Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

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Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
Hindus and Sikh on train to India.jpg
Hindus and Sikhs migrating by train from Bannu to India
Official nameEnglish: Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
Hindi: विभाजन विभीषिका स्मृति दिवस
Observed by India
SignificanceIn memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people during the partition[1]
Date14 August
Next time14 August 2024 (2024-08-14)
FrequencyAnnual
First time14 August 2021 (2 years ago) (2021-08-14)
Started byGovernment of India
Related toPartition of India

Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is an annual national memorial day observed on 14 August in India, commemorating the victims and sufferings of people during the 1947 partition of India. It was first observed in 2021, after announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[2]

The day remembers the sufferings of many Indians during the partition. Several families were displaced and many lost their lives in the partition.[3] It aims to remind Indians the need to remove social divisions, disharmony and to further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment.[4]

The partition had left 10 to 20 million people displaced and left 2 hundred thousand to 2 million dead.[5][lower-alpha 1]
[6][7][8][9][lower-alpha 2]

Background[edit]

Main article: Partition of India
Lord Mountbatten meets Nehru, Jinnah and other Leaders to plan the Partition of India in 1947.

The Partition was the division of British India[lower-alpha 3] into two independent Dominions: India and Pakistan.[10] The two states have since gone through further reorganization: the Dominion of India is today the Republic of India (since 1950); while the Dominion of Pakistan was composed of what is known today as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (since 1956) and the People's Republic of Bangladesh (since 1971). The partition involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and Punjab, based on district-wide non-Muslim or Muslim majorities. The partition also saw the division of the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury. The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj, i.e. Crown rule in India. The two self-governing independent Dominions of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 15 August 1947.

The partition displaced between 10 and 20 million people along religious lines, creating overwhelming refugee crises in the newly constituted dominions.[6][7][8][9] There was large-scale violence, with estimates of the loss of life accompanying or preceding the partition disputed and varying between several hundred thousand and two million.[5][lower-alpha 1] The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that affects their relationship to this day.

Observance of Remembrance Day[edit]

On 14 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the 14 of August annually will be remembered as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day to remind the nation of the sufferings and sacrifices of Indians during the partition in 1947.

On 14 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Partitions pains can never be forgotten. Millions of our sisters and brothers were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence. In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, 14th August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, May the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day keep reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment."[11]

In 2022, the Delhi Metro honoured Partition Horrors Remembrance Day by setting up an exhibit that included "panels on the wrecked buildings in Lahore and Amritsar".[12]

The University Grants Commission, in 2022, implored all academic institutions to plan observances for Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.[13] The University of Kashmir honoured Partition Horrors Remembrance Day by organising a photo exhibition aimed at highlighting "the agony, suffering and pain of millions of sufferers of the Partition".[14][15]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The death toll remains disputed with figures ranging from 200,000 to 2 million."[5]
  2. ↑ "Some 12 million people were displaced in the divided province of Punjab alone, and up to 20 million in the subcontinent as a whole."[9]
  3. ↑ British India consisted of those regions of the British Raj, or the British Indian Empire, which were directly administered by Britain; other regions, of nominal sovereignty, that were indirectly ruled by Britain, were called princely states.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "'In Memory of Sacrifices & Struggles': PM Modi Marks August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day". News18. 14 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Narendra Modi picks August 14 to recall Partition trauma". The Hindu. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "August 14 to be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day: PM Modi | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  4. ↑ "14 August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day: PM Modi". mint. 14 August 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Talbot & Singh 2009, p. 2.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia. Springer Science & Business Media. 2012. p. 6. ISBN 978-9400953093.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Rupture in South Asia" (PDF). United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dr Crispin Bates (3 March 2011). "The Hidden Story of Partition and its Legacies". BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Vazira Fazila‐Yacoobali Zamindar (4 February 2013). "India–Pakistan Partition 1947 and forced migration". The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration. doi:10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm285. ISBN 9781444334890. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Partition (n), 7. b (3rd ed.). Oxford English Dictionary. 2005. The division of British India into India and Pakistan, achieved in 1947.
  11. ↑ "'In Memory of Sacrifices & Struggles': PM Modi Marks August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day". News18. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Newspaper clippings, maps and images from Partition: Exhibition now open at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate metro stations". The Indian Express. 11 August 2022.
  13. ↑ Chandra, Jagriti (9 August 2022). "UGC writes to colleges, universities urging them to observe Partition Horrors Remembrance Day". The Hindu.
  14. ↑ "KU observes Partition Horrors Remembrance Day". Greater Kashmir. 13 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "KU observes Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, organises photo exhibition". Rising Kashmir. 14 August 2022.
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