Page 35 - NAMAH-Apr-2025

Namah A Healing Framework for Collective Trauma

stopgap bandage over a wound. Some amount perspectives need to be dealt with during the
of digging deep and some amount of pain is healing process. For those who want a short
involved. All this leads to a better future for reminder of Partition, The author’s reading of
all and a harmonious co-existence. a perspective of two Western historians, from
their book, Freedom at Midnight (2). When
Applying the Healing Framework India gained independence from British rule
after 200 years of colonisation, the Indians
We will use an example to present this at the forefront of politics could not grapple
framework — to heal the Partition wounds with how a single government would rule
that affect the people of India, Pakistan and such a diverse country. Would it not represent
Bangladesh. India was partitioned in August its own interests and ignore the minorities?
1947, when Pakistan came into existence and Instead of deliberating the situation along
in December 1971 Pakistan was partitioned with the previous rulers, whose experience
when Bangladesh was born. There have with democracy may have helped, things
been other partitions in the world such as were hastily put in place. The rift between the
of Palestine, Korea, Cyprus, Sudan, Yemen, two major groups was politically exploited,
Germany, etc. But the Partition of India, which led to Hindus and Muslims killing
when she was growing out of the throes of each other. The British had no funds to contain
colonisation saw such colossal bloodshed that communal (religious) riots. All parties
it runs deep in the psyche of the people of the thought the only solution to a quick resolution
subcontinent. Not all the people, but too many to the civil war would be a partition of the
to cast the problem aside, especially since it country into Muslim and Hindu majority
still exists. We will discuss the rationale for areas. They assumed (a) there would be a
healing the Partition in the current age and neat way to demarcate majority and minority
then we will present some ways it can be areas, (b) the minorities would migrate and
done using this framework. land exchange would happen peacefully (c)
that all Muslims in the majority areas wanted
to separate from India. The Partition on such
a basis divided the nation into three parts:
a West and East of Pakistan separated by
India in the centre. All three assumptions
proved to be erroneous. Consequently, the
Partition of India was one of the biggest
population displacements in history, where
about a million were massacred and land and
wealth were misappropriated beyond record.

Does Partition need Healing in the Current
Age?
History of the Partition
The question to ask now is this: is the
History is subjective, and so various Partition still relevant? The arguments

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