2 million dead. 3 nations created. 20 million refugees.

 

The Partition of 1947 in the Indian subcontinent was a traumatic event and its impact goes beyond these numbers, living on in the memories of countless families impacted by it. 

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Including mine.

 

My grandfather was one of millions making the perilous trek across borders, seeing those he knew and loved perish in the madness that had engulfed the subcontinent. The Partition and its legacy continues to cast a dark shadow, with sectarian tensions and violence still a very real issue facing our people.

 

When I did a research paper at school and on how the perceptions of modern teens about the Partition compared to historical reality, I was concerned. Most teens did not understand the myriad reasons behind it, and the broader social and political forces that had been at play. For me, this was not just a matter of academic interest. It was personal. I didn’t want my generation to repeat the mistakes of the past, and so I created Partition Perspectives, a digital repository that would connect today’s teens to the lessons and legacy of the Partition.

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Why should today's teenagers bother about something that happened over 75 years ago?

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As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". While the Partition happened long ago, it still casts a shadow on the people of the Indian subcontinent, as seen in sectarian tensions and intolerance. The youth of India is sometimes called its 'demographic dividend', a pool of youthful vigor that will power our economy into the future, but to truly create a brighter future, we need to shed some of the baggage of the past, to ensure that we do not give into the intolerance and hatred that led to the Partition.​ The first step towards this is to develop a deeper understanding of the Partition beyond the sometimes superficial treatment in textbooks.

 

I began by interviewing historians/authors/journalists who came from families directly impacted by the Partition, to capture expert perspectives and personal empathy. This repository has now grown to include over 30 videos, along with an AI-enabled tutor that I developed to help students interactively learn more about the Partition. 

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A big thank you to all those who have supported this effort- my History teacher, Ms. Kanchan Thakur, for her mentorship and advice, all the guests who gave generously of their time and wisdom for the interviews, and the official Partition Museum of India and its founder, Ms. Kishwar Desai, for encouragement and for recognizing my efforts on their site.

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