ABSTRACT
The Partition of India was a massive tragedy, a debilitating one, the trauma of which the region is still struggling to rid itself of. It unfolded in just seven years, from 1940, when the Muslim League passed its Pakistan resolution in its Lahore Session, to 1947, when British India was partitioned into two nations—India and Pakistan. It was a common sight in the 1950s to spot Pathans/Afghans routinely roaming on the Indian streets as small hawkers selling dry fruits, used clothes, and doling out petty loans to the needy. Area Studies as a field of social science research is one of the least discussed themes of higher education in all of South Asia. Area Studies as a concept grew in the United States of America in the aftermath of the Second World War. Area Studies had a peculiar beginning in India, where India’s immediate neighbours were virtually ignored.
