TEACHING DIVIDED HISTORIES
ASSIGNMENTS
Mythili Susarla
Class X, 2014-15
The Amaatra Academy
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TASK 1: Films made on the subject of Partition and Mass Migrations that have taken place around
the world:
Both in India and Pakistan, cinema as a cultural production wields immense influence in the lives of the
people and mainstream cinema has been deeply affected by Partition. By offering the potential for public
mourning in a public space such as a theatre, cinema confronts the trauma of that large scale & violent event
and Partition cinema in particular invests heavily in the private sphere of emotions and familial relations
while also demonstrating that the private domain is already political.
I. Films based on partition in India:
 Gandhi is a 1982 epic biographical film which dramatises the life of Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, the leader of India's non-violent, non-cooperative independence movement against the
United Kingdom's rule of the country during the 20th century. Gandhi was written by John
Briley and produced and directed by Richard Attenborough. The film covers Gandhi's life from
a defining moment in 1893, as he is thrown off a South African train for being in a whites-only
compartment, and concludes with his assassination and funeral in 1948.
 Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is a 2014 Hindi, war drama film set in 1948, post-Independence period and
deals with the subject of Indo-Pak partition. The film is produced by Karan Arora and also marks the
directorial debut of actor Vijay Raaz. In 1948, a cross-fire erupts at an isolated stretch of Indo-Pak
border, leaving only two soldiers alive. One is an Indian soldier of Pakistani origin while the other
happens to be a Pakistani soldier of Indian origin. An ironic story of pride and survival begins when in an attempt to evade danger, they bump into each other. And amidst continuous exchange of
bullets, altercations and murkier situations, it evolves into a journey of human connection with an
unforeseeable end.
 Midnight's Children is a 2012 British-Canadian film adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel of
the same name. With a screenplay by Rushdie and directed by Deepa Mehta, the film began principal
photography in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February 2011 and wrapped in May 2011. The film was
shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, and
the BFI London Film Festival. The film was also a nominee for Best Picture and seven other
categories at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards, winning two awards.
 Train to Pakistan is a 1998 Hindi film, adapted from Khushwant Singh's 1956 historical novel by
the same name, set in the Partition of India of 1947 and directed by Pamela Rooks. he film is set in
Mano Majra which is a silent village on the border of India and Pakistan. The film develops around
the love affair of small-time dacoit Jagga, with a local Muslim girl, Nooran. The villagers are a mix
of Sikhs and Muslims, who live in harmony. During the summer of 1947, when the Partition of
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India was taking place, the entire country was a hotbed for extremism and intolerance. The Muslims
in India moved towards the newly formed Pakistan, and the Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan migrated
to refugee camps in India. One day, a train arrives from Pakistan, which carries bodies of all the
travellers who have been butchered while they tried to depart from Pakistan. That is when this quiet
village is changed forever.
 Khamosh Pani- A new film that sensitively portrays the horrors inflicted on women by Partition and
religious fundamentalism makes waves in various film festivals across the world. In Khamosh
Pani (Silent Waters), her spare yet riveting feature film set in Pakistan in the 1970s, director Sabiha
Sumar tells the story of a Sikh woman who defies death at Partition, marries a Muslim, practices
Islam and settles down to an outwardly contented existence, until her past and present collide in
tragedy.
II. Films based on Mass Migrations around the world:
 Harvest of Empire - This film recounts how U.S. intervention caused mass Latin American
migrations.
 Hester Street - New York was an exciting yet fearsome place for immigrants from Eastern Europe
during the early 1900s. This film shows the stress of moving to a new land.
 Caught in between- A documentary by Alexandra D'Onofrio, shot between Milan and Calais in July
2008, said with a tangle of voices and photographs, the border between France and England, between
the darkness and the light.
 In this World: fictional film about an Afghan boy as he makes his journey from Pakistan to Britain
 Living with Illegals: documentary following African migrants as they attempt to cross
the Mediterranean and enter Europe, includes chapter on Calais crossing
 No World Border: film documenting the rise of human rights abuses along the US-Mexico border
since the implementation of border walls (such as Operation Gatekeeper) that have been erected in
populated areas throughout the border region during the last decade.
TASK 2:
Babri Masjid and Bombay Riots 1992:

Babri Masjid Demolition: On December 6, 1992, a large crowd of Hindu Karsevaks (volunteers)
entirely destroyed the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, in an attempt to
reclaim the land known as Ram Janmabhoomi(the mythological birthplace of the god Rama). The
demolition occurred after a rally supporting the movement turned violent and resulted in several
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months of intercommunal rioting between India's Hindu and Muslim communities, causing the death
of at least 2,000 people.

The Bombay Riots refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which
around 900 people died (275 Hindus and 575 Muslims). The riots were mainly due to escalations of
hostilities after large scale protests (initially peaceful then turned violent) by Muslims in reaction to
1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsevaks in Ayodhya.
The story of a survivor of the Mumbai riots:
Leena Shinde, whose husband went missing, now prefers to live in a “safe area”. On January 3, Leena’s
husband Narendra went to attend a function at her sister’s place in Kandivali and never returned. “I had just
delivered and my baby was 14-days-old,” says Shinde who now works in a private firm. Narendra, then 26,
was last seen getting into an auto rickshaw by her brother-in-law. She had been married for just over a year.
She got compensation 10 years after her husband went missing and that too after much running around and
help from voluntary groups. She has struggled to educate her son, now in 10th standard.
“He looks like my husband,” she smiles. “It would be nice to live with other communities but I want to stay
in a safe place where there is no tension.”
