JMI organises interactive session to commemorate Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia’s (JMI) department of political science in partnership with Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies (SNCWS) today organised a programme to commemorate the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day at its MN Meenai seminar room.

The event was inaugurated by JMI vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar. Hundreds of participants attended the event both online and offline. The JMI’s Prem Chand Archives and Literary Centre also conducted a photo exhibition highlighting events leading to the partition.

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A panel discussion was held on the theme ‘The Partition of India - a story of unprecedented human displacement and forced migration’, and ‘extensive and brutal communal violence’.

Bulbul Dhar James, head of the JMI department of political science, said: “The regions that saw the tragic unfolding of this violence had seen the very same communities co-existing for centuries. Punjab, Bihar, the United Provinces and Bengal are some examples where co-existence has been a way of life.”

Speaking about the partition, VC Najma Akhtar said the repercussions and trauma are felt and experienced till date. “The Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will keep reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment,” she said.

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In the panel discussion, Sanjay Kumar, former India country director and president of Harvard Club, presented a study on migration due to the Partition. Pallavi Brara, a professor of French language at Alliance francaise, Elle est passionnée, spoke on the multidirectional nature of social memory and collective memories of conflict in world literature. Brara’s speech focused on reconciliation through reconstruction of collective memory. It was followed by a feedback, and question and answer session by the participants.