It was the greatest mass migration in human history. In 1947, the Indian subcontinent gained independence after one and a half centuries of British rule. The resulting partition of India created the two countries of Pakistan and current-day India.

Over a million people migrated across the newly created borders. Muslims towards Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs towards India. Most left their ancestral homes with nothing more than what they could carry, arriving in their new home country as refugees.

The human cost was enormous. It is estimated that between 200,000 to half a million people lost their lives in the aftermath. Many due to the massacres that followed, but also due to starvation, exhaustion and disease.

These are just some of the images from the time that show the carnage, hardships and desperate conditions that the migrants faced.

Whole trains that left one country, arrived in the other with nothing more than the bodies of massacred passengers.

After 67 years, the wounds of this epic journey have yet to heal and both countries are still embroiled in hostilities.

Some of the more disturbing images were excluded and the full collection can be found here.