In what ways can we re-think and re-imagine 1947 today? Has the subcontinent worked through its burden of history and trauma relayed across generations? Or are we still trapped by the curse of mutual animosity, incoherence and distrust? Are there routes beyond polarised perceptions and attitudes that wait to be (re-)discovered? Seventy years after India’s Independence and Partition, this anthology of diverse narratives collects fresh reflections on the continuing relevance and impact of 1947, and its afterlife, in South Asia.
Earlier Partition anthologies have underplayed narratives of the aged, of marginal castes and tribes. The genres of poetry, drama and reportage have likewise not been collected and read as a whole. This anthology—of essays, memoirs, short fiction, art, poetry, graphic narrative, reportage and drama—seeks to rectify these omissions in ways that are both self-reflexive and historically aware. It also features fresh translations—from Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Bangla—of older, lesser-known works together with new writing that narrates unheard and forgotten stories from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In times when we remain as divided by religion as by how we imagine the nation, this is an effort to cast new light on our fractured and conjoined past, and help us reflect on it with humanity. Scholars and readers of South Asian literature, history, and Partition literature will find this a rich and valuable contribution.
Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic, translator and literary historian.
Tarun K. Saint is an independent scholar.
Debjani Sengupta teaches English Literature at Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University.
Publisher’s Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Introduction
Tarun K. Saint, Rakhshanda Jalil, and Debjani Sengupta
ESSAYS AND STUDIES
1. Cabinet Mission Reconsidered Anil Nauriya
2. In Other Words Sameer Thomas
3. Partition and Dalit Politics: The Figure of Jogendra Nath Mandal Anwesha Sengupta
4. A Sepia-Toned Past: A Photo Album Travels from Maghiana to Delhi Aanchal Malhotra
5. History, Memory, Genre: A Critical Reading of I Too Have Seen Lahore and Milne Do from the anthology This Side That Side Kajal Tehri and Asmat Jahan
6. Photo-framed Installations: Second and Third Generation Narratives about the Partition and the Holocaust Margit Köves
7. Undoing Partition: Flight of Utopian Fantasies across Borders Ravikant
8. Twins, But not Identical: Music in India and Pakistan Vidya Rao
9. Scripting an Enclave’s Marginal Lives: Selina Hossain’s Bhumi O Kusum Debjani Sengupta
10. The Absent Presence: The Partition in Modern Urdu Poetry Rakhshanda Jalil
11. Spaced: Notes towards an Exhibition Salima Hashmi
MEMOIRS 12. Inheriting the Hamam-dasta and its Stories Maya Mirchandani 13. The Sixth River: A Journal from the Time of the Partition of India Fikr Taunsvi Translated from the Urdu Chhata Dariya, by Maaz Bin Bilal
14. Dandakaranya: Some Memories in Words Saibal Kumar Gupta
15. Orality of Silence Manas Ray
16. Lahore Reporting Vishwajyoti Ghosh
FICTION 17. Of Lost Stories Anwar Ali Translated from the Punjabi novel Gwacchiyan Gallan, to Urdu by Julien Columeau, and translated from the Urdu by Farha Noor
18. People of God Gurmukh Singh Musafir Translated from the Punjabi short story Allah Wale, by Hina Nandrajog
19. Nothing but the Truth Meera Sikri Translated from the Hindi short story Saccho Sach, by Tarun K. Saint
20. The Other Shore Syed Muhammad Ashraf Translated from the Urdu short story Doosra Kinara, by Rakhshanda Jalil
21. The Echo Zakia Mashhadi Translated from the Urdu short story Sada-e Baazgasht, by Zakia Mashhadi
22. God is Great Amena Nazli Translated from the Urdu short story Allah-ho Akbar, by Asif Farrukhi
23. A Face to Hate Joya Mitra Translated from the Bangla short story Ghrinar Samasya, by Joya Mitra
24. Border Stories Sunanda Bhattacharya Translated from the Bangla short story from Tripura, Borderer Golpo, by Debjani Sengupta
25. Lost and Found Jhumur Pandey Translated from the Bangla short story from Assam, Mokkhodasundorir Haranoprapti, by Farha Noor and Debjani Sengupta
26. The Return Selina Hossain Translated from the Bangla short story from Bangladesh, Meyetir Bari Phera, by Nabina Das and Debjani Sengupta
POETRY 27. After Death: Twenty Years Birendra Chattopadhyay Translated from the Bangla Mrityur Por: Kuri Bochhor, by Debjani Sengupta
28. Rehabilitation Sankha Ghosh Translated from the Bangla Punorbashon, by Sankha Ghosh and Debjani Sengupta
29. Twenty-sixth January Sahir Ludhianvi Translated from the Urdu Chhabbees Janwary, by Rakhshanda Jalil
30. After the Riot Javed Akhtar Translated from the Urdu Fasaad ke Baad, by Rakhshanda Jalil
31. Six Shared Seasons Kaiser Haq
32. Cold Storage Sukrita Paul Kumar
33. Cyril’s Map Tarun K. Saint
DRAMA 34. Those Who Haven’t Seen Lahore Haven’t Lived Asghar Wajahat Translated from the Hindi Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai, by Alok Bhalla and Nishat Zaidi
INTERVIEW 35. The Last Conversation Intizar Husain in conversation with Nasir Kazmi Translated from the Urdu, by Asif Aslam Farrukhi Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index