The Government of India Act results in the British Crown assuming direct control over much of the Indian subcontinent, including the areas known today as Bangladesh and Pakistan.
It's the end of the British Raj (the period of British rule of India beginning in 1858); and in the aftermath, divisions in the subcontinent resulted in Pakistan's hard-fought win for independence.
Pakistan transitions from a dominion to a republic, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This date also marks the split into West and East Pakistan.
