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An American teacher on a Fulbright in Kolkata encounters a surprising flashpoint in a classroom discussion of concrete nouns. I n my earnest Ohio accent one student later likened to […]

"Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans" by Thomas Chambers is an ethnography that explores the lives of Muslim artisan woodworkers in Saharanpur, India. The study focuses on their workshops, migration patterns, and the importance of friendships and social ties in their working lives. The article highlights the decline of the industry, the role of Muslim identity in employment opportunities, and the impact of Gulf migration on class differentiation. The author also discusses the contrast between migrant artisans from Uttar Pradesh and returnee migrants from Kerala, as well as the relationship between material constraints and cultural factors in shaping class consciousness. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the resurgence of nationalism in recent years, with many political leaders promoting an ethnocentric cult of the nation-state and implementing restrictive immigration policies. The article proposes the concept of "encounters" as a lens for understanding the construction and deconstruction of nations through various practices. It explores how encounters challenge traditional notions of identity and offers a more nuanced understanding of nations as dynamic and fragmented entities. The article also highlights the importance of studying encounters within and between nations, as well as their intersection with other forms of belonging. The special issue includes contributions that examine encounters in various contexts, such as refugee hotspots, diasporic communities, media, literature, and historical events. Overall, the article aims to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on nations and nationalism, moving beyond essentialist and typological thinking. [Extracted from the article]

Fictional narratives centred around the Partition of India in 1947 usually voice the plight of the women caused by the communal riots and hatred among religious communities. Saadat Hasan Manto, in his short story 'Thanda Gosht' (trans. 'Cold Meat'), translated into English by Khalid Hasan as 'Colder than Ice', brings out the other side of Partition's gendered narrative – the impact of the violent creation of borders on Indian men. Through the notion of 'strange encounters', the paper demonstrates the metaphoric connection between the female body and the contested land of pre-Partition India while the masculine and oppressive Ishwar, who symbolises political leaders mandating the Partition, fails to exert his supremacy as he is traumatised by the psychological repercussions of the aftermath of violence- sexual on a micro level, communal on a macro level. By critiquing the familiarity and strangeness that underscore the Self-Other binary, the essay visualises alternate paradigms of gendered nationalist encounters- how the male communalist perpetrator's masculinity is a product of myriad privileges, his hegemonic power in a patriarchal system being one. It will also interrogate notions of shame and honour that pervade such gendered encounters underlined by violence to demonstrate how Manto's stories subvert that discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample this: a hypothetical menu book of fish recipes from both sides of the Bengal border; a barbed wire running through the Ichhamati, showing the river's indifference to political borders; a sandstone and fabric pillar standing as a metaphoric monument of unity between religions, commemorating Gandhi's peace march in Noakhali in 1946; an accordion book opening out, unfolding narratives immortalised in Ritwik Ghatak's films. These are some of the artworks that were showcased at The Legacy of Loss: Perspectives on the Partition of Bengal, an Art Exhibition that the Kolkata Partition Museum Trust (KPMT) organised in collaboration with the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), to commemorate the 74th anniversary of India's Partition. The Exhibition ran from 17 to 29 August 2021 at KCC, and was supported by Tata Steel and the Emami Foundation. Conceptualised and conceived by the late art historian, Dr. Rajasri Mukhopadhyay, and curated by KCC, this was an unique Exhibition on the Bengal Partition by five contemporary artists – Paula Sengupta, Vinayak Bhattacharya, Debasish Mukherjee, Amritah Sen and Dilip Mitra – each with a distinct style and perspective on the theme. As Rajasri Mukhopadhyay put it, Partition provided 'the psychological topography for this Exhibition. The pictorial narratives ... [found here] are embedded in the geographical sites of ancestry, the physical border, the trajectories of nostalgia in refugee colonies, and stories of inherited memories.' This paper will delve into the uniqueness of this Exhibition and argue for the importance of the Arts in preserving cultural memory, something that KPMT strongly believes in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short piece introduces the special issue 'Partition and the South Asian diaspora: exploring (inherited) memories and creative practices of remembering'. This issue was conceived at the juncture of intersecting commemorations of key historical events – 1947 Partition of British India, 1971 Bangladesh independence and 1972 exodus from Uganda – in South Asia and its diasporas. By bringing together articles focused on practices of commemorating these events, we propose that studying entangled memories of Partition and its associated events in the diaspora provides a distinct perspective, both in terms of creative and cultural practices of remembering and in terms of the construction of diasporic identities and belongings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, the 70th anniversary of the Partition of British India was widely discussed in the UK, not only within academic and cultural circles, but also in popular culture. Five years later, on the 75th anniversary of Partition, the scholarly, cultural and community interest in the events of 1947 intersected with the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of the South Asian population from Uganda, and the 70th anniversary of the Language Movement that led towards Bangladesh independence in 1971 - the 50th anniversary of which was celebrated just the year before. Based on the work of the Migrant Memory and the Postcolonial Imagination research project (Loughborough University) this article will explore the entanglement of the memories of these events within the South Asian diaspora, and how their transmission and communication shape the construction of contemporary diasporic identity and concepts of community, belonging and 'home.