For decades, histories of Partition were dominated by nationalist narratives and statistical accounts of migration and death. Feminist historiography, however, has moved beyond these frameworks by recognising women not merely as supplementary to male history but as actors in their own right. Writer Mavi looks at ‘Borders and Boundaries’, written by Ritu Menon and Kamla Bhasin, which examines the relationship between the postcolonial Indian state and religious communities through a feminist lens.

Since the Partition itself, art has served as a profound record of displacement, loss, and memory. Artists have used textiles, painting, and installation to navigate personal and collective histories, employing maps, fragments, and intimate objects to explore the enduring impact of borders decades after the event. Among these artists, Zarina Hashmi occupies a unique position, not simply as a chronicler of Partition, but as someone who lived its ruptures and transformed them into visual testimony.

 Much of Partition scholarship has long focused on key political moments such as the drawing of the Radcliffe line and its announcement on 17 August 1947. Urvashi Butalia’s The Other Side of Silence asks us to pause and look beyond these statistics, urging us to listen to voices excluded from mainstream Partition narratives. It involves reimagining Partition through the act of listening: to memories, silences, and longing among those who continued to live through Partition for decades after.

The launch of the Partition Memorial Trust’s ambitions for a major memorial in London, held in Parliament in October last year, was marked not by triumphalism but by something more fragile and necessary: quiet recognition. Recognition of lives, identities and experiences fractured by colonial decision-making. Recognition of memories carried for generations without a formal place to land.

On 26th September 2024 Everyday Muslim hosted an evening of stories and reflection in partnership with former BBC journalist and author Mishal Husain and University of Westminster.

The event contributed to our long-term ambition of creating a memorial space that demonstrates a connection to communities in London, within the public realm. 

Ishrat Zuberi recalls the Partition story of her father, Ghulam Haider, a Young Scout, who volunteered to welcome the trains of refugees from India to Pakistan. The Ghost Trains.

The extraordinary autobiographical story of Ali Ahmed Ismail Vohra, a highly educated engineer employed by the Railways who meticulously chronicled his story preceding, during and following the Partition of India in 1947.

An oral history story of displacement and division caused by political expediency

Khadija recalls the Partition story of her grandmother Mansur Faatimah Shah, as she fled India, five months pregnant, amongst the extreme violence, danger and turmoil to newly formed Pakistan.

On 12 August 2022, over 140 guests gathered at London City Hall for a powerful evening exploring the lasting human impact of Partition across generations. Through discussion, art and reflection, academic, literary and community voices came together, with a shared call to establish a memorial to commemorate Partition’s legacy.