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Open petition: Apologise for Britain’s role in the Partition of British India in 1947

Created by Rakesh Kotecha
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We call on the Prime Minister to issue a formal apology for Britain’s role in the Partition of British India in 1947, and for the innocent lives that were lost, which is estimated to be up to 2 million.

For hundreds of years, diverse communities in India co-existed prior to the British colonisation of India, which lasted over 200 years. We feel British rulers separated Hindus and Muslims into different political groups, which resulted in religious identity becoming more important than a shared national identity.

We believe that Britain, which was bankrupt after the Second World War and eager to withdraw, introduced the Indian Independence Act 1947 and asked a British lawyer to draw the new border, leading to the Partition, which caused mass migration, regional disparities and impacted millions of lives.

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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 12 April 2027.