(Partition of India)
Impact of Partition on Women
After
three hundred years’ rule (राजवट)
in India, finally
the British left in August, 1947. The dream of independent India came true
but at the cost of the Partition. Due to Partition two independent nations –
India and Pakistan were formed.
The
announcement of the Partition was followed by a horrific period (भयप्रद कालखंड) of communal
violence (धार्मिक/जातीय हिंसाचार) and population transfer (हस्तांत्तर). Millions
of Muslims migrated (स्थलांतर करणे) to
Pakistan, while millions of Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India. They
had to leave behind all their properties and belongings (मालमत्ता) overnight (रातोरात).
Women
and children remained a soft target (सहजी लक्ष्य करता
येण्याजोगे) during this transition phase. They suffered a lot. The
incidents of violence were nightmarish (दु:स्वप्नासारखे) and barbaric (रानाटी). The events displayed the tendencies of ‘genocide’ (एखादी जमात/समुदाय
समूळनष्ट करण्याची प्रक्रिया). It included the terrible incidents like chopping
(बारीक तुकडे करणे) off
the limbs; killing pregnant women; hitting the heads of babies against brick
walls; and exhibiting (प्रदर्शन मांडणे) the
dead bodies. In
Punjab and Bengal the violence was intense with massacres (कत्तली),
burning, forced conversions (जबरदस्तीने धर्म बदलण्यास
भाग पाडणे), mass kidnappings,
and sexual violence. Some seventy-five thousand women were raped, and many of
them were then disfigured (विद्रूप बनवणे) and dismembered (अवयव काढून टाकणे).
In Lahore and Delhi, the streets were full of dead bodies. On the
railway platforms, there were the pools of blood. Innocent Hindus, Sikhs as
well as Muslims were killed like animals. Special refugee trains crossing the
frontiers were full of dead bodies. People returned ‘home’ in funeral
silence. (स्मशान शांतता)
The partition literature has sensibly
documented (संवेदनशीलतेने दस्तैवजीकरण
करणे) the impact
of partition on women. The writers such as Sadat Hasan Manto, Amrita Pritam,
Khuswant Singh, Chaman Nahal, Bapsi Sidhwa, etc. have portrayed sensibly the trauma
(जबरदस्त आघात) of partition and particularly its impact on women.
In a short story like “Defend Yourself”, Bapsi Sidhwa has portrayed the impact
of partition on Muslim women. In the story, the protagonist Ammiji had been
kidnapped, raped and sold by the Sikhs. She carries the bitter memories in her
heart for her whole life. In a story like “The Final Solution”, Mallika, a
Hindu lady who has been fled from Pakistan,
arrives India. She and her family live on the railway platform. But the plight
(हालअपेष्टा) of Mallika does not stop here. She becomes a victim
(भक्ष्य) of
a villain named Pramatha who tries to bring her in the flesh trade. In a story
like “Leaf in the Storm”, Jyoti returns India after the partition. But while
crossing the border, she is raped. When she comes to India, she is pregnant.
She is worried about the future of the baby growing inside her.
But despite such horrific
experiences, it is seen that these women do not lose the battle of life (आयुष्याची लढाई).
Ammiji tells the Sikhs that she has forgiven their forefathers. Had not she
forgiven and forgotten the past, it would be difficult for her to live. When Mallika realises that Pramatha is taking
her disadvantage, she shows her courage and kills him. After giving birth to a
baby, for time being, Jyoti decides to kill or leave the baby. But then she
decides to fight against all oddities and bring up her baby on her own.
In this way, partition
literature has portrayed the impact of partition on women and presented them
as a fighting figure.
