Partition Voices

First-hand accounts of the turmoil and violence in the immediate weeks after India's partition. On the 70th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri hears remarkable testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest forced migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

Programme 2 hears about the weeks immediately after partition took place. British India had been divided along religious lines and millions now found themselves on the wrong side of the border. Muslims moved to Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs in the opposite direction. We hear eyewitness accounts of painful goodbyes, separations, and epic journeys; of ambushed trains crossing the new border, filled with corpses; of how the fertile plains of the Punjab became killing fields; the shocking ordeal of women, who risked kidnapping and sexual violence; as well as stories of courage and humanity during this turbulent time.

Producer: Mike Gallagher, Tim Smith, Ant Adeane

Academic Consultants:-

Dr Joya Chatterji, Professor of South Asian History, University of Cambridge
Dr Andrew Whitehead, Honorary Professor, University of Nottingham

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

First-hand accounts of turmoil and violence in the days after India's partition.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.

First-hand accounts of the turmoil and violence in the immediate weeks after India's partition. On the 70th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri hears remarkable testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest forced migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

Programme 2 hears about the weeks immediately after partition took place. British India had been divided along religious lines and millions now found themselves on the wrong side of the border. Muslims moved to Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs in the opposite direction. We hear eyewitness accounts of painful goodbyes, separations, and epic journeys; of ambushed trains crossing the new border, filled with corpses; of how the fertile plains of the Punjab became killing fields; the shocking ordeal of women, who risked kidnapping and sexual violence; as well as stories of courage and humanity during this turbulent time.

Producer: Mike Gallagher, Tim Smith, Ant Adeane

Academic Consultants:-

Dr Joya Chatterji, Professor of South Asian History, University of Cambridge
Dr Andrew Whitehead, Honorary Professor, University of Nottingham

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

First-hand accounts of turmoil and violence in the days after India's partition.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.

On the 70th anniversary of the partition of India, Kavita Puri hears remarkable first-hand testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

This first programme covers the years leading up to partition; a time in which many Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus recall living together harmoniously - indeed, sometimes remarkably closely. We hear about the calls for the British to quit India; the rising clamour for an independent Pakistan; the dread as communal rioting gripped ever more of the subcontinent; and how the movement of people began even before partition, as the first refugees abandoned lands inhabited for centuries; and how independence day was marked on both sides of the border.

Producer: Mike Gallagher, Tim Smith, Ant Adeane

Academic Consultants:-

Dr Joya Chatterji, Professor of South Asian History, University of Cambridge
Dr Andrew Whitehead, Honorary Professor, University of Nottingham

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.

On the 70th anniversary of the partition of India, Kavita Puri hears remarkable first-hand testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

This first programme covers the years leading up to partition; a time in which many Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus recall living together harmoniously - indeed, sometimes remarkably closely. We hear about the calls for the British to quit India; the rising clamour for an independent Pakistan; the dread as communal rioting gripped ever more of the subcontinent; and how the movement of people began even before partition, as the first refugees abandoned lands inhabited for centuries; and how independence day was marked on both sides of the border.

Producer: Mike Gallagher, Tim Smith, Ant Adeane

Academic Consultants:-

Dr Joya Chatterji, Professor of South Asian History, University of Cambridge
Dr Andrew Whitehead, Honorary Professor, University of Nottingham

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.

First-hand accounts of the turmoil and violence in the immediate weeks after India's partition and their continuing legacy in Britain. On the 70th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri hears remarkable testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest forced migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

Programme 3 hears about the reverberations of Partition in Britain for those who lived through it and the subsequent generations. It is a story of loss and what endures. We hear of emotional pilgrimages back to the place that people fled; why many of the partition generation kept their silence for 70 years; how the second and third generation are trying to piece together their family history; and how the memory of shared existence and traditions is what many survivors want remembered.

Producers: Michael Gallagher, Tim Smith and Ant Adeane

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

Partition's legacy on those who lived through it and subsequent generations in Britain.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.

First-hand accounts of the turmoil and violence in the immediate weeks after India's partition and their continuing legacy in Britain. On the 70th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri hears remarkable testimonies from both British Asians and the Colonial British. The division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan resulted in one of the largest forced migrations the world has ever seen. Over 10 million people sought refuge in one or other of the new dominions. Unspeakable violence accompanied the displacement, claiming up to a million lives, while tens of thousands of women suffered rape and abduction. Many of those who experienced the chaos have kept their silence ever since, such was their trauma. Yet those taking part in this series speak with remarkable clarity about the tumultuous events, whose legacy endures to this day within Britain's South Asian communities.

Programme 3 hears about the reverberations of Partition in Britain for those who lived through it and the subsequent generations. It is a story of loss and what endures. We hear of emotional pilgrimages back to the place that people fled; why many of the partition generation kept their silence for 70 years; how the second and third generation are trying to piece together their family history; and how the memory of shared existence and traditions is what many survivors want remembered.

Producers: Michael Gallagher, Tim Smith and Ant Adeane

Radio 4's Partition Voices recordings will be archived in full in the British Library Sound Archive.

Partition's legacy on those who lived through it and subsequent generations in Britain.

The untold stories of British Asians and Colonial British who witnessed India's partition.