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The partition of India in 1947 promised its people both political freedom and a future free of religious strife. Instead, the geographical divide effected an even greater schism of the population, benefiting the few at the expense of the very many, exposing huge numbers of the population to devastating consequences. Thousands of women were raped, at least one million people were killed and ten to fifteen times that number forced to leave their homes as refugees. It was among the first, most significant and bloodiest events of decolonization in the twentieth century.
In The Great Partition, Yasmin Khan examines the context, execution and aftermath of the subcontinent’s division, weaving together local politics and ordinary lives with the larger political forces at play. She exposes the obliviousness of the small elite driving division, as well as of the majority of activists on both sides, to what the partition would entail in practice, how it would affect the populace and how damaging its legacy would be. Published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Partition and Independence , this illumination account draws together a fresh and considerable body of research, including many new interviews and archival sources, to underscore the catastrophic human cost of Partition, and to show why its repercussions resound even today. Scholarly, deeply felt, terrifying and wise, this book is a sobering analysis of one of the twentieth century’s greatest calamities.
ISBN: 0670081582
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Pages : 280
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