The Partition of India

Even after 70 years, the Partition of India, we continue to grapple with its histories, memories and legacies within our contemporary society. It remains in the memories of those families and individuals who lived through the trauma of violence and uprooting, the loss of life and the travails of survival.
This short introduction provides a comprehensive account of the causes, experience and aftermath of the division and its legacies in the South Asian subcontinent. The author highlights the three aspects of the Partition: it was not a pre-destined 'clash of civilizations' between Hindus and Muslims; it was long drawn out process spanning beyond a decade rather than confined to the year 1947; and third, there is no single template to understand the experiences of dislocation, rehabilitation, migration and violence in Bengal and Punjab.
The book brings together the contextual histories of causality, of violence and loss, and of nation making and introduces its readers to major scholarly debates in a brief but succinct manner. In so doing, it urges them to reflect on the multiplicity of meanings of 1947 and its relevance in framing and understanding the challenges faced in South Asia today.