Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the memories and expressions of the victims of one of the most tragic and violent events in the history of the 21st century: the partition of the Indian subcontinent. The partition of India created two states in political terms, but countless were displaced from their homes in this process.

Paper long abstract:

The partition of India in 1947 has been referred to as one of the greatest human tragedies in the history of mankind. While a whole nation rejoiced the end of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent, a vast section of the population mourned the loss of home, homeland and a way of life, because independence came with a very expensive price to pay: the partition of the subcontinent into two nations (now three). Thus, India saw partition on its western and eastern borders to form the state of West and East Pakistan. For the formation of the new state of Pakistan the two dominant states which were torn apart were Punjab and Bengal with West Punjab and East Bengal going to Pakistan while East Punjab and West Bengal remained in India.

Existing historiography on partition has looked at almost every aspect on this subject: causes, course and consequence. The new focus is on the meaning of partition, the human side of the story. Here the historians’ archive is limited and one has to take recourse to oral testimonies and contemporary as well as present day literary works to understand the experience of partition. Hence, the use of memoirs, stories and cinema to explore the meanings of partition for the people who went through this experience.

Elsewhere, I have compared partition in the Eastern and Western borders of India in the context of rehabilitation of refugees and the role of the government of India in this regard. I have also compared the experiences of the refugees and their role in the rehabilitation process. In this paper I will be looking at the ways in which the refugees from West Pakistan and East Pakistan remember this day. My sources are existing oral testimonies, literary works and cinematic expressions. It will be seen that memories often resemble but also significantly differ. And hereto, it is the long process of rehabilitation that affects such memories and reminiscences.