PARTITION VOICES

Almost every country has experienced at least one defining historical moment that shapes future generations. For those that emerged from colonial rule, it may be the moment they achieved independence. For others, it may be the moment when regional differences can no longer be ignored and erupt into conflict. In the United States, the Civil War remains a defining event—one they still appear to wrestle with today. For India, the defining moment is, of course, Partition: a division imposed on India and Pakistan by the retreating British government. It ultimately cost an estimated two million lives and left another ten to twelve million people homeless. Partition also precipitated another war—this time in Bangladesh—as that country subsequently fought for its own independence. Three separate nations were carved out of an originally unified whole. The resulting wound remains open to this day, continuing to haunt generations.

At this year’s Jaipur Literary Festival, held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, historians Aanchal Malhotra, Kavita Puri, Sam Dalrymple, and Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali discussed this painful chapter of history.

Aanchal Malhotra, who chaired the discussion, began by noting that Partition should not be viewed merely as a historical event but as one with “living” consequences. Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali illustrated this by recounting her own family’s experience. Her aunt in India faces eviction, yet her mother in Pakistan—desperate to help—cannot, because regional divisions prevent her from travelling to India, and her aunt cannot relocate to Pakistan. Their personal tragedy is a direct legacy of Partition. As Vazira states: “It is a political decision that I need to understand—a political decision that needs to be undone.” Her book, The Long Partition, demonstrates how Partition is not a static event lost to history, but one that continues to shape lives.

Kavita Puri spoke of her father, who lived through this traumatic period as a child but has chosen to remain silent about it. She noted that many in his generation adopted similar silence, having moved home in the immediate aftermath of Partition and then again, in her family’s case, to the United Kingdom. Once there, they wanted to move on rather than look back. Their children, in turn, chose not to ask questions. She explained: “They had seen awful things—perhaps things that happened in their families: dishonour, shame. These are hard things to speak of.”

Kavita added that Britain itself maintains a collective silence; few people are taught about Partition. “This is a story of Britain, yet there is no public space to discuss it.” This lack of discourse motivated her to investigate further. “Partition was over seventy years ago, and if these stories are not told, they will be lost.”

Sam Dalrymple, a British historian raised in India, is writing a book that approaches Partition from a different perspective. He also co-founded a project that virtually reconnects members of the Partition generation with their childhood homes. He explained: “I first visited Pakistan in 2015 with remarkable ease. I applied for a visa in Delhi and, being British, received it quickly. I was struck by the complete disconnect between the narratives on each side. At university, I had many friends with grandparents who longed to cross the border. So we decided to create virtual reality experiences for those who wanted to return but could not, through Project Dastaan. It is a peace-building initiative that examines the human impact of global migration through the lens of the largest forced migration in recorded history—the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. But when lockdown hit, we could no longer travel.”

Sam used the lockdown period in 2020 to deepen his research, noting that much of what is known about Partition centres on Punjab, often overlooking its effects across other regions of India.

Aanchal emphasised the importance of Sam’s geographical project in restoring a sense of ownership to an older generation. For elderly survivors, virtually revisiting the streets or villages of their childhood can help heal longstanding wounds.

Kavita added that silence between generations does not mean an absence of internal dialogue: “They did not speak about it, but that does not mean they did not think about it.” She noted that this is especially true for women, many of whom may have been victims of sexual violence, leaving their stories to exist only in silence. She stressed the importance for second and third generations to find compassionate ways to break through that silence.

Sam observed that such silence is not limited to South Asian families. He himself—British but raised in India—never knew that his grandfather had been a young British officer during Partition, someone who may have lost friends during the war and never spoke of it. He would not visit family once they moved to India. This silence persisted until the day before his grandfather died, when the family learned he had known India’s first prime minister, Nehru. In his silence, he carried the horrors he had witnessed for the rest of his life.

Vazira reflected that growing up in Pakistan there was always a palpable sense of loss, one that carried deep psychological weight. She argued that Partition itself was, in many ways, a colonial construct—an imposed division carving nations out of communities that had coexisted for generations, communities that were multifaith and deeply interconnected. Speaking openly about Partition may therefore help to illuminate these fundamental connections. Political borders may have been imposed, she noted, but people can still find humanistic ways to connect across them.

The discussion can be found here.

form-idea.com London, 21st November 2020.