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{{Short description|Museum in Kolkata, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Kolkata Partition Museum
| established = {{Start date and age|August 2018}}
| type = [[Historical museum]]
| founder = Rituparna Roy
| architect = Aurgho Jyoti
| website = {{URL|https://kolkata-partition-museum.org/}}
}}

The '''Kolkata Partition Museum''' is an initiative dedicated to documenting the [[Partition of India]] from the Bengal perspective. Dissimilar to the Punjabi context, the [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal province]] had been divided twice: once in [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|1905]], and then in [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|1947]]. The aftermath of the second partition, as recorded by many historians, unfolded distinctly in postcolonial Bengal vis-à-vis Punjab.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chatterji |first=Joya |title=The Spoils of Partition: Bengal and India, 1947–1967 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0521515276 |location=United Kingdom}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Bandyopadhyay |first1=Sekhar |title=Caste and Partition in Bengal: The Story of Dalit Refugees, 1946-1961 |last2=Basu Ray Chaudhuri |first2=Anasua |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022 |location=United Kingdom |asin=B09VH6KMN8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India |publisher=Orient Longman |year=2006 |isbn=978-8125057239 |location=India}}</ref> Not only was the impact long-drawn and can be witnessed even 75 years after the Partition, its effect can also be seen in the neighbouring states of Bengal and the rest of the country owing to refugee resettlements spread out to as far away states such as [[Maharashtra]] and [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhattacharya |first=Isti |date=August 10, 2022 |title=Kolkata and Partition: Between Remembering and Forgetting |work=JSTOR Daily |url=https://daily.jstor.org/kolkata-and-partition-between-remembering-and-forgetting/}}</ref> The idea behind the Kolkata Partition Museum is to preserve and present the vanishing memories of partition, to emphasise both the "rupture and continuities between West Bengal and Bangladesh – in terms of language and literature, food, fabric, and the performing arts – and to encourage collaboration between them."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://kolkata-partition-museum.org/ |website=Kolkata Partition Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chakraborty |first=Udita |date=September 27, 2022 |title=Kolkata Partition Museum founder Rituparna Roy on importance of preserving memories |work=Telegraph India |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/events/kolkata-partition-museum-founder-rituparna-roy-on-importance-of-preserving-memories/cid/1889071?fbclid=IwAR1V3gCbAfc4LGLeso5GtqytlKXHWbWULUJqi8vELd4iQZxc5d7QxJO8HG0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chatterjee |first=Madhumanti |date=March 8, 2019 |title=স্বাধীনতা উদযাপিত হোক, কিন্তু দেশ ভাগের হাহাকার যেন না ভোলে এই শহর |language=Bengali |work=Bengali Indian Express |url=https://bengali.indianexpress.com/general-news/kolkata-partition-museum-project-initiated-by-rituparna-roy-81054/}}</ref> The museum aims "to do so by involving public participation in its programs and gearing all its activities in a way that makes it more accessible and interesting to the public at large."<ref name=":1" />

== History ==
The Kolkata Partition Museum Project was envisioned by Rituparna Roy, a Partition scholar and lecturer of [[English literature]], initially in 2007 when she witnessed the [[Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe|Holocaust Memorials of Berlin]] and "wondered why there was no such comparable public memorialisation of the partition in India."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Rituparna Roy |url=https://www.iias.asia/profile/rituparna-roy |website=International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Desimone |first1=Arturo |last2=Baird |first2=Jon |last3=Khair |first3=Mohammad |date=January 6, 2021 |title=The Healing Power of Art, From a Museum in Kolkata |work=Progressive International |url=https://progressive.international/wire/2021-01-06-the-healing-power-of-art-from-a-museum-in-kolkata/en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dirghangi |first=Arna |date=2019 |title=The Partition of Bengal and Its Silent Aftermath: An Interview with Rituparna Roy |url=https://refugeewatchonline.wordpress.com/2020/11/18/the-partition-of-bengal-and-its-silent-aftermath-an-interview-with-rituparna-roy/ |journal=Refugee Watch Online}}</ref> The Palestine Museum in [[Birzeit]], near [[Jerusalem]], was also one of her early inspirations.<ref name=":2" /> In August 2016, as part of an international conference commemorating 70 years of [[Partition of India|Partition]] at the [[Indian Museum]] in [[Kolkata]], funded by The New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI) and [[Ministry of Culture (India)|The Ministry of Culture, Government of India]], which was co-convened by Roy alongside historian [[Sekhar Bandyopadhyay]] and Dr Jayanta Sengupta, this project was formally introduced and later on 20 August 2018 registered as a trust—The Kolkata Partition Museum Trust (KPMT).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" />

