Stories of Separation
Collecting and preserving testimony from the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan.
Why is this work important?
The British left India in 1947 divided into two dominions: Hindu majority India and Muslim majority Pakistan. The partition created the largest forced migration to date. On paper, we have the statistics; the number of deaths, murders, rapes, abduction, injuries, arson and separation. But our library of testimony comes nowhere close to comprehensive. Stories left unaccounted for; scars left untouched from over 7 decades. Without this information, we build our future on an ambiguous and faulty foundation. Pieces of Partition aims to help collect and preserve testimony and other forms of history (like newspapers and photographs) to bridge the gap of information about the Partition and use this information to analyze the effects of identity based hatred.
Explore
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Oral Testimony Library
Explore our collection of oral testimony from Partition survivors. All narratives include English subtitles when needed. The first release of testimony will be in July 2023.
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Newspapers & Photographs
Newspapers and photographs are important pieces of history that capture a certain moment in time and illustrate how that moment was perceived. Explore our expanding collection here. The physical copies are kept in archival safe packaging at our headquarters.
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Recommended Reading
Interested in learning more? Our team has compiled a reading list of books available in English and has pointed out the biases in each book for a more perspective reading experience.