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do India and Pakistan always quarrel over terrorism? The prevailing arguments more often implicate intriguing South Asian geopolitics surrounding the unresolved Kashmir dispute or pathological partition of British India in 1947 to explain this puzzle. Surprisingly, why and how the two countries verbalise terrorism has hardly been investigated in a comparative framework as a potential underpinning of this historical syndrome. This void has deprived South Asia's existing literature and public and policy debates of an understanding of the underlying determinants of the terrorism discourse. Namely, how has the discourse originated, what are its distinct metaphysics, and how it has shaped and normalised discursive practices at significant moments in the history of these two countries, and with what consequences? This article responds to these broader questions. It argues that among other vital underpinnings, the Indo-Pakistan terrorism discourse, with its origins in colonialism, functions to institute and enable rival practices of exclusionary politics, doublespeak and propaganda. More importantly, it nurtures self-fulfilling concepts of statehood deriving from a constructed "real" reality characterising an imagined geopolitical pathology that, in turn, perpetuates Indo-Pakistan imperialism. In addressing this argument, the paper makes multiple original contributions, including identifying research avenues and indicating various intersecting causes of friction that afford reconciliation possibilities to the stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Sudhir Kakar, a renowned psychoanalyst and cultural thinker from India, made significant contributions to the understanding of unconscious processes in individual and collective life. His work went beyond studying the relationship between culture and the psyche to exploring the psyche within civilizational flows. Dr. Kakar emphasized empathy and compassion in psychoanalysis and aimed to bridge differences and create dialogical spaces between seemingly incompatible social binaries. His global recognition and translated books reflect the impact of his work. Dr. Kakar passed away in 2024 after battling cancer, leaving behind a profound intellectual legacy. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the role of transportation in forced displacement and genocidal projects throughout history, with a focus on the Holocaust. It highlights the use of railways, vehicles, and maritime infrastructure in the movement of civilian populations during times of conflict. The article also raises questions about accountability for the agencies and individuals involved in conflict transport and explores the potential for further research on the topic. It emphasizes the need for a multi-perspectival and global understanding of conflict transport, beyond the classical geography of the Holocaust. [Extracted from the article]

This paper reads the period film Begum Jaan (Mukherji, 2017) for its portrayal of Partition of the Indian subcontinent as an event of gendered and sexual violence. In doing so, it explores the biopolitics of sex work at the historical juncture of 1947 and examines how the birth of nations accompanies the devaluing of women’s lives over their unraped bodies. Focusing on the political and ethical import of the sex workers’ resistance against eviction in the film, it highlights the precarity of women within the institutional mechanisms of an incipient nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early historiography of the South-Asian Partition tended to emphasize on the high politics surrounding the struggles against British imperialism and the transfer of power, focusing on prominent leaders and politicians and their roles in achieving self-rule. The perspectives of the general populace and the effects of high politics on those on the periphery of society, have been elided. However, since the 1990s, alternative voices, documenting the human dimension of Partition and the histories of marginalized masses, previously excluded from official histories, have started to gain importance. This article analyses how the graphic narrative, “The Taboo,” by Malini Gupta and Dyuti Mittal, offers such an alternative history, presenting the experiences of the residents of a refugee camp (Cooper’s camp) who have not been rehabilitated to this date and thereby remained trapped as “historical residues” of the Partition. This article discusses how the narrative highlights the subjectivity and agency of the refugees, particularly, the refugee women, with lower caste and class backgrounds whose histories have remained undocumented in official records. It further examines “The Taboo” as a microhistory of Partition that presents the local history of the camp and foregrounds the agency of the protagonist Lily, as an unattached refugee woman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses two books, "Minority Pasts: Locality, Emotions, and Belonging in Princely Rampur" by Razak Khan and "The Incomparable Festival" edited by Razak Khan and translated by Shad Naved. These books provide insights into the histories