|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since 1947: Partition Narratives Among
Punjabi Migrants of Delhi A
descendant of Partition migrants, Ravinder Kaur makes an attempt to
comprehend the multi-layered move of Hindus and Sikhs from the North
West Frontier Province and West Punjab to Delhi. This mass movement
produced a large number of displaced people who needed to re-establish
their homes, livelihoods, and kinship networks even while mourning
traumatic deaths, sexual violence, missing family members, and the loss
of accumulated material belongings. The immediate period following the
migration represented a brief moment where the ordinary business of life
began competing with the extraordinary events of Partition and fresh
beginnings were made which included restoration of loss, building new
homes, recreating community networks through marriages within the
migrant communities and devising livelihood strategies. It was the ‘human
factor’, i.e., qualities that are used synonymously with Punjabis as himmat
(courage), gairat (pride), purusharth (masculine
capabilities), mehnat (ability to work hard) and an ‘indomitable
spirit’ that does not accept defeat which turned the story of
rehabilitation into a success story. Though the state remains curiously
absent in the personal narrative of resettlement, Ravinder Kaur points
out active state involvement with evidence gained from official sources.
The provision of permanent housing facilities, establishment of new
commercial districts, allocation of jobs in governmental departments and
educational institutions, and business loans at low rates were some of
the facilities that were made available by the state that the Partition
migrants could make use of. Another interesting observation made by
the author was of the conspicuous absence of untouchable refugees in the
Hindu upper caste and middle class narratives of Partition. The
discursive absence does not mean that they were physically absent from
the Partition drama, but that they were not included in the stories of
injustices meted out to ‘Hindus’ by the Muslims during the Partition
violence. Ravinder Kaur’s tale is woven with memories of experiences
of the migrants and national histories of Partition, which help evoke a
powerful symbol of the pain and trauma that the ordinary people went
through. The narrative behind these images is the national narrative,
the chaotic birth of the Indian nation and the excruciating pain
attached to it. The refugees’ journey towards becoming ‘locals’ is
mapped through an exploration of their coping strategies and gradual
identification with the Indian state. This identification is deeper
among the displaced Punjabi Hindu population that had been delinked from
its ethnic identity following displacement. Since 1947 is a welcome
addition to those few books that bring into the public domain the
personal histories and collective narratives of the survivors of
Partition which make it engaging not only for researchers and scholars
in sociology, history and politics, but also for the interested lay
reader.
|
.jpg)
Since 1947 signifies
a series of events that examine the British departure from India, the
inauguration of the post-colonial Indian nation-state and an
unparalleled flow of forced migration across the newly carved borders
between India and Pakistan. It has emerged as a powerful metaphor that
is used to describe the periods before and after Partition that traverse
the lived experience of the Punjabi refugees. In this book, this phrase
has been used to initiate a discussion on the themes of disruption in
one’s everyday life: migration and reparation; rearrangement; and
renewed embodiment of the migrants personal and social bearings.