Edinburgh Napier University

  This book throws new light on post-colonial evaluations of the Partition and its effect on eastern India. Until very recently, a striking state of ‘near silence’ has existed concerning the violence encountered by those who fled across the Bengal border. Bengal Partition Stories addresses this silence through the retelling of stories inspired by the division of Bengal, the mass exodus that followed and their repercussions on the cultural, social and economic character of the region, modern India as a whole and the newly-formed nation of Bangladesh.
Despite many critical enquiries into the history, politics and social dynamics that contributed to the partition of Bengal, the personal experiences of those affected have not yet been explored at any depth. Through oral histories, interviews and fictional retellings of the event and its aftermath, Bengal Partition Stories seeks to fill this gap by unearthing and articulating the collective memories of a people traumatised by the brutal rupture of their homeland.