and politics of Muslims in Rampur, the last Muslim ruled state in colonial United Provinces, and introduce a 19th-century Urdu poem by Mir Yar Ali 'Jan Sahib' of Rampur. The books explore the cultural and historical experiences of Muslims in Rampur and the significance of the "Jashn-e-Benazir" festival in promoting art, culture, and trade in the state. The article also highlights the visual elements on the book covers that symbolize the research objectives and views of the author. The main text being summarized is "Minority Pasts: Locality, Emotions, and Belonging in Princely Rampur" by Razak Khan, which examines the history and trajectory of Rampur and its minority communities from 1857 to 1949. The book is divided into chapters that explore different aspects of Rampur's history, including its cultural production, patronage, and public culture. The text discusses the book "Minority Pasts: Locality, Emotions, and Belonging in Princely Rampur" by Razak Khan. The book explores the postcolonial trajectories of the Muslim princely locality of Ramp [Extracted from the article]

This article presents the stories of women who became victims of the multidimensional impact of the Partition of India in 1947. It steers through the autobiographic and fictional representations that emerged from their lives. The article argues that in the historical fabric, the socio-economic and political threads of time are so closely interwoven that it is almost impossible to study them in isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asif Currimbhoy’s play The Refugee presents a compelling examination of the challenges and internal conflicts faced by refugees, set against the backdrop of the Indo - Pakistan war of 1971 and the resulting partition. This narrative explores the tumultuous experiences of individuals who are forced to navigate the complexities of identity, belonging, and survival amidst geopolitical strife. The play delves into the psychological and emotional turmoil of refugees through its characters, portraying their struggles with loss, displacement, and the quest for a sense of home in an unfamiliar and often hostile environment. Through the journey of its characters, the play intricately details the multifaceted aspects of the refugee experience. The play serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring human spirit amidst adversity, offering deep insights into the challenges and internal conflicts of refugees through a rich tapestry of characters and settings that resonate with the complexities of real-world refugee experiences. The study focuses on the need for a humane approach to the refugee crisis, one that transcends bureaucratic and administrative measures and acknowledges the complex human emotions and needs at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the social and cultural dynamics of migrant workers in South Asia, examining their unique experiences, forms of resistance, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mobility. Topics include the influence of mobile technology on worker subjectivity, the comparison between pandemic-induced migration and historical events like the Partition of India, and the concept of "footloose culture" as it relates to precarious labor conditions.

This article studies the narratives of voices identifying the harrowing aftermath of the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan, and the representations of the contemporary effects of partition in Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Ice Candy Man. The narrative unfolds past experiences through the eyes of different characters and surroundings from different social, political and religious backgrounds. The novel vividly portrays the horror of violence during the partition, as communities that once coexisted peacefully become engulfed in a whirlwind of hatred and bloodshed. Sidhwa's polyphonic narrative experiences reflect the multifaceted nature of violence, from communal riots to personal tragedies creating a poignant portrayal of human suffering and resilience. The theme of partition, violence, and memory permeates throughout the novel, encapsulating the socio-political upheavals that marked the birth of two nations – India and Pakistan. This paper, therefore, attempts to analyse the novel in order to understand the ideas of the 'polyphonic narrative' of Mikhael Bakhtin's theory and many other postcolonial critic's ideas. For portraying the human experience amidst a backdrop of partition and historical turmoil in shaping narratives as presented in the text by applying the theoretical framework of Postcolonial theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The footballing rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in Kolkata, India, explicates important facets of the politics of nation-building and identity formation through sport. The sporting nationalism of the colonial era gave way to narrow parochialism in post-independent India where the cultural differences of Bangals (original Hindu residents of East Bengal in colonial India and Hindu migrants from East Bengal/East Pakistan in postcolonial India) and Ghotis (original residents of western parts of Bengal in colonial India and of West Bengal in postcolonial India) emerged as the key linchpin of expressing allegiance to their respective club football teams particularly in the aftermath of immigration of refugees which took place as a result of the partition of 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. However, the legislations pertaining to Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and National Register of Citizens (NRC) have propelled fans of these clubs to forego their sub-cultural differences and act in unison to express their grievances against the new regulations of the Indian state. The anti-NRC protest by the fans hinges on the link between football and the debates pertaining to the idea of citizenship in contemporary Indian politics. The displaying of Tifos by the