Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.
-- George Santayana
Enough has been written and discussed about the partition of India. However, very
little literature is available related to legacy. The history of modern India, as perceived by
many schools of thought, is considered to be one of the most prominent subjects of enquiry
in terms of socioeconomic transformation and political stabilization. Precisely, the
partition of India forms a fitting context to explore the strengths and weaknesses of
India's transformation into independent nation. Many argue that the formation of India as a
nation-state on democratic lines had proved to be quite costly in terms of loss of human
lives, geographical and economic resources at various times. The legacy of the past, no
doubt, endears our academic interest to explore the hidden facets of partition episodes from
various angles. The current issue, with an objective mindset towards recapturing the major
issues in the partition of Indian subcontinent, attempts to provide a glance on the subject.
The empirical and factual information of the writings certainly drives us to reexamine them
with other evidences.
A glance through history shows that the formation of nation-states across the globe
was not a peaceful saga and permeated many controversies and troubles in subsequent
times. Ramakrishna Mukherjee, in the paper "Formation and Fragmentation of
Nation-States: Partition of India _ An Example", portrays the issues of religion and natural resources
that formed a bone of contention between sensitive social groups across the nation. With
an empirical analysis of partition drama, it provides a new angle of vision to the subject.
While discoursing the partition politics in India, mention must be made to the
Bengal partition and its trajectory. As such, it gains prominence in shedding light on the
crucial issues to be noticed in understanding the scenario. Rila Mukherjee, the author of the
second paper, has been able to bring out the differences between Punjab and Bengal
partition models with a narrative of historical incidents. Subscribing to the viewpoint that
the secessionist trends in Bengal are continuous throughout the
20th century, her paper "Partition(s) and Bengal" forms the core of understanding the partition spectrum.
The available literature is very scarce on the aftermath of the partition episode in
the Punjab region from urbanization point of view. As such, the study of the issue with
special emphasis on cities such as Lahore and Amritsar in the wake of refugee crisis and
public cooperation and conflicts is attempted in the paper "Locality and Partition: A
Comparative Study of Lahore and Amritsar" by Ian Talbot. The study brings to light the negative
shades such as violence, migration and resettlement controversies from a new perspective.
It is observed that sometimes region, geography, population, topography, and
climate
make a significant contribution to the success or failure of a governmental policy.
That distinguishes between the success story of refugee rehabilitation in Punjab and
failure of schemes in West Bengal. Om Prakash, in the paper "Refugee Crisis in Eastern India
During the Early Decades in the Post-Partition South Asia", highlights the public policy
issues, problems and criticism keeping the partition of India in the backdrop.
The role of women in Partition politics in colonial North East India has been the
most neglected domain in the past. As such, it forms the bedrock of new generation
scholars. Binayak Dutta, in the paper "Forgotten Land, Forsaken People: Sylheti Women's Tales
and the Partition in Colonial North East India", attempts to cover a very important gap in
the domain of partition studies in India. The author blends the archival data with oral
memory narratives which gives the study its distinctiveness and also justifies its place within
the contemporary trend of partition scholarship. The study also acquires importance
because it tries to present a picture of communal relations in Sylhet in particular and East
Pakistan in general and helps us to understand the cause for the displacement of Hindus from
East Pakistan on a large scale after 1947.
It is widely admitted that Maulana Azad was found to be one of the outstanding
Muslim leaders of modern times and had huge contribution to India's Independence. In spite of
this, very scant attention is given to his views and role towards partition of India. Asghar
Ali Engineer, in the paper "Maulana Azad and Partition", attempts to fill this gap by
outlining his presence in the partition context.
More than the emotional issues, the question of sharing the resources between India
and Pakistan was the crucial task before the leadership and this has led to potential failure.
It becomes more evident in the context of water resources and viewed from this
perspective the formation of Radcliffe Line as the boundary between the two nations has no doubt
left the legacy of battle. Samta Jain and Sangeeta Loonker have made an attempt to catch
the emotional spirit behind the partition wounds from an empirical angle in their
paper "Radcliffe Line: The Watermarks of the Partition Wounds Between India and Pakistan".
William Dalrymple is perceived to be one of the most prolific writers of modern
times in terms of unraveling the truth behind modernization trends. With his brilliant
narrative of India's relationship with religion in the book titled NINE LIVES: In Search of the Sacred in Modern
India, a new travel perspective is unveiled in the post-modern school of
thought. Rita Rangnekar's passionate sketch of crucial findings of the book certainly adds a
new dimension to the partition literature.
-- Radha Mohan Chebolu
Consulting Editor |
