Bengal Partition Stories
An Unclosed Chapter
Title Details
- ISBN: 9781843312253
- September 2006
- Pages: 640
- Imprint: Anthem Press
This book throws new light on post-colonial evaluations of the Partition and its effect on eastern India. Until very recently, a striking state of ‘near silence’ has existed concerning the violence encountered by those who fled across the Bengal border. ‘Bengal Partition Stories’ addresses this silence through the retelling of stories inspired by the division of Bengal, the mass exodus that followed and their repercussions on the cultural, social and economic character of the region, modern India as a whole and the newly-formed nation of Bangladesh.
Despite numerous critical enquiries into the history, politics and social dynamics that contributed to the partition of Bengal, there remains a distinct lack of in-depth exploration into the personal experiences of those directly affected. Through oral histories, interviews and fictional retellings of the event and its aftermath, ‘Bengal Partition Stories’ seeks to fill this gap by unearthing and articulating the collective memories of a people traumatised by the brutal division of their homeland.
Dr Bashabi Fraser is currently a Lecturer in English Literature at Napier University and an Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh University.
Acknowledgements; Foreword; Introduction; About the Translation; About the Stories; The maps: ii) India before 14/15 August 1947; iii) India, Bangladesh and Pakistan Today; iv) Undivided Begal; v) West Bengal and Bangladesh Today; The Authors and Their Stories; Poem: ‘Mob Fury’; The Stories: The Solution; The Protector; Insignificance; The Saviour; The Ledger; Treaty; Loss; Infidel; Boatman, Honour, In a Place and in a Land; Here and There; Hindu; Acharya Kripalani Colony; The Crossing; A Thorn in the Path, Alien Land; The Border; India; Poem: ‘An Abducted Woman: The Loot’; Illegitimate; Home, Sweet Home!; The Stricken Daughter; Embrace; Kings Come and Kings Go, The Story of Sonadas Baul; Of Ram and Rahim; Looking Back; Refugee; The Debt of a Generation; If; Another Tune in Another Room; Alam’s Own House; Three Generations; Rehabilitation; The Girl was Innocent; Infiltration; Deliverance; Tagore; Wild-Goose Country, Poem: ‘This Border’; The Translators, The Authors, Bibliography, Glossary
‘The book reopens the wounds to examine them afresh and the editor’s introduction places the stories in perspective.’ —Anasuya Basu, ‘The Telegraph Calcutta’
‘Significant and timely… Fraser has significant insights.’ —Kajari Bhattacharya, ‘The Statesman’
‘A book that attempts to break the amazing silence over the Bengal Partition through retellings by those who experienced it first-hand.’ —Santanu Sanyal, ‘The Hindu Business Line’
‘This is an astonishing book which reminds us insistently that in order to forget, we have to remember.’ —David McCrone, Director of the Institute of Governance
‘This is a truly remarkable volume, and deserves to attract the attention of historians, literary scholars, social scientists and others with an interest in ethnic conflict in any part of the world.’ —Anthony Hepburn, Professor of History, University of Sunderland
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