fans that exhibited significant social messages bears semblance with the Ultras of European football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After gaining independence (1947) and following die partition of its vast territory, India wanted to reassert itself on the political scene and develop economically. One step towards achieving these goals was establishing diplomatic relations with as many countries as possible. The period that followed saw numerous diplomatic agreements concluded by India with countries from Asia and Europe. Diplomatic relations with Romania began in the first half of the 20,h century and they continue today on a political, economic and cultural level. Romania and India established diplomatic relations in 1948, at legation level, and in 1957 relations were raised to embassy level. Romania's diplomatic office in India opened in 1955, and India's in Romania in 1959. From the discussions and negotiations, to the cultural and political relations established, the history of the beginning of diplomatic relations between Romania and India deserves to be analyzed and discussed. The existence of the Romanian Embassy in New Delhi and of the Indian Embassy in Bucharest proves the desire, but also the necessity, to create a close link between die two countries. In the last 75 years, Romania and India managed to follow common interests and created a strong partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the Republic of India became an independent nation in 1947, the Indian state has strived to keep its territorial integrity, in spite of the numerous territorial claims made by neighboring states. Firstly, the Kashmir region is home to both Muslim and Hindu populations; therefore, when the Indian and Pakistani states were created, the region was split between the two new states. However, both states hold the belief that the entirety of the Kashmir region should be part of their territory,. This situation sparked numerous local conflicts and four local wars (1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999). Secondly, another disputed area is located on the border with the People's Republic of China, as the Chinese state does not recognize the McMahon Line, which was agreed upon by British India and Tibet. This led to the conflict in 1962 and to a tension-filled relationship between China and India. This paper approaches both the historical evolution of the conflicts and the way in which these two conflict areas are portrayed in literature. While Veera Hiranandani, in The Night Dia77 (2018), and Khushwant Singh, in Train to Pakistan (1956), focus on the conflicts between Muslims and Hindus after the partition of India and Pakistan, Salman Rushdie, in Midnight's Children (1981), analyzes the traumas of the conflict in Kashmir. Furthermore, Jon Cleary, in Pulse of Danger (1966), presents the context of the Sino-Indian war. The most disturbing novel about the Indian conflicts is Humphrey Hawksley's novel, Dragon Fire (2000), because the author presents an apocalyptic war between the Republic of India, on one side, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan allied with the People's Republic of China, on die other side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the ongoing struggle of Baloch ethno-nationalists in Balochistan for self-determination, which began with the annexation of Kalat by Pakistan in 1947. Topics include the use of both democratic and armed resistance tactics by Baloch groups, the impact of Pakistan's collaboration with China on local resources and infrastructure, and the concerns of Baloch people regarding their marginalization and lack of benefits from these developments.

Martin Thomas's book, "The End of Empires and a World Remade: A Global History of Decolonization," provides a comprehensive account of the collapse of empires and the subsequent process of decolonization. Thomas explores the global nature of decolonization, highlighting the international and transnational campaigns against colonial injustice. He also examines the interconnectedness between decolonization and globalization, showing how the end of formal empire facilitated the acceleration of global integration, market reorganization, cultural exchange, and migration. The book delves into the violence and struggles of decolonization, as well as the impact on human rights and international law. Overall, Thomas's work offers valuable insights into the complex and multifaceted process of decolonization. [Extracted from the article]

More than half a million Meos from the former princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur and the Gurgaon district of the former province of East Punjab, facing discrimination, hostility and violence in the wake of the 1947 Partition, opted to trek to Pakistan. Arriving there six weeks later, bedraggled and bereft, they faced further travails as disease swept through the refugee camps. Many died, while the survivors were eventually settled along the newly created international Punjab border between India and Pakistan. A decade later, however, they were displaced by the Pakistan state in the name of border consolidation. This article traces the Meo experience of multiple state displacements, survival and re-establishing lives in the early years of Pakistan's history when the postcolonial state was still working out its responsibilities in the process of nation formation and border consolidation. In reconstructing the story of the state's interpreting of Meos through its files in the hitherto untapped archives, supplemented with first-hand accounts from members of the community, this article provides new insights into the existing situation of the Meos and their relationship with both the local population and the authorities and, as such, reveals many dichotomies in state and community interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special section on micro partitions follows 'the reduction in scale' from macro in national to