Photos: India's Turning Points

Muslim refugees
AP

1947: Independence and Partition
Muslim refugees crowd onto a train near New Delhi during the bloody Partition of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Some 15 million people are displaced and an estimated 500,000 killed in the savage violence sparked by Britain's division of its former colony.

Get the Latest Photos from Time.com
Get TIME photos and pictures of the week delivered directly to your inbox.