ABSTRACT
The legacy of decolonisation in India has therefore had ramifications far beyond merely transferring power. Although lives were rebuilt, the memory of ancestral homelands and lost childhoods remained with the people. This chapter focuses on the region of Punjab, which was partitioned in 1947 and has been transformed by the decisions taken in Delhi and London. As independence drew closer and the idea of a separate homeland for India’s Muslims became a reality, the Punjab, which Jinnah termed the ‘cornerstone’ of Pakistan, effectively became the battleground. The expectations of the new state were high and millions had paid the price for the creation of Pakistan and so the gradual deterioration of state institutions has created a class critical of the regime; a class that is trying to understand and reconcile itself to a bitter legacy of partition that has persisted for nearly seventy years.
