Looking Back: The 1947 Partition of India, 70 Years On

In what ways can we re-think and re-imagine 1947 today? Has the subcontinent worked through its burden of history and trauma relayed across generations? Or are we still trapped by the curse of mutual animosity, incoherence and distrust? Are there routes beyond polarised perceptions and attitudes that wait to be (re-)discovered? Seventy years after India's Independence and Partition, this anthology of diverse narratives collects fresh reflections on the continuing relevance and impact of 1947and its afterlife, in South Asia. Earlier Partition anthologies have underplayed narratives of the aged, of marginal castes and tribes. The genres of poetry, drama and reportage have likewise not been collected and read as a whole. This anthology of essays, memoirs, short fiction, art, poetry, graphic narrative, reportage and drama seeks to rectify these omissions in ways that are both self-reflexive and historically aware. It also features fresh translations from Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Bangla of older, lesser-known works together with new writing that narrates unheard and forgotten stories from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In times when we remain as divided by religion as by how we imagine the nation, this is an effort to cast new light on our fractured and conjoined past and help us reflect on it with humanity. Scholars and readers of South Asian literature, history and Partition literature will find this a rich and valuable contribution.