The Partition of British India and the subsequent creation of two antagonist countries is a phenomenon that we are still trying to comprehend. Millions displaced, thousands slaughtered, families divided and redefined, as home became alien land and the unknown became home. So much has been said about it but there is still no writer, storyteller or poet who has been able to explain the madness of Partition. Using the oral narratives of four generations of people - mainly Pakistanis but also some Indians - Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani researcher, attempts to understand how the perception of Partition and the 'other' has evolved over the years. Common sense dictates that the bitter memories of Partition would now be forgotten and new relationships would have been forged over the years, but that is not always the case. The memories of Partition have been repackaged through state narratives, and attitudes have only hardened over the years. Post-Partition events - wars, religious extremism, terrorism - have left new imprints on 1947. This book documents the journey of Partition itself - after Partition.
About the AuthorANAM ZAKARIA is a twenty-seven-year-old development professional, educationist and researcher based in Pakistan. She has an academic background in international development from McGill University and started off her career with the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) in 2010. She led their Oral History Project, Exchange-for-Change Project and School and College Outreach Tours in Lahore and Islamabad, collecting narratives of the first and second generations of Pakistanis, opening communication channels between schoolchildren in India and Pakistan and Pakistan and USA. She currently works in the education sector with the Association for the Development of Pakistan. Anam is also a teacher of development studies, and a student of psychotherapy, with a special interest in trauma and healing in conflict zones. She was born and brought up in Lahore and currently resides in Islamabad with her husband. This is her first book.
About the AuthorANAM ZAKARIA is a twenty-seven-year-old development professional, educationist and researcher based in Pakistan. She has an academic background in international development from McGill University and started off her career with the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) in 2010. She led their Oral History Project, Exchange-for-Change Project and School and College Outreach Tours in Lahore and Islamabad, collecting narratives of the first and second generations of Pakistanis, opening communication channels between schoolchildren in India and Pakistan and Pakistan and USA. She currently works in the education sector with the Association for the Development of Pakistan. Anam is also a teacher of development studies, and a student of psychotherapy, with a special interest in trauma and healing in conflict zones. She was born and brought up in Lahore and currently resides in Islamabad with her husband. This is her first book.