meso in regional and micro in micro-regional histories in the field of Partition studies through focusing on micro-narratives of Partition from Punjab, a region divided between India and Pakistan after the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The focus of the essays is on affective memories of Partition in testimonies and cultural representations to examine the microhistories of displaced persons in micro-regions in West Punjab, including the North Western Frontier Province (Kohat, Bannu, Derajat), South Punjab (Multan, Bahawalpur) and the Mewat region in India, resettled in metro and non-metro cities and towns in India, Pakistan and the UK, through the lens of microhistory or microstoria and affect theories. The section hopes to examine the Partition's affective charge embodied in 'vernacular' languages and representational forms left out of print cultures,1 which include both traditional genres such as ritual theatre, folk-songs, folk music, folk-tales and proverbs as well as contemporary ones like popular music, ritual practices, festivals and pilgrimage sites through which communities from these micro-regions have represented Partition's collective trauma. It draws on the methods of microhistory to closely analyse narratives of small local events, communities and neighbourhoods in Punjab's micro-regions and subregions to connect the stories of these small places and 'little' people with the macro-narrative or grand narrative of Partition, so as to inquire what microhistory can bring to the understanding of Partition, as well as whether the micro-narratives relate to or throw new light on metanarratives.2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with Partition refugees from Bannu who identified as Bannuwals and continue to do so. It aims to examine the microhistory of post-Partition Bannu refugees resettled across North India and focuses on their preservation of their Bannuwal identity. The role of language, proverbs and songs, cuisine and rituals in identity preservation by Bannuwals has been examined. Qualitative methodology using oral history interviews to record the memories and post-memories of Bannuwals has been used to identify a distinctive Bannuwal identity. Data for the qualitative research was collected through fieldwork in cities in India where the Bannu community is primarily resettled. Secondary sources such as books and essays on Bannu and the North-West Frontier Province and archival documents were consulted to obtain an informed perspective on Bannu's historical background. Seventeen people were interviewed using unstructured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amitav Ghosh is one of the most significant literary voices to emerge from India in recent decades. The Shadow Lines was published in 1988, four years after the sectarian violence that shook New Delhi in the aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The Shadow Lines can be read as a memory novel where the characters are maneuvered and manipulated by the memory of Tridib’s tragic death. Each of these characters is affected differently and their experiences weave into a single plot. The narrator in The Shadow Lines calls up a stream of recollections in the form of flashbacks, a testimony that the nature of these memories is unpleasant and haunting. The past invades the present, enriches and transforms it, and even reshapes the progression of the events eventually strengthening the structure of the plot. As memory provides the narrative trigger in this novel, Amitav Ghosh allows his narrator’s memory to play freely and form loops of stories inside the story rendering chronology and space redundant. Violence has many faces in the novel, but Tridib’s tragedy subtly resonates till the end of the book and comprehends the total senselessness of the post-Partition riot that claimed Tridib’s life. Being a memory novel, it captures the shock of emotional rupture and estrangement, giving voice to the silence resulting from the personal and national trauma in the subconscious of the characters. This critical investigation would focus on Ghosh’s use of memory as a fictional device to pull the memory fragments into plotting the story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the facts pertaining to the genesis of federal States in general and in particular the Pakistan as a federation. This research also discovers the reasons, for the adaptation of federal system in Pakistan. There are various independent States adopted the federal system, and emerged as a model federation on the World's map. There are 29 Federal States and each State has an exclusive history behind the adaptation of federal system, Particularly the States which were the part of colonial system under the British rule such as U.S, Pakistan Malaysia and India etc. As for as the case study of Pakistan is concerned, the role of a few of political parties in general and in particular the historical role of All India Muslim League and its leadership, the specific role of Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan is a vital and is explored by using the secondary source of data collection, descriptive and historical methods of research study. Pakistan was made a federal State in the result of a series of constitutional reforms since the war of independence 1857 to 1947 in the context of Pakistan movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Durganand Sinha's (1965) article, "Integration of Modern Psychology with Indian Thought" is a cornerstone of the movement of internal indigenization in psychology, that is, to make psychology relevant for people by bringing its concepts, methodology, and research outcomes closer to their everyday life or culture. As his legacy of internal indigenization that constituted a move toward utilizing alternative paradigms as well as Indian spiritual tradition in the study of human well-being or socioreligious healing, we highlight through our qualitative studies how post-disaster