Reimagining historiography of partition 1947: freedom or despoliation? A lens of subaltern strata of society
Keywords:
Partition, Masses, Migration, Oral History, Marginalized, DespoliationAbstract
The end of British Colonial rule in 1947 led to the Partition of the Indian Subcontinent into two new states: India and Pakistan. As a consequence of this Partition, a large-scale displacement occurred. Existing scholarship on Partition 1947, slightly insights into its bitter implications. In the political historiography of partition, the chapter of 1947 is painted as a rosy picture in the name of ‘freedom’. While first-person accounts and contemporary newspapers speak volumes about the seamy side of the image and raise poignant questions: was the Partition of 1947 equally beneficial for the masses, or did it perpetuate despoliation? How did the actions of political elites displace and disempower the underprivileged classes, eroding their social foundation? This research highlights that the partition’s human costs outweigh its purported benefits. Besides the whole earning of laymen, the Partition of 1947 snatched their kith and kin as well. This effort provides a new lens to view the Partition of 1947 with its social stratification during migration that raised queries on authority figures. Additionally, this article highlights the high and mighty attitude of political elites during migration by showing the financial woes and malnutrition in challenging hours of the people. Besides the secondary sources, key strengths of this research are the primary sources. Drawing on a rich trove of untapped sources, unpublished memoirs, vernacular old newspapers, declassified records and personal archives-this article argues that partition 1947 left irremediable loss on human ground on the name of ‘Two-Nation Theory’. Historical evidence proved that this concept was neither resonant nor echoing with the masses before 1947. Common People were living in social synchronization. This research asks questions on behalf of the destitute; to draw an arbitrary border is the only sensible solution of issues based on politics.
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