It is important to note that there are similar initiatives such as [[The 1947 Partition Archive]] founded by Dr Guneeta Singh Bhalla in 2010<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Singh Bhalla |first=Guneeta |date=2023 |title=The 1947 Partition Archive: A Living, Evolving Crowdsourced Archive on India's 1947 Partition |url=http://www.thirdtext.org/livingarchives-singhbhalla |journal=Third Text: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Art and Culture}}</ref> and [[Partition Museum|The Partition Museum, Amritsar]] founded by The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust (TAACHT) in early 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Partition Museum |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/south-asia-centre/Collaborations/partition-museum#:~:text=The%20Partition%20Museum%20is%20the,Amritsar%20to%20house%20the%20museum. |website=The London School of Economics and Political Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=This museum in Amritsar revisits horrors of Partition |work=The Express Tribune |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1290497/museum-amritsar-revisits-horrors-partition}}</ref> Historian [[Urvashi Butalia]] theorised the idea for a museum chronicling the partition around 2011 and also pointed out some of the pitfalls.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Butalia |first=Urvashi |date=2011 |title=Confronting the Past: Thoughts on a Partition Museum |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1353087551 |journal=Context |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=21–26 |id={{ProQuest|1353087551}} }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Anindya |date=2012 |title=Demanding the impossible: exploring the possibilities of a national partition museum in India |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10350330.2012.665233 |journal=Social Semiotics |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=173–186 |doi=10.1080/10350330.2012.665233 |via=Taylor and Francis Online|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2010, a few students from several Mumbai schools—Cathedral, JB Petit, Ambani, as well as HR and Jai Hind colleges—had jointly "launched a project titled "Remembering Partition" in collaboration with two organisations, Citizens for Peace in India and Citizens' Archive of Pakistan."<ref name=":3" /> Their goal was "to increase awareness about the partition of India and to honor those who experienced partition."<ref name=":3" /> It is not known what became of this project. However, the characteristic feature of the Kolkata Partition Museum Project is that it seeks to document the Bengali experience of partition, albeit not exclusively. While both the [[The 1947 Partition Archive|Archive]] and the [[Partition Museum|Museum]] in [[Amritsar]] have documented the partition of Bengal, through [[Oral history|oral testimonies]] of individuals who witnessed the partition first-hand or [[Microhistory|microhistories]] of family members, the emphasis on systematically memorialising the specific history of Bengal is lacking. KPM aims to dedicate itself towards filling in this gap and bringing forward the unique trajectory of Bengal, starting with the [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition of Bengal in 1905]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Critical Moment |url=https://kolkata-partition-museum.org/critical-moment/ |website=Kolkata Partition Museum}}</ref>