healing of survivors in India (Kachchh earthquake, political violence of Nandigram, and partition of India) is anchored on the transcendental or spiritual beliefs and values. Finally, we discuss how his call for internal indigenization forms the foundation for both, understanding the etic features of culturally rooted psychology as well as addressing social issues of inequality and prejudice faced by people in everyday lives as well as post-disaster period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of peace in Assam, a state in North East India, which has experienced various conflicts. These conflicts are caused by factors such as development, resource control, identity assertions, inter-ethnic strife, immigration, and border disputes. The article highlights a book called "Making Peace Mutually: Perspectives from Assam," which suggests "conflict transformation" as a potential solution. The book includes interviews and essays from stakeholders involved in the crisis, such as administrators, academicians, journalists, and legal experts. The article also provides historical context, including the Ahom Kingdom's rule, British occupation, and the influx of immigrants. It concludes by discussing the fragmented and divided political scenario in Assam and emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives in achieving peace and harmony. The text presents various perspectives on the conflict in Assam, focusing on the need for peace and the challenges faced in achieving it. The contributors emphasize the significance of inclusive nationalism and the need to address the grievances of different ethnic groups. They also discuss the impact of identity politics, power dynamics, and gender inequality on the conflict. The Assam Accord is examined as a potential solution, but questions are raised about its effectiveness and the definition of Assamese identity. The book aims to provide insights for policymakers, researchers, and social scientists in understanding and transforming the conflict in Assam. [Extracted from the article]

The Special Issue examines the salience of the sovereignty principle with reference to India and its engagement with other states and entities in the international system. It seeks to disaggregate sovereignty from an abstract formulation to the operational level and evaluate how the principle has shaped India's conduct over the years across a range of issues and locales. The Special Issue engages with "traditional" topics in IR like wars as also with emerging topics like data and its ownership to help readers understand how the sovereignty principle has been impinging on India's policies. The articles offer a comprehensive picture of how India's appreciation of the sovereignty principle has evolved since 1947. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

William Petty's work has usually been regarded as an epistemic break in the history of statistical and politico-economic thought. In this paper, I argue that Petty's statistical notions stemmed from the natural-historical techniques he originally implemented to manage the Down Survey. Following Bacon, who viewed the description of trades as a paramount branch of natural history, Petty approached the art of surveying itself as an object of natural-historical analysis. He partitioned the surveying work into individual tasks and implemented a meticulous division of labour, employing hundreds of disbanded soldiers as surveyors and using questionnaires to calibrate the responses of his 'instruments', as he called his specialized workers. By borrowing these methods from natural history to organize surveying work, Petty was able to conceptualize Ireland as a political body defined by tables of aggregate data. I then compare the Down Survey with John Graunt's observations on the bills of mortality to show that both are representative of a particular style of natural history, aimed at describing the natural and political state of a circumscribed territory. I close by considering other manifestations of 'territorial natural history', indicating a continuity between this research tradition and the appearance of statistics in the British Isles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Attia has come home.' This is how Shama Habibullah describes the publication of a Distant Traveller (2013), a collection of essays and fiction written by her mother Attia Hosain. After the Partition of India in 1947, Hosain could not reconcile herself to India or Pakistan, created by imperial border-making and nationalist sentiments, and decided to remain in England. Hosain continued to grapple with the multitudinal meanings that came with leaving, making, and claiming a 'home' in an unfinished novel No New Lands, No New Seas included in Distant Traveller. The novel centred recently settled and itinerant South Asian migrants in Britain as they struggle to establish roots and reconcile the borders of new homes. This article explores Attia Hosain's portrayal of migratory experiences in No New Lands, No New Seas on three levels. Firstly, it contends with how the migrant writer, Hosain, navigates border-making and the reorientations of 'home' within these half-formed, tentative chapters. Secondly, it reflects on the form of the unfinished novel — Hosain embeds a longer pre-war, pre-Partition migratory narrative into chapters set in the 1970s. Thirdly, it considers how the novel's protagonists deal with migration, economic hardship, racism, early formations of British South Asian identities, and the trauma-laced consequences of finding home after Partition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Atco Literary Society and the Delhi Punjabi Saudagran Foundation recently organized a book launching ceremony for 'A City, Cinema and A Community' by Brig. Retd.A. R. Siddiqi. Former Senator Javed Jabbar praised the author's work, which reflects on the city of Delhi, its history, and the magic of cinema. The book discusses the decline of cinema in India and the fact that the majority of the population can no longer afford to go to the movies, which used to be an affordable form of entertainment. The event was attended by various speakers and members of the community. [Extracted from the article]

