August 15, 1947: How Delhi, Lahore, Calcutta and Karachi saw freedom

Celebrations in Delhi

At the stroke of midnight, as Nehru moved that they would all rise and pledge themselves to the service of India and its people, thunder rolled across the sky, and heavy rain drenched the thousands gathered outside the Central Hall of Parliament. Yet, the enthusiasm did not dampen. “New Delhi’s Connaught Circus and the narrow alleys of Old Delhi were hung in green, saffron and white lights. Temples, mosques and Sikh gurudwaras were outlined in garlands of light bulbs. So, too, was the Red Fort of the Mogul emperors,” write Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre in Freedom at Midnight (1975).

The first flag hoisting takes place in India after the first Indian government took the oath of office on August 15, 1947 at Parliament House. (Express archives)

But beneath the celebrations lay a more complicated mood. Indian writer Krishna Sobti, whose family had crossed over to India before independence, was glued to the radio, listening to the live proceedings in New Delhi. Sweets were being distributed to mark the occasion. However, many left soon after with moist eyes, confronted by the realisation that independence had also brought Partition and with it, the severance from homes they had left behind in what was now Pakistan.

“Such mixed feelings of joy and sorrow have been captured in oral testimonies and in published and unpublished personal recollections of India’s first Independence Day,” writes Pallavi Chakravarty in her 2022 journal article, Remembering a Date in the History of the Indian Subcontinent.

Nehru himself acknowledged this in his midnight address: “We also think of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike. The future beckons to us.”

Thus, while central Delhi was celebratory and upbeat, other parts of the city experienced the moment differently: alongside the festivities were sorrow, fear and the anguish of Partition, separation and leaving home.

Karachi: A new capital, born overnight

In Pakistan, August 14–15 was celebrated not only as independence from British colonial rule but also, for many, as freedom from perceived Hindu ‘oppression’. In Karachi, the once-sleepy port town had suddenly become the capital of a new country. Mohammad Ali Jinnah is believed to have expressed disbelief that Pakistan had actually come into being, telling close associates at the Governor-General’s House that he had never expected to see its creation in his lifetime.

“While day-long festivities were planned all over the once-sleepy port-town of Karachi, which had now become the national capital of the newly created state of Pakistan, ground realities and impending responsibilities also marked their presence,” Chakravarty writes. The capital was ill-prepared. There were no government offices, ministries, furniture or even adequate stationery. Chakravarty says, “It is utter chaos. But there is a will to organise all as soon as possible.”

Calcutta: From communal violence to an embrace

Calcutta, the erstwhile capital of British India, was in an extraordinary festive mood on August 15. At 1 am, C Rajagopalachari took the oath as the new Governor, followed by Dr Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, the Congress Prime Minister, and his cabinet. White cotton Gandhi caps inscribed with “Jai Hind” were sold by the thousands on the pavements.

The main flag-hoisting ceremony was scheduled at the Governor’s House, from where crowds took away pieces of furniture and other memorabilia as souvenirs. The crowd then moved to the adjacent Assembly House. After initially attempting to keep them out, the police gave way, and thousands rushed into the debating chamber, greeting the Governor with loud cries of “Jai Hind”.

But Calcutta’s most remarkable story was perhaps what happened beyond the official ceremonies. In a city and surrounding industrial areas that had been ravaged by communal violence since Direct Action Day in 1946, independence celebrations coincided with a dramatic easing of tensions.

“The other major impact of these celebrations on the arrival of freedom was the disappearance of communal tension that had plagued the city of Calcutta, as well as adjacent industrial areas of Howrah for the last few months, bringing Gandhi to Calcutta,” writes Sekhar Bandyopadhyay in Decolonization in South Asia (2009).

In the suburbs, Hindus and Muslims took to the streets from midnight, small national flags pinned to their clothes, embracing one another and chanting “Bande mataram”, “Jai Hind”, “Hindu Muslim ek ho” and “Allah ho Akbar”. According to Bandyopadhyay, there was not a single incident of communal violence in Calcutta between August 15 and 30.

Hyderabad: Independence as defiance

In 1947–48, Hyderabad was one of three princely states, alongside Junagadh and Kashmir, that continued to resist accession to India. Given its size and strategic location, Hyderabad posed perhaps the greatest challenge to the Government of India’s efforts to integrate the princely states.

August 15, therefore, became a day of political defiance rather than celebration. “And, indeed, on 15 August 1947, the State authorities stopped being lenient. Repeated demonstrations of flag hoisting and processions were met with mass arrests and an active search for Congress Leaders,” writes Lucien D. Benichou in From Autocracy to Integration: Political Developments in Hyderabad State, 1938–1948 (2000).

Civil disobedience quickly spread. Students boycotted schools and colleges, village officials resigned, records were destroyed and customs outposts were attacked. The Nizam’s government responded by deploying army and police units to disturbed areas, with Razakars from local Ittihad branches often joining the offensive. It was against this backdrop of escalating disorder that negotiations with India continued.

Lahore: Independence without knowing the border

In Lahore, independence was overshadowed by uncertainty. The city was, like Calcutta, deeply multireligious and multicultural. But as August 15 approached, its future remained unknown.

“Now, like all other settlements in the Punjab, its fate lay in the hands of the British, who would divide up the province. The Bengal division was announced before the 15th, but announcement of the Punjab ‘award’ had been postponed until after that date. Would Lahore and its neighbourhood be allotted to India, or to Pakistan?” questions Ramachandra Guha in India After Gandhi (2022). It ultimately came out on August 17.

The unpublished boundary line had deepened the uncertainty. Bill Rich, Lahore’s last British police superintendent, watched the city descend into fear and violence. He recorded what he had witnessed in the Police Order Book before calling in his Muslim successor. “The lovely capital of the Moguls was submerged in a tide of fear and hate.”

From Beliaghata in Calcutta, Gandhi, too, was troubled by what was unfolding. He expressed concern that the “‘madness still raged in Lahore’”.