ABSTRACT
The second chapter of the book, “History, Memory, Forgetting,” compares history and memory to argue that the interrogation of traditional archival history in revisionist histories and historiographies has closed the gap between history, memory and narrative. It argues that “the memory turn” in history has installed memory as a legitimate historical method, particularly for filling up the lacunae in official histories through its focusing on the personal, social and affective lives of ordinary people caught in extraordinary events. After discussing how memory has been effectively deployed in the oral histories of Partition 1947 to supplement, complement and interrupt nationalist histories of Independence, it closely examines testimonial narratives of ordinary people from particular villages, towns, neighbourhoods and regions to highlight the uses of memory in recovering the unknown stories of Partition.
