August 1947 – The Redcliffe line divided the sub-continent into two nations (India & Pakistan) on religious lines. The partition led to the biggest migration of the human population, inviting carnage leading to killing lakhs of people on both sides.

August 12, 1948 – The Indian hockey team gave a year-old nation a moment of pride and world recognition. Independent India won its first Olympic medal.  

A British colony till a year ago, India defeated Britain on their home turf and saw the tricolour of the newly independent nation being hoisted, in a country which ruled them for two centuries.

BBC described Indian hockey team’s 1948 London Olympics gold as one of the most politically significant episodes in the history of the Games.

“That day (August 12, 1948) when our flag was hoisted in front of thousands of Britons in Wembley Stadium, I realised what independence means. It was the proudest moment for me and for all Indians back home. When the national anthem was played and the flag was going up, I felt that I was flying. I am short of words to describe that glorious moment,” late Balbir Singh Senior had said.

The camp for the London Olympics was held in Bombay and then most Indian team players boarded a flight for the first time. When they reached Heathrow, the police chief of unified Punjab, Sir John, was there to receive them. “At the start, I was a bit hesitant to meet him as he used to be the police chief and I was just an inspector. Moreover, he picked me for the job. But when I met him, he gave me advice: ‘In India, the grounds are fast and the ball travels to you but here the grounds are slow and you can’t afford to wait for the ball, you have to reach it’.”

 “When we took the field in the final, the jam-packed stadium was rooting for their team, but as the match went on, impressed with our game, the crowd started cheering for us. That was the golden era of Indian hockey,” triple Olympic gold medalist late Balbir Singh had said.