Karina Chada

Rebuilding Home

Voices of the Partition

In 1947, after over 200 years, India finally gained independence from the British rule. However, instead of celebrations chaos ensued. India’s partition with Pakistan resulted in mass migrations of Hindus from what then became Pakistan to India, and Muslims from India to Pakistan.  This led to the death of two million people and the displacement of nearly fifteen million.

Due to undefined borders, and virtually no one in position of control, there were no regulations or record of those who were uprooted as well as the absence of a national or international  regime.The history and memory of the partition has ever since heavily fuelled the on-going feud between Hindus and Muslims in India and Pakistan. As a result, most Indians are, in some sense, prejudiced against Pakistanis, and I assume, vice versa.

My grandparents were among the millions that were forced to leave their homes. Their stories are ones of hope, and that is how I wish to carry on their memories of the time.

Through my project, I would like to share my grandparents' experiences to provide insight into a post-war history of forced migration that is mostly left out or forgotten in conversations on mass displacements in the wake of the Second World War.

GIFS, 2020