Women like Suraiya fled from Kandivali to Behrampada in Bandra, never to return. Now an assistant project
officer with Women’s Research and Action Group (WRAG), Suraiya was 19 and newly married when the
riots happened. “We had a large flat in Kandivali (a north western suburb). My husband was working in
Saudi Arabia at that time. One day a mob of 1500 came to attack us. One man, Narayan, the chairman of the
building committee, helped us. He took us to a house and locked it from outside. We sat in the dark while
the mob destroyed everything around. I was two months pregnant and very scared. The mob kept asking
Narayan to open the house but said ‘it’s locked from outside why would anyone be inside’. He did not open
the door,” she recalls.
Some changes
Suraiya talks of her brother, Jabbar, with a lot of pain. He is in a mental hospital after the riots. Her sister,
Firoza, died of shock. “I was standing next to my sister when she died. I think the constant fear that people
would come and do something to us killed her,” she said.
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Through WRAG, Suraiya has attended courses which focus on communal harmony. She feels some changes
for the better have taken place. But she wonders if there is something that keeps the two communities at bay.
“Yeh dil kaise saaf ho sakta hai (How can the mind be cleansed)?” she asks.
The riots changed the city in some ways forever. Each time there is a riot or a bomb blast, Mumbai springs
back or so it seems. After all, it is touted as ‘the unbreakable city’. Only those who are broken by the past
know what it takes to live here.
TASK 3:
INTERVIEW:
I have conducted an interview of my Aunt, Mrs.Kalpana Bhushanlal Dhar. Born and brought up in Kashmir,
now living in Mumbai, she works as a software architect.
Me: Can you give me an insight on the situation of Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir, before Partition?
Aunt: Yes, certainly. During India's freedom struggle, in Kashmir -that was where I used to live- there was
a Hindu minority. The Hindus were often forced to convert to Islam and a lot of restrictions were placed
upon the Hindu community. This led to a lot of religious conflicts. Muslims started attacking the Hindus
when they resisted to the pressure put upon them. Basically, it was a situation of conflict and terror.
Me: Can you now tell me about the circumstances in which you grew up?
Aunt: I grew up in a village with a Muslim majority. That was during the 1980s. The Muslims in Kashmir
did not actually want to join Pakistan during the Partition. For a certain period of time, there was a truce
between the Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir. But peace did not last, for the Pakistanis began to demand for
Kashmir to be a part of their nation. They said that since Pakistan was formed on the basis of that region
having a Muslim majority, Kashmir too belongs to them. They soon began to send Pakistani militants or
'terrorists' as they were called later, to Kashmir. They said, they were on a mission to "Liberalise Kashmir
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from India". Our government responded by sending few military men to Kashmir. They too had to seek
refuge in the houses of the locals as they were overpowered by the terrorists. The Muslim community posted
spies, who were called 'Mukhdirs', all over the city. These spies would shoot any Hindu who would come
near a Muslim area! The Indian Army did not do anything at that time, which just served to increase the
rising anger and tension among the Hindus in Kashmir.
Me: Would you like to share some of your childhood experiences?
Aunt: I was in class ten during 1989-90. Due to the cold weather, our academic year used to end in October.
During that period of time, the militants would announce curfews, hartals and bandhs frequently. This meant
that we hardly got to go to school. When we did, we had to go very cautiously and were told which route to
take as there would be bombing or militants in certain routes. It was during one of the long curfew periods
that my Dad told me to go my Bua's(aunt's) house in Jammu, for a break and a ten day trip. Thinking it
would just be a regular trip, I carried four-five pairs of clothes and a light bag with only my maths text book
and other essentials. Little did I know that this would be a turning point in my life and I would never get to
see my home again! During my stay in Jammu, the situation got worse in Kashmir. Some Pakistani militants
aimed a gun at my Dad and said," Since you are a respected man, we will give you a night's time. You have
to vacate this house by tomorrow morning or else be ready to be shot." Then my parents, sister and
grandparents took the last military truck to Jammu and joined us there, with whatever part of our belongings
they could carry.
Me: That's terrible! How did you manage to settle in Jammu?
Aunt: We come from a landowner's family, so we were dependent on agriculture such as apple and almond
orchards as a source of income. With that gone, our only source of income was that of my parents' teaching
salary. We were called refugees and were made to stay in a migrant camp for about six months until the
government built some apartments for all the families which had migrated. I went a school called 'Camp
School'. It was actually an open ground with tents and chairs set up, where we would sit throughout the day
and teachers would teach us in the open air. I was used to a climate where the temperature would not cross
10 degrees Celsius. Here we were made to sit under the sun with a temperature of 47-50 degrees Celsius. I
soon began to get severe headaches and Dad advised me to stay at home. Quite a few people had passed
away due to the change in living conditions and weather. I gave my tenth Board Exams this way and then
joined a college in Jammu. They had two shifts in the college, the first one for Jammu students and the
second shift for Kashmiri students. These were my last few years in Jammu. Later I did my engineering in a
college in Rajasthan. My parents still live in Jammu, though our ancestral home was burnt during a militant
attack. We have not visited our home since we vacated it. I miss my childhood days in Kashmir and I would
love to go back some day, to see my village and neighbourhood.
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Me: Thank you very much Aunty. I do hope you get to visit your childhood village again. I have learnt a lot
about religious conflict and its impact on the innocent, by listening to your experiences.
My aunt and her family in their new quarters in Jammu
Their Camp School and refugees' quarters in Jammu
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