What historian Ramachandra Guha’s book India after Gandhi quotes as the “greatest mass migration” in history and perhaps the bloodiest - the Partition of India - continues to divide, even after 62 years since it took place.
And it has divided politicians, intellectuals, media persons and people in general into “for” and “against” camps on the unceremonious expulsion of senior Bharatiya Janata Party politician Jaswant Singh from his party for allegedly praising one of history’s most controversial figures, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and criticising the “Iron man of India” Sardar Vallabhai Patel, in his recently-released book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.
Among all the things that Singh said in his defence, the one that impacted me most was his reason for undertaking the task of writing such a book: to find answers to his questions about why Partition ever took place and who and what was responsible for it.
The writer must be applauded for the courage and pain that he took to find answers for himself and which he put across in the form of a book. Singh, whether we agree with his conclusions or not, must also be admired for taking the scholastic challenge of writing on not just a very difficult topic but for expressing radical thoughts which, I am certain he knew, would rankle many in and outside his party.
The pain and suffering of Partition is best understood by those who suffered it. My grandfather and his family were among those millions and were displaced from a place called Peshawar which is now part of Pakistan. He was the principal of the elite Edward’s College which hosted both Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah during his tenure. My grandfather enjoyed status, prestige and a high quality of life. He never regained that after he dislocated himself and his family to cross the border.
Copyright © Tarun Dalaya
While I learnt of the hardships they faced, from my father, the thought that his family would have perhaps fared better in their lives had Partition never taken place is what has troubled me the most. I want to understand and know more about Partition not just because my family was a victim but because I realise how powerfully divisive that incident was when it took place 62 years ago and how it continues to influence the lives of the people of two nations that were once one.
Jaswant Singh’s effort and its consequences have encouraged me to now quicken the pace of answering my own questions. However, though I know there will never be unanimity of opinion on the issue of Partition, I believe that the sooner every educated citizen of each country begins to individually search for answers to the question of Partition, the faster will its continuing divisive powers, over each one of us and on coming generations, diminish.
And it has divided politicians, intellectuals, media persons and people in general into “for” and “against” camps on the unceremonious expulsion of senior Bharatiya Janata Party politician Jaswant Singh from his party for allegedly praising one of history’s most controversial figures, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and criticising the “Iron man of India” Sardar Vallabhai Patel, in his recently-released book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.
Among all the things that Singh said in his defence, the one that impacted me most was his reason for undertaking the task of writing such a book: to find answers to his questions about why Partition ever took place and who and what was responsible for it.
The writer must be applauded for the courage and pain that he took to find answers for himself and which he put across in the form of a book. Singh, whether we agree with his conclusions or not, must also be admired for taking the scholastic challenge of writing on not just a very difficult topic but for expressing radical thoughts which, I am certain he knew, would rankle many in and outside his party.
The pain and suffering of Partition is best understood by those who suffered it. My grandfather and his family were among those millions and were displaced from a place called Peshawar which is now part of Pakistan. He was the principal of the elite Edward’s College which hosted both Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah during his tenure. My grandfather enjoyed status, prestige and a high quality of life. He never regained that after he dislocated himself and his family to cross the border.
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Copyright © Tarun Dalaya
Copyright © Tarun Dalaya
While I learnt of the hardships they faced, from my father, the thought that his family would have perhaps fared better in their lives had Partition never taken place is what has troubled me the most. I want to understand and know more about Partition not just because my family was a victim but because I realise how powerfully divisive that incident was when it took place 62 years ago and how it continues to influence the lives of the people of two nations that were once one.
Jaswant Singh’s effort and its consequences have encouraged me to now quicken the pace of answering my own questions. However, though I know there will never be unanimity of opinion on the issue of Partition, I believe that the sooner every educated citizen of each country begins to individually search for answers to the question of Partition, the faster will its continuing divisive powers, over each one of us and on coming generations, diminish.