== Plans ==
On August 15, 2022, which marked 75 years of partition, the Kolkata Partition Museum announced the launch of a virtual museum (V-KPM) in collaboration between KPMT and Architecture Urbanism Research (AUR), an architecture firm based in New York and New Delhi, headed by Aurgho Jyoti.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 2022 |title=Kolkata Partition Museum, a virtual museum on Partition, launched |work=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/kolkata/story/kolkata-partition-museum-india-partition-launch-1991792-2022-08-24}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Sen |first=Abhijit |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Kolkata Partition Museum: A Virtual Tour |work=The Space Ink |url=https://thespace.ink/chronicles/kolkata-partition-museum/?fbclid=IwAR30-6P5ZUe6K3V4-I-6jm3XOpBngabWzJhdfsad-m0Mx21yA45Xk_gz4TY}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The primary objective of this virtual museum initiative was to "create a time travel experience to access Bengal’s history: Bengal Partition, Museum, Border, Subaltern space, and Time & Memory."<ref name=":4" /> Notable historical events like the [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition of Bengal in 1905]] ordered by viceroy Lord Curzon, the [[Bengal famine of 1943]], the [[Great Calcutta killings|Great Calcutta Killings of 1946]], the [[Independence of India|Independence and Partition in 1947]], the [[Dandakaranya Project|1958 Resettlement project for East Pakistan refugees in Dandakaranya]], the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|Birth of Bangladesh in 1971]], and the [[Marichjhapi massacre|Marichjhapi Massacre of 1979]] were highlighted.<ref name=":4" /> Apart from the launch of a virtual museum, the KPMT has organised film screenings of partition related films, art exhibitions, and conferences regarding history, partition, and memory.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 14, 2019 |title=Kolkata event will revisit Bengal Partition through films from India, Bangladesh |work=Scroll.in |url=https://scroll.in/reel/933815/kolkata-event-will-revisit-bengal-partition-through-films-from-india-bangladesh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dirghangi |first=Arna |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Artists' Interpretation of the Great Divide and its aftermath - A Report |url=https://refugeewatchonline.wordpress.com/2020/09/28/artists-interpretation-of-the-great-divide-and-its-aftermath-a-report/ |journal=Refugee Watch Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lahiri |first=Isha |date=September 2, 2020 |title=Chronicling the Search for a Home in Post-Partition West Bengal |url=https://bengalgazette.org/2020/09/02/chronicling-the-search-for-a-home-in-post-partition-west-bengal-2/ |journal=The Bengal Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mitra |first=Debraj |date=2021 |title=Historian slams attempt to recount horrors of Partition to add fuel to fire of divisive politics |work=Telegraph India |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta/historian-slams-attempt-to-recount-horrors-of-partition-to-add-fuel-to-fire-of-divisive-politics/cid/1826967}}</ref>

As of June 2023, a physical museum is yet to be constructed. However, Roy does plan on launching a physical museum, "house a Partition Public Library, and inaugurate a Partition Walk in the city" in the future.<ref name=":2" />

== See also ==

*[[The 1947 Partition Archive]]
*[[Partition Museum|The Partition Museum, Amritsar]]
*[[Partition Museum, Delhi]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

# Butalia, Urvashi. (2015). ''Partition: The Long Shadow''. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-9383074778
# Butalia, Urvashi. (2017). ''The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India''. Penguin Random House India. ISBN 978-0140271713
# Halder, Deep. (2019). ''Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre''. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9353025878
# Malhotra, Aanchal. (2018). ''Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory''. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9353022952
# Menon, Ritu; Bhasin, Kamala. (1998). ''Borders and Boundaries: Women in India's Partition''. Kaali for Women. ISBN 978-8186706008
# Pandey, Gyanendra. (2002). ''Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-8175961098
# Schendel, Willem van. (2004). ''The Bengal Borderland: Beyond State and Nation in South Asia''. Anthem Press London. ISBN 9781843311454

== External links ==

* {{Official website|https://kolkata-partition-museum.org/}}
* [https://museumofmaterialmemory.com/ Museum of Material Memory]
* [https://museumofshadowsofpartition.wordpress.com/ Museum of Shadows of Partition]
* [https://www.palmuseum.org/language/english The Palestine Museum, Birzeit]
* [https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/nziri The New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI)]

{{coord missing|West Bengal}}

[[Category:Museums in Kolkata]]
[[Category:2018 establishments in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Museums established in 2018]]
[[Category:History museums in India]]

Kolkata Partition Museum - Revision history

MartiAshley1795: added new data basic info!