian sub continent went through a partition. Had India not been partitioned, I would assume Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha would have remained a political force but the third alternative would have been the Muslim League or a similar party having strong Islamic political belief's. I think this would have divided the Indian nation further on the lines of religion and I fear hypothetically it could have led to a civil war or frequent riots due to religious differences. Not that we don't see riots happening now but I believe the frequency would have been more. Secondly, with the threat of ISIS or Al-Qaida in the muslim majority regions, the Indian government would have had to spend enough time and resources curbing the rise of such groups. With the partition, India now only has to contend with managing such smaller groups. In short while the partition was unfortunate but in my opinion under current circumstances it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I opt for submitting few additional effects, other than discussed in answers from my quora friends. Migrants from one  country to other due to Patition, have suffered a lot. We Sindhis have lost our roots and culture. We are scattered through out India, and tried to get assimilated in local population learning local language and mingle. We have not succeeded fully, even after seven decades. We are still not owned by locals. We have lost our mother tongue and vast literature to a large extent. Bengalis have more affinity to their language and literature. Migrants from India in Pakistan have thrived in Sindh, but are not assimilated. Punjab pushed migrants other than from Indian Punjab to Sindh. Sindhis who were less literate, have been pressed hard from both sides. Domination of Muhajirs on one side, and Punjab from other. As an agricultural community from Sindh, we are cut off from this activity, forcing many to hawking and small businesses. Few left back in Pakistan are more or less eliminated. All the three countries show the injuries of migration, not yet healed. There has been a great divide between communities since partition. In Pakistan, other than Hindus are also suffering, and here we are not fully reconciled to 'unity in diversity'. Politicians want to divide communities. One in appeasing and other not reconciled to composite culture. Economic migrration from Bangladesh has made an additional mess. There are international regulations on sharing of water from rivers passing more than one country. Inspite of treaty, there are conflicts. In addition Punjab is suppressing Sindh, telling them, water shortage in rivers is due to India holding water. The borders of the three countries are not natural. As such there is additional security expenses, and large military expenses due to animosity. However there are similar problems in governance like corruption, domination of weak and down trodden, keeping public illiterate and poor, shifting capital from home to switzerland banks etc. The volume of problems  differ to a degree, but modus operandi is same. I  hear views of few  fearless journalists like Hasan Nissar, analysing ills of Pakistan polity. I find Indian society having the same sickness. It shows we have common culture and root cause of our problems is also same. Military dominance in Pakistan governance, is a major difference. It is mostly due to vacuum of popular leadership, and not because of some problem with Pakistan military.

The Partition of British India is a legacy of the horrible British rule. The people in the subcontinent have different religions and beliefs but we are one. The Partition occurred in 1947 and East Pakistan was further separated from West Pakistan as Bangladesh in 1971 with the help of India. The effects were: INDIA: India lost a large part of the fertile plains of the Punjab and also a large part of the skilled labour. There was food shortage initially, which led gradually to the Green revolution and White revolution. The Indian Army was bisected and the bureaucracy as well. The biggest effect is definitely the Kashmir issue. India was able to solve it's tussles with the states of Junagadh and Hyderabad, but Kashmir was tricky as it lay on the border. The issue is still unsolved today and has become a major propaganda instrument for terrorist organisations in Pakistan and India. India is constantly hampered by the unhealthy environment prevalent in the subcontinent. The issue of the Most Favoured Nation and China helping Pakistan crops up every now and then. Without Partition, we could have less terrorism, more peace and brotherhood and fast economic development in India. Kolkata was badly affected by the creation of East Pakistan. It had thriving industries such as textiles which needed raw materials from Bangladesh. After Partition, the industry withered and died. The issue of the border with Bangladesh is complicated. It is only now that the Modi Government has secured enclaves from Bangladesh and given them enclaves in Indian territory. Another issue which is probably much ignored is that the North East lost contact with Indian mainland. It only after many years of rail and air development that we can ensure goods and troop movement to the people of North East India. This is was perhaps a factor in the sectarian movements in the North East which have reduced in recent years. PAKISTAN: It was created as a secular state with Muslim majority, but it started atrocities on non-Muslims pretty early in it's life. Today the minorities in Pakistan are oppressed and helpless, and Pakistan is the birthplace of many terrorist organisations. Due to Partition, Pakistan had to maintain military presence in Kashmir and the Afghanistan border. This was definitely a drain on their economy more than it was for India. Also they had to manage East Pakistan which was far from West Pakistan with hostile India in the way. In the Cold War, the United States enticed Pakistan as a response to the Russian involvement in Afghanistan. This would not have been possible had India and Pakistan been the same nation because of the stable policymakers in New Delhi. Pakistan faces a lot of problems in the tribal dominated Khyber region. Before Partition, the Muslims of the region showed solidartity with Gandhi and the Indian Nation under Gaffar Khan. They even did not follow the Islamic law. They would have been cared for in an United India. BANGLADESH: Although the Muslim League was founded in Dhaka and it was them who raised the call for a Pakistan, the East Pakistanis were treated badly by the West Pakistanis. They were forced to learn Urdu, whereas the people identified themselves more as Bengalis and learned Bengali. Bangladesh actually gained from breaking away from Pakistan asthey could approach India, which has a significant Bengali population, for help and assistance. They could celebrate Bengali culture in their unique way. It is an unhappy thing that minorities still face a lot of problems in Bangladesh and free speech is still repressed by religious fanatics. However this is not as bad as Pakistan. However without the help of India, Bangladesh could not improve it's infrastructure. Had they remained in the Union it would have been a significant part of the country. They could have possibly overtaken Bombay in pecking order for economic superiority. The East of India which is languishing in poverty would have got a tremendous boost. The North East of India would have better infrastructure and India could have controlled the Bay of Bengal. In conclusion: India has a lost a lot of opportunities economically by losing some of the most fertile and densely populated regions. We also have to deal with a lot of terrorism and hostility in the neighborhood. Pakistan and Bangladesh have mostly benefited as they can celebrate their culture and traditions. However, without the statesmanship of Indian leaders and the Indian economic muscle, they have lagged behind. the new countries fought a lot and we South Asians lost a lot of economic opportunities.

