What was the significance of partition on India?

I think that Partition was probably the most important
event in Indian History.  On one hand, that sounds really elemental because India only
comes into existence in 1947 as a result of the partitioning up of the Indian
Subcontinent into different nations.  Partition became the term that involved how the
subcontinent was going to be divided after the British left.  It also refers to the
creation of multiple states from this process.  The implications of Partition became
profound on India in the riots that ensued, the mass migration of millions of people
across borders, and the idea that something as complex and intricate as the Indian
subcontinent and cultures that have intermingled for thousands of years can be
arbitrarily divided through political borders have cast their shadows on India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka today.  The current challenges for India in the
Jammu- Kashmir region goes back to Partition, and the belief that the Kashmiris would be
better in India without their consent.  The intensity between Pakistan and India was
forged during Partition and is still felt today, with examples such as the 26/11
bombings in Mumbai and the Indian participation in the marginalization of Pakistan as a
result of the Bin Laden killing.  Partition is a shadow on the modern subcontinent, and
its significance is gargantuan.