Posted by This essay was originally written for a different publication, but I recently learnt they are not likely to use it for a long time. So, I’m sharing it here for now. Here are my thoughts on why the Partition of India has always fascinated me:
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Till I was about 13 years of age, the ‘Partition’ was an esoteric concept for me. I’d come across references to it in history books and was vaguely aware that my family had crossed borders to move their permanent abode of residence on Indian soil during this time. But I never understood the true implications of this word. Then as a teenager discovering a love for the written word, I picked up Shauna Singh Baldwin’s novel, ‘What the Body Remembers’. Though ostensibly a tale of love and longing featuring a Sikh Zamindar and his two wives, it was Baldwin’s rich description of village life and close-knit family set in the backdrop of the events leading to the Partition, that really appealed to me.
From then, I was hooked on the subject and began devouring books, movies, and anything else I could lay my hands on. However, this interest did not translate into an immediate need for uncovering the truth of my own family’s story. That came later – after I learnt that an organisation working to preserve the memories of Partition survivors, had interviewed my Dadaji (paternal grandfather) and released the interview blurb on their Facebook page, exactly a year after his passing. In it, he had narrated in detail his experience of seeing the carnage of a few refugee trains up close, as a young army officer on duty at the railway stations. He also recounted his deep-felt regret at having the opportunity to return to his haveli in Rawalpindi yet leaving the family treasures behind a locked door. I was moved and intrigued to learn all this and wanted to know more. Hence, I contacted the team to see how I could get involved with the work of their organisation.
They suggested recording my own family’s history. And so, I did – that of my Nanaji (maternal grandfather). As he was the son of a government employee and resident of Delhi, his experience of the Partition was limited to memories of a few disturbing incidents that took place in the riots that followed, as well as the refugees they harboured in their home for months. My paternal grandmother had lived in Mumbai and had not felt the real terror of that time, which is perhaps why she never brought it up in her lifetime. Through conversations with my mother and uncle, I pieced together that it was my Naniji (maternal grandmother) who had lived through the partition in its truest form, having crossed the border with her family as a six-year-old child, leaving one newly married sister behind (an experience I’ve written about here). I missed out on speaking to my Nani about this experience as we lost her to cancer at a young age. Hence, though my family had lived through the Partition in different ways, it was not an overpowering presence in their lives, certainly not one they shared with me…
Then why did stories of the Partition interest me so deeply?
Was it really because of shared intergenerational trauma?
I’m not sure.
Was it a way for me to understand and feel connected to my roots?
Maybe.
Was it simply human interest – the gory ‘story’ behind real-life incidents?
Possibly.
I believe the reason goes far deeper than any of these.
Perhaps I lived this experience in a past life and its scars ran so deep, that they still linger.
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This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla a​nd supported by Ivorystation, a new-age luxury website​.
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*This is not a sponsored post.
**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.
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Dear Noor,
Thanks for a nostalgic read; where you remark re your paternal grandfather Col. Dalip Singh Anand:
[quote] He also recounted his deep-felt regret at having the opportunity to return to his haveli in Rawalpindi yet leaving the family treasures behind a locked door. [unquote]
That I did not know!
I was led to believe that your paternal grandfather’s parents—my paternal grandparents—were originally from Talagang before moving to Shimla/Delhi long before Partition.
Perhaps his surviving younger brother, Col. Balbir Singh Anand, might be able to clarify.
Of peripheral interest may also be my brief reference—albeit in a different, but topical, context (link below)—to the Delhi rioting in August 1947 in the service lane behind my paternal grandfather, Sardar Gurbachan Singh Anand’s official residence at Mahadeo Road (where he retired in a senior administrative position in the Defence Ministry); and to how he and his three sons (all in their Armed Service uniforms) faced down a vengeful rioting mob with loaded shotguns.
https://medium.com/@bhup.anand/dear-rebecca-e1cf129df5bb
Affly,
Bhup
Hi! So happy to see you here and glad to know you read my post! I’ve also just read yours on Medium. Your proposed solution to the conflict in Gaza is an elegant one. I hope the Israelis see sense and follow it.
Quite honestly, till I read your comment, I assumed that Talagang was in Rawalpindi! But a Google search showed me that you’re right – they are two separate areas. Dadaji did indeed mention Talagang a lot. I’m not sure what the source of my confusion is.
I hope you’re well, and I’ve followed you on Medium. I look forward to reading more of your writing!
May I recommend another book in this genre? Please check out Beneath Divided Skies by Natasha Sharma. She has also written about the organization/museum where these partition stories have been documented, which is why I’m mentioning it here 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation – will check it out!
