Delhi Pact

India-Pakistan [1950]
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/event/Delhi-Pact
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Nehru-Liaquat Pact
Quick Facts
Also called:
Nehru-Liaquat Pact
Date:
April 8, 1950
Participants:
India
Pakistan

Delhi Pact, pact made on April 8, 1950, following the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after economic relations between the two countries had been severed in December 1949. An estimated one million people—Hindus from East Pakistan and Muslims from West Bengal—crossed the borders during 1950.

In spite of the opposition of his colleague Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, concluded a pact with Liaquat Ali Khan, prime minister of Pakistan, whereby refugees were allowed to return unmolested to dispose of their property, abducted women and looted property were to be returned, forced conversions were unrecognized, and minority rights were confirmed. Minority commissions were established to implement these terms, and confidence was in fact restored for a time; however, in the months following the pact, more than a million additional refugees migrated to West Bengal. The continuing struggle over Kashmir also strained relations between the two countries.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg.