I had the honor to attend the ‘Jaipur 2023 Literature festival’. I am currently studying for a semester in Hyderabad and am in the process of slowly immersing in Indian history and culture. The Festival lasted five days and I attended several panels from local and international authors and experts. I learned more about the ever-lasting effects of the Indian caste system and the consequences of British colonial rule. But amongst all, I was really fascinated by the stories related to the Partition between India and Pakistan.
After almost a hundred years of violent and oppressive rule in India, Britain was struggling with the aftermath of WWII. Meanwhile, there was also a growing movement for independence from within India, led by the famous pacifist Gandhi. Unable to continue ruling and handling the internal tensions between different ethnic groups, the British decided to finally leave. In 1947 the British decided to create two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. The provinces that had a Muslim majority were given to Pakistan and the ones with a majority of Hindu were given to India. Pakistan was formed by West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The East part was in the region of modern Bangladesh, which in 1971 became independent through another bloody war. However, as always happens when borders are drawn in cold and sumptuous British offices, these borders ended up destroying and displacing thousands of communities, causing a massive wave of migration. People felt unsafe and scared to be part of an ethnic minority in both of the newly formed States. Historians suggest that around 14.5 million people crossed the border. Around 7.5 million Muslims entered Pakistan from India and 7.5 million Hindu and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan.
The Indian author Aanchal Malhotra wrote a fascinating book called ‘In the Language of Remembering: The Inheritance of Partition: Conversations about memories’. In this book, she collects oral testimonials from the third and fourth generations of survivors of the Partition. It deals with themes of grief, loss and belonging. The main focus of the conversations in the book is memory: when is the first time they heard the word ‘Partition’ or what stories their grandparents told them. Something I found fascinating was also how the author used objects such as jewelry and photographs as tools for storytelling and historical inquiry. What objects did the people bring with them when they had to flee? What objects remind them of their lost home?
It was also interesting to hear the author talk about her desire to focus on personal stories rather than grand narratives. She highlighted several times how too often history is limited to the story of wars and gives space only to grand narratives that are often divisive and totalitarian. This made me think of a concept I’ve been studying in my History classes, which is the idea of historical silences. Family stories and personal interviews are often viewed as less historically reliable and are silenced, while it is essential to include them to have a polyvocal and inclusive account of history. Especially when talking about communities that are marginalized and have fallen victim to oppressive and discriminating mainstream narratives, it is important to re-access personal stories through archival research and interviews. Her speech made me appreciate the power of storytelling and its strength in the field of history.
Hearing some of the stories from the Indian Partition, I could not help but think about the other ‘Partition Plan’ that was made in the exact same year. In that year both Palestine and India saw millions and millions of people forced to flee their homes, having to conform to newly formed borders that were drawn by white powerful men. While I will not reflect on the situation in Palestine here, I do think there are some insightful parallels that can be made. These can remind us just how devastating the consequences of white imperialism and colonial rule are. At the same time, it is also important to remember how even if the conflict between India and Pakistan is still ongoing, it is a conflict between two sovereign and powerful States. This is not the case in the Middle East, where Palestinians are still deprived of an independent State and suffer daily from occupation and oppression.