It caused distrust between Pakistan and India. Even though Bangladesh gained independence in 1970s, the Bangladeshis never had any reason to be apart of Pakistan even though they were both Muslim. India lost a lot of cultural and economic importance. If India had control of Pakistan and Bangladesh, it would be a larger rival to China.

As was the want of the British, they cut India into three pieces before they left - main body of ‘India’ and two pakistans on either side. It also dissolved all the princely states and advised them to merge with India or Pakistan. British did everything they could to destroy the India that ‘was’ and created a new India that ‘is’.Others have written in this thread about social, political and military repercussions of the partition so I wont repeat it here. Suffice it to say the British left India in such a mess that India was expected to bleed itself to death. The British fancied that the natives would rue the day they sought independence and wish for the Empire again.Fortunately for Indians, we have managed to pick ourselves up from the dust and have become remarkably self sufficient. It has taken us an inordinate amount of time to get there, but we have managed to rise like the phoenix and are showing signs of becoming ‘great’ again.Pakistan has squandered its many natural advantages and split itself on cultural & linguistic lines. Despite making friends in the western hemisphere, it has remained firmly rooted in middle-eastern ideology from the middle ages. It’s pathological hatred for India has resulted in its nurturing of various terrorist organisations that have become the cancer of the world. It’s active participation in drugs and arms smuggling has made it a global headache that no one knows how to tackle.Bangladesh has been badly treated by it’s western arm - Pakistan - and since independence has improved a little bit. However, living in a flood plain of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, savage storms, terrible politicians and medieval mind set make it a poor nation with very few prospects.Fortunately, history has a very loooonnngggg timeframe. 70 years are nothing in the big scheme of things. Let us see how these three nations develop over the coming decades before we judge how the partition impacted them :)

India became more sensible and sensitive towards its minority. As a result they multiplied and thrived. Just the opposite on both the flanks.

They lost everyhing they had and had to start life from scratch. They were refugees in your own country. My grand in laws had to leave there house in on that fateful night for fear of their and children life. they left every valuabe possesion behind not knowing where to go? How to go? How wil they survive?  Fortunately refugees in India got integrated into the system and have contributed in nations growth in all aspect. Pakistan on  the contrary could not Protect its minority. Could not integrate its refuge to date called as mojahir. Bangladesh was formed later because they had different language and culture.

Bangladesh : 1) It was good, as they have done better that both India and Pakistan in almost all reaspect. especially socio-ecionomic respect. 2) Hindus are down from 22% to 8%. 3) Failed to get compensation and justice from Pakistan for genocide. Pakistan : 1) Very good they got 25% of land and water for only 15% of population at the time of Independence. 2) On the top they have parts of J&K and was promised complete J&K by India/Nehru. 3) Hindus are down from 22% to 1%. 4) Pakistan is the most strategically located country in subcontinent. 5) Most power Islamic Country. 6) It has greater potential than India in the long run if country becomes stable. 7) In order to become anti-india they have destroyed their culture and identity. India : 1) India got less than 75% of land resources, 75% of water resources and 85% of population. 2) Muslims have increased from 9.5% to 14.6%. 3) Because of population increase of Indian Muslims, India is looking for another partition as expected and think tanks are drawing boundaries for another partition. 4) India was paritioned for secularism but failed to become a secular state. 5) India is an isolated country or an Island. 6) India reduced from a superpower at the time of independence in 1947 to not even a regional power within 3 yrs of Independence. 7) India is stuck with Kashmir issue/claim, for which it has to become an Islamic State. 8) India is again at the same problem as in before 1947, how to become secular state without having another partition? 9) India is having boundaries issues with almost all the neighbors, Nehru promised Kashmir to Pakistan (India doesnt want to give), Nehru promised Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin to China (India doesnt want to give). 10) India has to take not only all the non-muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh but also of one-third Muslims of subcontinent. 11) Indian Muslims failed to integrate with society. 12) TNT is right but Indian government doesnt want to accept that. 13) Even after Partition, India had riots, Islamic Terrorism inspite of being a Muslim appeasement state. 14) Muslim those who created Pakistan never moved.