This havoc and chaos was especially seen in populations bordering the straight line dropped by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Due to the hasty drawing of the separation line, the Partition often split villages and their inhabitants were forced to choose a nation to join. These refugees were forced to leave their ancestral lands and move to foreign land, in which they had to completely start over, thereby stalling the economic success of either nation. Furthermore, this formal division of the land ultimately fostered the animosity between the Muslims and the Hindus and aggravated the religious tensions, hampering the attempt at a United India. India is not alone in its experience of the fragmentation of its land. Indeed, other countries, including notably Germany, Korea, and Czechoslovakia have experienced similar partitioning. While the dissolution of all of these countries occurred in different eras of time and under different historical contexts, they were ultimately all a result of extreme tension and war, and the effects of the separation are continually being felt by their respective populations. Even in Germany, which reunited under a common flag in October of 1990, there are significant discrepancies between east and west Germany. For example, the formerly communist eastern German companies faced strong competition from the western companies, and even today the income levels in the east are significantly lower than those of the west. What’s more, Germany’s unemployment rate is not distributed evenly; there is a significant increase in the unemployment rate in the eastern side of the country. Another example is in the recently divided Czechoslovakia into the countries Slovakia and Czech Republic. The split has also led to economic struggle and trade deficits, as well as confusion surrounding how the common currencies will be implemented. However, perhaps more importantly, this division has led to a surge in nationalism and the ideology of Czech exceptionalism and xenophobism, leading to increased tensions with neighboring countries. In conclusion, the partitioning of lands has been relatively common throughout much of modern history. However, the negative implications of this partitioning, from increased xenophobia to weakened economies, have also been prevalent, ultimately leading us to reflect on the enduring effects of partitions. Is splitting up ancestral land and fragmenting various populations increasing racism and tensions among people of different ideologies? Is this increase in xenophobia in turn leading to even more partitions, thus creating a negative domino effect that threatens both national and global unity?
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