I have not experienced the fire of partition in my personal life but my grandparents and parents (in their childhood) experienced the flame of partition. I was born in India but my ancestral connections still there at the other side of the boarder fence, although I met only cousin uncle of mine who once came from Bangladesh to meet my grandfather when I was perhaps in class one. All I could remember he asked me my name and told come to meet us in Bangladesh once and see where ur grandfather spend his childhood. I was too young to understand partition that time. But that visit never happened and perhaps will never happen. I heard a lot fro many about the partition stories and it bleeds my heart and I thank god that he was so kind that I never experienced it. Hope one day ALL WILL BE WELL… and no one will talk about partition in any sense.
Thanks for sharing your story Samata.
I think a lot about intergenerational trauma too.
I’m glad we are on the same page…
I find the idea of being forcefully uprooted very disturbing. Whenever, I read about and the loss of innate humanity to a man-made situation, it upsets me. I primarily avoid reading war stories, especially when they are so closer home. My father’s side also came from Pakistan, but I never asked my father about this. Unfortunately, by the time things started sinking in, my father had passed away. On the other hand, it saves the trauma of pain.
Thanks for sharing your story Ambica…
I first knew the horrors of the partition when I read ‘The train to Pakistan’ . It brings about the worst and the best of mankind and I think no amount of time can heal the scars. Though I have not endured the trauma personally, I have heard the tales and they still make me shudder. The massacres and brutality and naked greed was something no one could have seen coming.
Yes ‘Train to Pakistan’ had a major effect on me too.
Hi Abhijit, thanks for your comment. I’m actually very passionate about the subject, despite not having lived through it personally. I’m not sure what you mean by calling my lens on the subject a ‘dispassionate’ one?!
Oxford Dictionary meaning of the word ‘Fascinate’: “attract the strong attention and interest of (someone).”
Oxford Dictionary meaning of ‘Dispassionate’: “not influenced by strong emotion, and so able to be rational and impartial.”
‘Fascinate’ and ‘Dispassionate’ are polar opposites!
I’m not usually one to take offence to comments made online but I feel compelled to clarify this as you seem confused about my intention (and perhaps also confused about the meaning of the word ‘fascinate’?!). You seem to imply that I find some sort of perverse pleasure in the Partition?! Of course not!
The subject of the Partition has always strongly attracted my attention and interest, because my own family lived through its horrors – my family members were killed and raped and looted. So yes it does fascinate me (it has a hold of my attention), especially because it was most certainly a blot on our subcontinent’s history!
i read many articles on partition and i am always overwhelmed by the resilience of people who face it first end
Thank you for reading and appreciating…
As a South India, the Partition has always been in history books for me (I’m grateful for that). But as you rightly say, it is one of the worst events in our history, even worse than the thousands of foreign invasions, I feel. It is horrendous that we chose to separate ourselves like this!
Yes very sad indeed…
The Partition was such a deeply emotional and transformative event for countless families. It’s heartbreaking to think about how many lives were uprooted, homes abandoned, and loved ones lost forever during those turbulent times. Reading about your family’s move to India, leaving everything behind, was so poignant. Your effort to piece together their story and preserve it is truly commendable, it’s such an important way to keep history alive.
Thank you Neha
I too had read Beneath divided skies. The stories of partition still evokes deep emotion.
Yes they truly do
I came to know about this only through books. But having family members who were there at that time and hearing it first hand from them must be intriguing. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for reading…
I’ve listened to Dad’s lectures on Partition as a school kid (he was my history teacher) and then later watched bits and pieces of it in movies and books- that was all my encounter with it, being from Kerala. But as an adult, I started reading more books and it is truly heartbreaking to be uprooted from one place to another because of reasons beyond our control. Thank you for sharing your end of the story with us.
Thank you for appreciating it!
My ancestors are a victim of the atrocities of partition. My paternal side lost every penny in East Pakistan and had to start from scratch. My maternal side was a bit pro active, so they shifted their base before the partition could happen. But it was draining and painful nevertheless. So it really hurts me to dwell on these matters.
Yes we have similar stories
Honestly, no one in my family has had to experience the horrors of the partition, but when we read the reference in history books and see the accompanying pics, it is painful. Coincidentally, it is part of my son’s history lesson this year and hence we both were talking and discussing how difficult it must be to leave your life’s possessions and leave your country to move to a new place and start from a scratch. The freedom we enjoy today is thanks to so many sacrifices and hardships that countless people have made, many of whom are not famous, yet have suffered untold hardships. I hope someday we learn to truly respect this freedom we have and understand the price that was paid for it.
Absolutely
A deep connection, could indeed be some lingering strands from a previous life.
My grandparent too came over as a very young child and had few memories. The things is, since no one really talks about it, those stories are being lost.
I feel this too, among the many wrongs we have seen in history have done some irreparable damage.
Yes true