Independence Day Special: "Partition of India" the unlearnt lesson explanation

Finally the sun rose on freedom in 15th Aug, 1947

"At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.."

The traumatic story of partition and the celebratory occasion of Independence come along but the former is usually forgotten. Amidst the elation of Independence day's celebration, the cries of partition are often foreshadowed. Although,partition has favored many like ICC and TRP hungry news channels.

Partition wasn't a random decision taken out of haste during the independence movement. It was an outcome of the divide and rule politics of the British. Reminiscing partition is often ignored while commemorating independence. We often forget that the independence we demanded for 100 years came at a cost of an year full of blood-bath and war in the name of religion. And that civil war led to the tense relationship between India and Pakistan that persists even today. 

Vultures and corpses in the street of Calcutta, 1946

India and Pakistan have been involved in four wars since partition; gun fires are quite normal and the situation at borders is always tense. Partition is considered as the greatest mass migration in modern human history. Over 14 million people were relocated. Around 1 million people lost their lives due to partition. And these are only the official estimated figures, the actual count is still unknown. On the occasion of 74th Independence day, we shall not only celebrate our democracy but remember all those who have faced the atrocities of partition. Certainly, 15th August marks the day of freedom for India but it also raises questions on the extent of freedom we experience today.

Also Read: Top 10 shocking facts to know about India's Independence

Muslim refugees crowd onto a train due to Partition as they try to flee India near New Delhi in September 1947.

Are we really free in today's independence India ?

The roots (of vibrant democracy) are deep but the leaves are beginning to wilt. It is time for renewal. If we don't act now, will our successors seven decades hence remember us with the respect and admiration we have for those who shaped the Indian dream in 1947.

This freedom is not just about the freedom the government has to offer but the freedom we need to give ourselves as individuals. It means the freedom from our conservative beliefs, freedom from religious and caste biases and most importantly freedom from political manipulation. 

Also Read: On 74th Independence Day, Key Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation.

The bloody legacy of Indian partition which makes people even worse than animals

The divide and rule game of British has been taken upon by our own politicians. Had we remembered partition, we would have realized that division is never beneficial for anybody except for the politicians.

The seed of partition had been sown in 1905. Lord Curzon has divided Bengal into three on the basis of religion and formed East Bengal and Assam with Muslim majority and Bengal with Hindu majority.This was the first time India was divided on the basis of religion by the British. This led to several protests against the division. Finally Bengal was remitted in 1911 and was again divided on linguistic grounds.

Bengal Partition During Lord Curzon, 1905

In 1947, Bengal was partitioned for the second times solely on religious ground, as part of the partition of India following the formation of India and Pakistan.

For most of us, 15th Aug marks the down of freedom and prosperity but for many, it brings back the harsh memories of partition. We often rejoice in the golden days of our history but we are also responsible to keep the black days of the same history alive. We know it very well that out freedom fighters fought for decades to make India independent. But that freedom had come with a cost. The cost was peace and harmony among the various communities that lived in India.

Louis Mountbatten discusses the partition plan with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

This article is to remind us that whenever we are divided over religion, we don't become free but slaves of  our hatred. If we are to prevent the history of partition to repeat itself, we need to acknowledge it first. we need to remember that freedom doesn't only mean freedom from some foreign power but freedom from all those powers which try to create differences among ourselves.We can be truly free only when we are free from all those thoughts which provoke us to kill anyone, which may bring us close to religion but separate us from humanity.

Independence day is a celebratory occasion and partition is a dark chapter which we want to forget. But when we forget the history of partition, we forget the lessons we learnt from it and we tends to repeat the same mistakes. Even the Europeans have preserved the concentration camps and several other memorials to commemorate the atrocities by Hitler during World War II.

We on the other hand, have tried to erase any memory left of partition. We do have literature through and i would request you to please read about partition and realized how we are repeating those mistakes and heading to a similar future.