 Millions of Muslim , Sikh and Hindu refugees <unk> across the newly drawn borders in the months surrounding independence . In Punjab , where the borders divided the Sikh regions in halves , massive <unk> followed ; in Bengal and <unk> , where Mahatma Gandhi 's presence <unk> communal <unk> , the violence was <unk> . In all , between 250 @,@ 000 and 1 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 people on both sides of the new borders died in the violence . While the entire nation was celebrating the Independence Day , Gandhi stayed in Calcutta in an attempt to stem the carnage . On 14 August 1947 , the Independence Day of Pakistan , the new Dominion of Pakistan came into being ; Muhammad Ali <unk> was sworn in as its first Governor General in Karachi . 
