The Many Partitions: Retrieving the Erased Experiences of Women
Partition was one of the darkest periods in the Indian subcontinent’s history, however, it cannot be measured in terms of black and white. It was grayer for some, albeit black for most. It is vital to pull out individual orthodox experiences enmeshed in broader and generalised narrations of Partition. Through the fictional pieces discussed above reality was taken to its extreme levels, enabling us to see how Partition meant something else for every person.
In Thanda Gosht, two women symbolically subject Ishar Singh to physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual trauma as a parallel to everything women were subjected to in the war between the religions. On the other hand, Pinjar shows how women came in terms with their new found identities and even made good lives for themselves through love. Aur Kitne Tukde points to how women’s voices were subdued by patriarchal notions, but they still found space. There are various other narratives apart from the three mentioned above which show the unusual experience of Partition, and it is important to recognise these differences. A scrapbook of experiences, a mess of blurry and distinct images, is the only true picture of Partition.
University of Delhi - Aarushi Anand, Parthika Sharma