ABSTRACT

The Partition of British India in 1947 set in motion events that have had far-reaching consequences in South Asia – wars, military tensions, secessionist movements and militancy/terrorism. This book looks at key events in 1947 and explores the aftermath of the Partition and its continued impact in the present-day understanding of nationhood and identity. It also examines the diverse and fractured narratives that framed popular memory and understanding of history in the region.

The volume includes discussions on the manner in which regions such as the Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow) and North-East India were influenced. It deals with issues such as communal politics, class conflict, religion, peasant nationalism, decolonization, migration, displacement, riots, the state of refugees, women and minorities, as well as the political relationship between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Drawing on major flashpoints in contemporary South Asian history along with representations from literature, art and popular culture, this book will interest scholars of modern Indian history, Partition studies, colonial history, postcolonial studies, international relations, politics, sociology, literature and South Asian studies.

chapter |20 pages

Introduction

Edited ByAmit Ranjan

chapter Chapter 1|20 pages

Partition of India

A reaction against ‘differences’?

part I|105 pages

Impact of partition in the provinces and princely states

chapter Chapter 2|18 pages

The 1947 partition of Punjab

chapter Chapter 3|12 pages

Peregrination of Sindh’s march towards Pakistan

Communal politics, class conflict and competing nationalisms

chapter Chapter 5|14 pages

Recovering a forgotten partition

Decolonisation, displacement and memories of home and uprooting in postcolonial Assam

part II|44 pages

Migration and displacement

chapter Chapter 8|21 pages

Unwanted refugees

Sindhi Hindus in India and Muhajirs in Sindhi 1

chapter Chapter 9|21 pages

1950 riots and fractured social spaces

Minority displacement and dispossession in Calcutta and its neighbouring areas 1

part III|67 pages

Personal history, interpretation and (re)presentation

chapter Chapter 11|14 pages

Lucknow

A personal history

chapter Chapter 12|11 pages

Bacha Khan

The legacy of hope and perseverance

chapter Chapter 13|14 pages

Whose history of partition?

Tamil cinema and the negotiation of national identity

part IV|44 pages

Relationships

chapter Chapter 15|13 pages

Seventy years of India–Pakistan relations

chapter Chapter 17|16 pages

Bangladesh–Pakistan ties

Future prospects of a troubled relationship