The problem of home was, in a sense, the founding problem of Pakistan: first, in the call for a new 'homeland' for South Asia's Muslims, but also because its creation provoked displacement and a condition of homelessness. The population transfers and refugee camps that accompanied the 1947 partition of India were succeeded by housing crises prompted by industrialisation and urbanization. Debates over the responsibility of government authorities to address housing inequalities animated politics in Pakistan's early decades, intersecting with global discourses around postcolonial development. This article approaches this history through one low-income housing scheme in Lahore. Designed in the 1970s by Yasmeen Lari, Anguri Bagh was constructed to provide improved accommodation to residents of an informal settlement. But it also sought to facilitate a sense of community and belonging by enlisting residents in the design process and channelling forms and rhythms familiar from local history. Anguri Bagh's successes and failures provide critical insights into the relationship between design and equality in this historical moment, shaped by a faltering faith in modernism and the recuperative gestures of postcolonial culture. The article approaches the architect as an overlooked figure in intellectual history and architecture as a vital space for thinking about inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The partition of India on the dissolution of British Raj into two dominions is known to have been violent, polarizing and caused large-scale loss of life (about two million) and an unprecedented migration of 14 million people between the two dominions, India and Pakistan. It is not known how well the then scientific community covered this man-made disaster, and the response of the international community with aid. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using different electronic databases of PubMed, Econlit, United Nations resolutions, Government of India websites, and Google Scholar for the period January 1947 to December 1951 on the impact of the partition of the Indian sub-continent, and to identify the international response toward this humanitarian crisis. Result: We could locate only twenty-four publications. Partition not only caused monumental humanitarian suffering, but also contributed to food deficits, adverse impact on trade and industries, national income and harmed public health. In contrast, no significant attention was expressed by the international scientific community or the United Nations, or aid provided during this catastrophic event. Conclusion: The review demonstrates the apathy by the contemporary international scientific research community on the social as well as economic damage caused by the partition of India. We suggest that the international scientific and research community should play the role of vigilante and fact finder to unearth the facets of mass human tragedy and its long-term consequences so that global consciousness is awakened, and help and aid flows when it is most needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menka Shivdasani is a distinguished new-generation poet from Mumbai who has profoundly influenced and changed Indian poetry in English by giving it a new direction with her writing craft. In this wide-ranging interview, Shivdasani shares details of her childhood, educational background, and life as a journalist and poet. It touches on the themes of her poetry dealing with urban life, alienation, human anxiety, disillusionment, ecological concerns, love and loss, claustrophobic domesticity, and conflict between tradition and modernity with specific references to some of her major works: Nirvana at Ten Rupees (1990), Stet (2021), Safe House (2015), and Frazil (2018). The interview also explores the role of feisty women in fighting against hostile forces and their ability to define and make themselves heard in male-dominated society. In addition to her suggestions for aspiring poets, the discussion extends to the influences of other literary writers on her and their observation of her poetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the concept of the uncanny in a postcolonial context, specifically focusing on the slums of Mumbai and the partition of India. The author argues that the uncanny aesthetic can reveal hidden aspects of reality and challenge dominant narratives. By examining literature and psychoanalysis, the author suggests that the uncanny can help readers engage with their own emotions and fantasies, bypassing censorship and facilitating social and political change. The article applies this postcolonial uncanny aesthetic to the short story "Toba Tek Singh" by Saadat Hasan Manto, highlighting the absurdity of partition and its impact on mental health. The article raises questions about the usefulness of the uncanny aesthetic in analyzing real-life social and political conditions. [Extracted from the article]

