Filtering the horrors of the partition

On August 14, it is necessary to admit that the horrors of the partition add up to an edgy double-edged sword. On one hand, it is indisputable history that cannot be ignored and on the other, it is a potential timebomb if senselessly unfurled, given throbbing socio-political dynamics.

Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah announced that August 16, 1946, would be christened Direct Action Day, eloquently signalling the chilling suspension of diplomacy and civility. Bengal was then run by the Muslim League, led by Shaheed Suhrawardy, and its capital Calcutta deeply aspired as Pakistan territory, in the wake of imminent partition. So, as per sufficiently repeated accounts, a genocidal campaign of terror was launched against Hindus on that day, aided apparently by a deliberately inactive administration which gagged the law enforcers. The gambit apparently was to dramatically alter the demographic skew in order to sufficiently influence Lord Wavell, then Viceroy, to make Calcutta an element of Pakistan.

However retaliation was swift, albeit unexpected, mobilized by a gentleman called Gopal 'Patha' Mukherjee, the nickname derived from butchery as a profession. He mobilized a civilian force, funded by trading businessmen, who not only counter-attacked but actually restored the equilibrium, leading to the British administration taking over Law and Order and ensuring the status quo. Arguably he was a hoodlum as well and while his story is well recounted by Andrew Whitehead, I have been apprised personally on this sequence of time by a now-departed nonagenarian army man, who was on the ground.

Now, comes the ethical and socio-cultural dilemma. The above is clearly documented History and while the attrition numbers may vary as per account, the lineage of events is irrefutable, and you are free to read multiple accounts. In fact, there must be many such anecdotes of senseless murders, on either side of the border, most notably the deadly train massacres. But how exactly must such narratives be presented to an impressionable 2022 citizen, trigger happy and opinionated, especially on social media?

The answer, possibly, lies in a blend of realism and romance, unleashed selectively to well screened audiences who can digest the suitable variant. Any by this I mean the holistic narrative of the partition, not just the tormenting deaths or the torrential displacement. It sounds rather difficult but when applied intelligently, a progressive yet knowledgeable equilibrium may well emerge, for history is proven to be the finest educator.

On realism, it is necessary to create a voluminous body of content, be it OTT, Literature or simply research papers, which remind the educated about the horrors of our times. So that subversive communal agendas are never repeated for in such mindful yet mindless instigation, lies the decay of civil society. Also, it is necessary to stimulate progressive debate, quite like post-war Germany, as to how peaceful allies became such ribald foes and how such terrible follies must remain strictly theoretical.

On romance, this to a less erudite mass population, the flashback must be necessarily experiential, fuelled once again by audio visual content. Where visitor accounts of cross-border tours to past homes, now increasingly common, are amplified to demonstrate the warmth of the current neighbours and the ease of access. Also, the timeless elements of music and dance, as cultural unifiers, can be the magical Fevicol of the piece, dissolving the seeds of dissonance.

It is important to realise that by the time our great nation scores a century, there will hardly be any remembering survivors of the partition, unless Medical Science dramatically evolves. Thus today's opinion leaders bear the onerous burden of helping define the desired narrative, albeit in an information-overloaded digital era where the staggering metaverse can dramatically resurrect both past and present. Which must ideally be an honest abdication of politically-correct denial, in tandem with an empathetic appreciation of vulnerabilities, as even the provenly rational acted in a diabolically insecure manner to concoct immeasurable atrocities.

In the successful India of 2022, it is necessary to acknowledge that the partition and its wake turbulence could have been a far more dire influence. That it remained a short-lived horror is a tribute to our resilience and courage, and to these formidable assets, we must dedicate the 15th of every August.