Read the passage and answer the question:

The task of nation-building extended beyond the Partition and integration of Princely States, as the challenge now shifted to delineating internal boundaries within India. It was crucial to draw these boundaries in a manner that acknowledged the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country without compromising its unity. The national movement had firmly rejected such divisions as artificial and had instead pledged to adopt the linguistic principle as the foundation for state formation. This principle gained recognition as the basis for reorganizing not only the Indian National Congress party but also the broader movement for independence, following the Nagpur session in 1920. However, this decision made by the national leadership faced opposition from local leaders and the people. Protests erupted in the Telugu-speaking regions of the former Madras province, encompassing present-day Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka.

Name two states that were most affected by the Partition of India in 1947.

Punjab and Bengal

The correct answer is Option 2 - Punjab and Bengal

Punjab and Bengal were most affected by the Partition of India in 1947.

Two of the Muslim majority provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, had very large areas where the non-Muslims were in majority. Eventually it was decided that these two provinces would be bifurcated according to the religious majority at the district or even lower level. This decision could not be made by the midnight of 14-15 August. It meant that a large number of people did not know on the day of Independence whether they were in India or in Pakistan. The partition of these two provinces caused the deepest trauma of Partition.

As a result of partition, lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs in the areas that were now in Pakistan and an equally large number of Muslims on the Indian side of Punjab and Bengal (and to some extent Delhi and surrounding areas) found themselves trapped. They were to discover that they were undesirable aliens in their own home, in the land where they and their ancestors had lived for centuries. As soon as it became clear that the country was going to be partitioned, the minorities on both sides became easy targets of attack. No one had quite anticipated the scale of this problem. No one had any plans for handling this. Initially, the people and political leaders kept hoping that this violence was temporary and would be controlled soon. But very soon the violence went out of control. The minorities on both sides of the border were left with no option except to leave their homes, often at a few hours’ notice.