Partition.

This is coolbert;

It has been said that the last war fought with primitive weapons was the partitioning of British India into Pakistan and India.

When the decision to partition the British raj was decided upon, it was realized that many millions of persons would have to move from one area to another.

Muslims from what was to become predominant Hindu India to Pakistan and Hindus from what was to become predominant Pakistan to India.

And this was done.

Many of millions of persons made this move, and did so on foot, or by primitive means, bullock carts, horse, etc.

But most walked.

And these millions, when moving, were organized into columns of tens of thousand of persons.

And something transpired that was not anticipated.

These columns of Hindus and Muslims would pass one another on the road, Hindus moving east and the Muslims moving west.

Well, there had been violence of a horrific nature occurring in British India for decades preceding the partition, so tempers and grudges already existed, and to kill was not something new to either group.

As these columns would pass one another, one going in one direction, and the other going the other way, fighting would start. A word would be yelled, a threat or gesture made, and first two people, a Hindu and Muslim would go at one another. This would be followed by several persons following suit, then small groups fighting, and then persons from the entire column would join in and a general melee would ensue.

"Everyday jokes and innocent games between friends of different ethnic and religious backgrounds are replaced by bickering and harsh remarks over religion and family bloodlines. The serious killing begins."

Using whatever weaponry was on hand, the casualties would be horrific.

Knives, swords, axes, hatchets, home made spears, shovels, hoes, mattocks, etc., were the weapons of choice [these are poor people are do not possess other weaponry]

All and every edged and club-like weapon  at hand was employed by the fighters.

All this while, the columns would continue to move and finally the columns would have advanced far enough to that they were separate.

And at that point the fighting would stop until the next two columns would pass one another, and then the whole thing would start all over again.

This was shown very briefly in the movie "Gandhi".

Shown very briefly, as it was felt that to show too much might still inflame persons in the sub-continent, the result being further violence from events that occurred almost sixty years ago!! It is hard to comprehend the violence and amount of death in this "last war of primitive weaponry":

"4.5 million Muslims to migrate west from India into Pakistan, while 4 million Hindus and Sikhs fled east from Pakistan into India. Sectarian militias (Muslim Khaksars, Hindu R.S.S, and Sikh Jathas) became the principal instruments of communal violence that led to the deaths of more than one million people during the population migration."

This was death on a colossal scale, and they did not need firearms or atomic bombs!!

"Hunger, thirst and exhaustion killed others. An estimated 75,000 women were raped." [normally the people of India have an image as sexually restrained persons not capable of such acts].

And the battles fought by the opposing groups were not confined to refugee columns. Trains carrying refugees in both directions were the targets of fighters would carried out whole sale slaughter:

"The massacres were at their worst in the Punjab where trains were sent across the border into India filled with dead bodies. The carriages were marked " A present from Pakistan" and a train carrying dead Muslims in the other direction to Pakistan, was marked " Presents to Pakistan "."

"Estimates vary but it is thought that about 2 million people lost their lives in the immediate aftermath of independence, especially during the migrations from India and Pakistan."

"Placing rocks on the line had halted a trainload of people, about 2,000 in all. Then a horde of Sikhs, hiding in the nearby fields, had swarmed on to the train and slaughtered everyone on board."

And all this happened in India, where in prior years Mahatma Gandhi had espoused peaceful co-existence among the various groups in India, and non-violence to British rule??!!

I would also qualify this as being a "war". This was rioting and killing, but not war in the strictest sense. War is usually two groups fighting with arms and trying to impose their will on one another.

No will was trying to be imposed in this case.

This was violence for the sake of violence.

coolbert.