Even after independence in 1947, the British were left in India, know why and where?

Britishers in India during independence: 15 August 1947 comes to our mind as soon as he hears this date – freedom, tricolor, celebration and the British farewell forever from India. We have read in history books that 200 years of slavery ended on this day and the British left India.

But do you know that this is just a part of the story? The truth is that all the British did not leave India on that day. Thousands, rather millions of British and Anglo-Indians were living in India even after 1947.

Then who stopped in India after 1947?
It is very important to understand that getting freedom was a legal process, it was not a decree like ‘pick all goods and go out’. At that time there were many types of British citizens in India:

1. Anglo-Indian Community: These were the people whose parents were of Indian and one of British origin. India was his birthplace, his culture was mixed. Where do they go? India was his home for him. After independence, a large number of Anglo-Indian remained here in India.
2. Government officials and employees: Running 200 years of rule was a very big system. When India became independent, it was to take time to hand over the entire system to Indians. Therefore, many British officers and employees stayed in India for months even after independence, so that the transfer of power could be done properly.
3. Business and professional: Many British had great businesses in India, tea plantations, factories. They could not leave everything overnight. He stayed here and continued his work.
4. British soldiers: There were a large number of British soldiers and officers in the Indian Army. The process of his return could not be completed in a day. It took about 6 months to leave the last contingent of the battalion. The last contingent of the British Army left for England in February 1948 from ‘Gateway of India’ in Mumbai.

How many British were there in India at that time?
The figures are slightly different, but it is believed that at the time of 1947, the number of British citizens and Anglo-Indian community in India was in millions. These people lived not only in big cities, but also in small towns, hill stations and gardens.

So the next time someone says that all the British left in 1947, you can tell them that freedom was not a day’s incident, but a long and interesting process, in which many unheard stories are hidden.