Partition 1947

ESSAY / Bangladesh’s writers on Wikipedia: Abbasuddin Ahmed and Humayun Kabir

If such writers lived in, and contributed to the literary legacy of, other countries, I will offer a compromise and propose a hyphenated identity.

Poison Tree of Partition

Our independent nation-state has survived and grown despite setbacks and interference, but we are yet to escape the forever poison tree of 1947.

BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / (Re)visit to the alleys of contestation, narratives, and memories that the Partition left behind

The book discusses the lack of sensitivity among policymakers in acknowledging the distinct socio-cultural differences and linguistic and community identities of the refugees that often got merged. It explores how different categories of refugees received different treatments.

Into the intersection of identity & violence

It is worth considering that, according to historian Yuval Noah Harari, we may not be able to fully evade violence, as our evolutionary past has instilled certain inclinations within us that could be linked to violence.

'Independence': A painfully poignant Partition story

Divakaruni has a message to send with this novel. To her, independence entails not just liberation or freedom from subjugation, it also means doing the right thing for oneself and for the people around us.

Anuradha Roy's book of longing and belonging

In Hindu mythology, the figure of the flaming, underwater horse has been repeatedly used to represent balance and harmony—a state in which both the elements of fire and water can coexist.

Ismat Chughtai and her stories of the unsayable

Chughtai spoke about taboo topics such as homosexuality, abortion, female desire, and their rights and independence.

75 years of Partition: A young boy's loss

I belong to a generation that was overtaken by the pestilence called Partition.

75 years of Partition: How the Noakhali riots came to be

Communal tension brewing for years led to the violent riots the year before Partition.

October 29, 2022
October 29, 2022

Partition 1947: Lessons we need to un/learn

Narratives from the peripheries are needed to balance out the indocentrism of Partition Studies

September 12, 2022
September 12, 2022

The Queen is not my feminist icon

Is Elizabeth a feminist icon? I would have to go with a hard no.

August 26, 2022
August 26, 2022

What impact did the Partition have on Dhaka's book trade?

The impact of the 1947 Partition was felt in every aspect of Dhaka's printing and publishing business, and the book trade in the new provincial capital took a momentous turn. How did it impact the booksellers, printers, and the material being published? 

August 25, 2022
August 25, 2022

‘The danger in telling a single Partition story is that it completely erases the individual’

1947 was overtaken almost immediately by the language question, and the question of identity.

August 22, 2022
August 22, 2022

Death and Displacement in Syed Waliullah’s Partition Stories

Perhaps the starkest image of the Partition, which created the two independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947, is that of the train massacres.

August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017

Partition 1947: Uprooted and divided

"It took me a long time to realise that my family and I, like every other citizen of the current state of Bangladesh, were directly and indirectly a by-product of the Partition to the extent that even our daily struggles sometimes evolved around it," writes Meghna Guhathakurta.

August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017

Partition 1947: How a nationalist movement turned communal

Who is to blame for the 1947 Partition of India and the large-scale violence that it triggered? There are accusations and recriminations.

August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017

Sabuha Khan

When Partition occurred Sabuha Khan's parents were divided on whether to leave Delhi and Rohtak permanently.

August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017

From postmemory to post-amnesia

For both Pakistan and Bangladesh, the time between 1947 and 1971 was best forgotten.

August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017

Amiya Kanti Mutsuddy

Mutsuddy was born into a Buddhist family in Rangunia, Chittagong, British India.