The Partition of India in 1947 was an epochal event; even after seven long decades, it looms large like an intractable question mark over the horizon of politics and history in the subcontinent. There is voluminous scholarship on the matter--much of it, however, resembles a cantenkerous debate rather than reasoned dialogue. Opposing sides across India and Pakistan, and also within, seem to have rigid positions on the issue, nurtured by ideological or nationalist compulsions, leaving very little room for academic manoeuvre. This review article seeks to unravel the main knots of the debate on partition, as it has and continues to unfold, in rival historiographical traditions of Pakistan represented chiefly by Ayesha Jalal and Ishtiyaq Ahmed. The Gordian Knot, as it were, of this entire discourse is Jinnah. There is a wide chasm of disagreement that separates these two schools of thought--namely, revisionist and orthodox--in their estimation of both Jinnah's actions and intentions. The moot question being whether Jinnah really wanted partition or did he unwittingly, in a dangerous game of brinksmanship crafted to gain maximum advantage for Muslims within India, unleash forces that he could no longer control. From this vantage point, and this is the view that Jalal favours, partition was an unintended calamity. Ahmed, on the other hand, brings a wealth of historical evidence to debunk the revisionist claim and argues that Jinnah wanted an independent Pakistan all along. This article attempts to evaluate these two major interventions, by authors cited above who have arguably shaped the contours of scholarly opinion about the role of Jinnah, the main protagonist of the partition saga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for archiving Sindhi literary tradition in India comes from the space of serving the Sindhi community and its literature divided by the partition of India. This region-less regional literature has been facing a lot of challenges. For instance, it has not thrived the way literatures from the other two partitioned territories (Punjab and Bengal) have because Sindhis did not get a land or a province they could call their own in India. It has also been divided by script in the sense that multiple scripts are in use and the practice of reading/writing in Sindhi itself is disappearing (Daswani, 1989. The digital archive project PG Sindhi Library is an attempt to make older books published in the early years of independent India accessible to the Sindhi community and those interested in South Asian Studies as well as to encourage readers to contribute their items to the library, or even build their own archives. This paper shares the archivist's findings or lessons learned from the experience with the larger community of digital humanists working in archiving projects. The objective is also to integrate archival work with that of the researcher and theorise archiving from a practitioner's point of view, given the need to reflect on the unique archival and digital needs of Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1947 Partition was considered the most cataclysmic crisis in Indian history. Based on an arbitrary line drawn on a map, it was not merely the division of a nation into two parts, but the division of people and hearts. Further, it came along with dystopian instances of exodus, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and unfathomable communal violence committed by people on either side of the border. The victims of Partition were deeply scarred by the trauma of their uprooting and they did not find solace in their new homelands. Consequently, a new branch of literature emerged to serve as a testimony to the horrific experiences of the victims, their ordeal, and their longing for lost homes. This intensified the steam of mistrust among communities, which continued to blow the whistle of violence through several other catastrophic incidents. Naturally, even after seventy-five years, the question remains as to whether there is any resolution to this psychological unrest. Therefore, in this paper, I wish to explore the works of authors such as Manto, Amitav Ghosh, Prativa Basu, and others who attempted to find a way to vent their agony and resolve peace with their daunting memories through their writing. I further intend to put forth Derrida's concept of 'forgiveness' and seek how, only through mutual empathy and by forgiving the "unforgivable," the denouement for this forbidding tale can be reached and mental peace may be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the efforts at establishing observatories in India for modern astronomical observations made by aristocrats over the last century or so prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore on three institutions only, the Royal Observatory at Lucknow, Trevandrum Observatory, and Nizamiah Observatory in Hyderabad. This demonstrates that the concept of 'patronage' was alive and well in nineteenth century India, just as it was in Britain, Europe and North America. These observatories primarily were established either to encourage educated Indians to gain a realistic knowledge of Western astronomy, or so that India itself could contribute to that body of research knowledge. One of these institutions, Nizamiah Observatory was India's sole observatory involved in the ambitious international Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel and Project. It is telling that quite early in its history this Observatory ended up with a university, while this fate later befell Trevandrum Observatory. It is notable that none of the observatories discussed in this paper has survived in its original form through to the present day as a forefront astronomical research facility. Moreover, relatively early in its history Trevandrum Observatory abandoned astronomy and shifted its focus to geomagnetism. Unlike the observatories discussed in the first paper in this series, none of the observatories reviewed in this paper was set up primarily to further Britain's colonial ambitions. All were local Indian initiatives, yet each received support, in one way or another, from British astronomers or observatories--so the colonial link was still there, but only as an underlying element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, minorities in India have suffered at the hands of far-right groups, often connected to the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government (Khan, [12]). The need for Muslim-focused media in India was felt with the BJP's election to power in 2014. Such reportage forces the mainstream media to take note of the community perspective and make amends to their coverage. India has a vibrant and diverse news media landscape. [Extracted from the article]