Footprints of Partition: Narratives of Four Generations of Pakistanis and Indians

by Anam Zakaria

The Partition of British India and the subsequent creation of two antagonist countries is a phenomenon that we are still trying to comprehend. Millions displaced, thousands slaughtered, families divided and redefined, as home became alien land and the unknown became home. So much has been said about it but there is still no writer, storyteller or poet who has been able to explain the madness of Partition.

Using the oral narratives of four generations of people - mainly Pakistanis but also some Indians - Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani researcher, attempts to understand how the perception of Partition and the 'other' has evolved over the years. Common sense dictates that the bitter memories of Partition would now be forgotten and new relationships would have been forged over the years, but that is not always the case. The memories of Partition have been repackaged through state narratives, and attitudes have only hardened over the years. Post-Partition events - wars, religious extremism, terrorism - have left new imprints on 1947. This book documents the journey of Partition itself - after Partition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India, Pakistan, Memoir

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Anam Zakaria is the author of 1971: A People's History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India (2019), Between the Great Divide: A Journey into Pakistan-Administered Kashmir (2018) and The Footprints of Partition: Narratives of Four Generations of Pakistanis and Indians (2015), which won her the 2017 KLF German Peace Prize.

She works as a development professional and writes frequently on issues of conflict and peace. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Toronto Star, CBC, The Hill Times, Al Jazeera, Dawn, Wire.in and Scroll.in among other media outlets.

Reviews

[Qurrat Ahmad · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the fresh perspective on partition and was intrigued to see the repercussions our current narrative can have on future generations, I was left very dissatisfied with the structure and writing style of this book. It reads a little like newspaper editorials and college research thesis combined - at odds.

I wish there was greater diversity of narratives selected (e.g. different socioeconomic statuses) and that some of the stories were more poignant and less...forgettable. However, what was most frustrating about this read was the author's constant interjecting of her own opinions and thoughts through the interviewing process, which left very little room to take the journey with the real narrators of the stories, especially as she overcame her own biases throughout the narratives.

[hamda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly believe storytelling to be one of the most profound ways of narration. So The Footprints of Partition, essentially a collection of different stories narrated by people living around Lahore and Delhi was a fascinating read. Having almost a similar background as the researcher and writer- my grandfather also migrated from Batala to Pakistan- I read it with more enthusiasm than ever.

And the stories themselves do not disappoint- spanning from four different generations, it tells you something new about Partition while also retailing some familiar bits. Anam Zakaria's effort to preserve what otherwise might have been lost is commendable in itself and I feel grateful to her for compiling this collection, to give us something to look back upon and to make sure that these were not lost in the tides of times.

She also put the stories together in a narrative that added to the readability of the book, but which I personally found awfully redundant. To continuously reiterate her personal background, "surprise" and "shock" to hear the stories and to put them through the "pinhole" of her individual experience did a disservice to the credibility and individuality of the stories, memories and their narrators. The continuous need to insert herself instead of letting the reader interrupt the bulk of the stories and experience themselves was annoying, to say the least.

However, it was definitely worth reading and highly recommended to everyone in the Indian Subcontinent. It might have a little something extra for the ardent cricket fans as well!

[Rida Akhtar Ghumman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book has been my “once in a blue moon” experience where I have had moist teary eyes for every character in every chapter. I have thought about my own ancestors along and my country and what can be home. After chasing it for more than five years, I found this book in my workplace’s living, just like that, a book I had been finding and searching for, all mine. It’s wondrous how most of my favourite books have been books that I first read at some library. Here’s another favourite. Absolutely beautiful and harrowing.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book both heartening and distressing (specially towards the end).... the author has done a good job in collecting some valuable memories before they're lost and their counter-intuitive implications but the account of poisoned young minds is most disheartening...

[Faaiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea is novel and intriguing but its execution is poorly done and amateur. Like everything, this book has its strengths and its weaknesses. I liked the informal style of the interviews conducted, it allowed the interview to feel personal and real. However, often times I found the author's commentary reductive and redundant. It would have been much better had she used a more scholarly tone in her analysis and commentary. Furthermore, one of the things that I loved about the book was the content of the last chapter which was starkly different from the overall book. I think it was a really important topic to touch upon especially in these times. I just wished it would have been explored in greater detail.
All in all, it is an important book in its content but its execution may perhaps never really enable it to reach the status that it deserves

[Satdeep Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the book is based on conversations with four generations across India & Pakistan and how it brings to the foreground the really important aspect of the linearity of the narrative around Partition, especially for the people not directly affected by the incident. It's both written and structured beautifully.

[Mousumi Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

My inclination towards Partition stories have filled me with sadness and left me a little more knowledgeable about what really transpired. Last couple of months, I chanced upon such wonderful books - The Night Diary, Train to Pakistan and of course, this one - The Footprints of Partition.
This book was extremely moving and a thoughtful account of a young Anam Zakaria searching, understanding the true meaning of "who the enemy was" and the journey of "accepting the other side with equal affection"
I have not read too many Partition or political books for me to comment on the history of the 1947 divide. But, reading through Anam Zakaria's work, fills me with affection for her. If I was older, I would reacted more motherly towards her and would have hugged her for her courage and fairness. I as me, would probably just pat her hand and leave everything unsaid with a smile, knowing she would understand where I came from. It is very difficult to sit on some other soil... supposedly the enemy soil, and interviewing a generation who lived through Partition. Who would say this was her first book!
What beautiful stories. Heart-touching, sad, some angry...but all true. So many families involved in this great migration and divide. So many families hurt and so many families sad and yet have moved on. So many had the opportunity to visit a new India post Independence. So many stopped by because of diplomatic visas...and their only wish was not to go shopping but to go see their old home. The homes of their parents or uncles and aunts or relatives. To drink water from the old borewell or touch the walls that saw much bloodshed and movement.
I realize that we have a choice to be good human beings and we have a choice to harbor hatred and spew poison. It is what we choose that makes us, US. I see a picture of Wagah border from my 2018 travel to Amritsar and reminisce. Do the roads look alike? Yes. Do the people look similar? Yes. Do we probably have the same feelings? Yes. Do we get angry and hurt and yet love through it all? Yes.
Do read this book at leisure. It is hard hitting and yet will leave you with a sigh. Some stories could be shortened, but I guess Anam wanted every word documented from what she heard from her interviewees. She may not have been in a position to choose what to exclude. What may have not been so important to her, may have struck the families with some recognition or feeling of the past. And here we are, sitting in the comforts of our home, reading what transpired.

[Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a refereshing book to read. Though some of the stories made me scared. But above all I loved the way the Author told about her family history along with the stories of other people. I got to know even in such dangerous times when people were worried for their lives there were indiviuals who still travelled to India or Pakistan to meet their loved ones kr simply travelled for their passion. I really liked readign this book. It gave me a different view as compared to the only blood view of our history we are told about.
The most memorable line for me from this book was "history is taught in a selective, censored manner."

[Eshita Chahal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with different windows opening up at the generations of two countries; always at tryst.
The narratives included in the book leave behind nostalgic notes of memories deeply held
together by the people interviewed. At times, the of track mentions from the distant past leave the
reader confused without a certain conclusion. Though, the book has brought many things out in
light about the authenticity of the "other" for both the ends of the fenced wire. Heartening stories with diverse yet same yearning and same indulgence to experience the good old golden days of the past.

[Faraaz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a really poorly written and executed piece of work but it's also a great mirror to understand liberalism's blindspots when it comes to dealing with History, Political conflicts like the Partition which involve mass murders, riots, and religious clashes.

This is Anam Zakaria's first book and it shows. She herself mentioned at the onset that the book came about in an unexpected way. It becomes pretty clear early on that Zakaria is a product of Pakistan's highly privileged English medium education system that serves a tiny elite in the country.

This education allows people like Zakaria a liberal education, an education where they have access to read World Literature, History, Humanities and develop a sense of Secular/Progressive/Humanist worldview.

This sounds great in isolation but the rest of the country who don't have access to or come from the same class/wealth level as Anam Zakaria don't have access to this education. They are instead condemned to a more regressive, state funded education system that is another dysfunctional outcome of the Military/Security state that Pakistan.

Anam Zakaria throughout her book is scathing in her critique of the 'bigotry' 'religious nationalism' and 'intolerance' she sees growing in Pakistan. She connects this to the same hatred and bigotry that killed and displaced millions of people - the subject of her book.

But like most liberals, Zakaria sees these problems in an abstract, almost esoteric way. She has no insight or understanding of what drives scores of people to hate the 'other'. For her it's just a values problem. Throughout the book she cannot resist but interject with her own self righteous views, contrasting that with the hatred and bigotry expressed by the others.

She (Anam Zakaria) and others in her social circle, products of the same privileged education system are the ones with secular/humanist worldviews while the rowdy masses are the ones with all the hatred, bigotry and intolerance that threaten our democracy and peace. This is in many ways at the heart of what George Bush called "War on Terrorism" to uphold "Freedom and Democracy".

Throughout her book, there's zero acknowledgment of her class privilege, or that her lofty values are a product of her privileged education and access to the Humanities and Literature and Art while the rest of the country is condemned to swallow a state sanctioned regressive history project set in motion by a Military/Corporate nexus that in many ways upholds class system that she benefits from. This is the morality blindspot of Pakistani liberalism.

[Parikhit · Rating 4 out of 5]

The partition of the Indian subcontinent has always fascinated me ever since I can remember; the fact that my grandparents were intimately affected by partition and discussions of the land which they would call their own is no longer theirs only heightens my obsession with the great division. Little have I found any books on the partition that concentrate on East Pakistan, which hits closer to me, but the stories, the experiences, the perspectives remain the same whether it is West or East. My grandmother had crossed over from present day Bangladesh much before East Pakistan was carved out of India but her family moved as soon as the partition became real. She often laments of the land there, friends, lakes, the evenings spent by the fields and all I can do is imagine. I wonder if I can ever visit her hometown, a little village in Eastern Bangladesh and I see that sense of urgency way deeper in my aunt and this is where I draw parallels with Anam Zakaria's book. The sense of home fades away as we traverse across generations. The new generation has managed to find a place to call home but our grandparents, children and young hopeful adults during the partition still, I reckon, seek the home that was, the bond gradually fading as time goes by.

As Anam interviews people affected by partition directly and not she is surprised to unearth happier times preceding partition era. Yes, there were troubles but a larger sense of belonging and camaraderie prevailed; sporadic disturbances were witnessed but they never ruptured the prevailing sense of peace. And much like Anam I am surprised by the hatred and discontent which is being fed to us every day by the regime, by the news media, tarnishing the other as the ultimate enemy and any sympathy is viewed as anti-national. That our rulers feed upon hate is no surprise, yet to let ourselves, our logic and reasoning to be kidnapped by a vengeful hatred. That we share so much with the other country, be it food, music, culture and way of life is blatantly ignored. I know it would be wishful thinking to ask for peace, for only fixating our minds on the goodness that prevailed but can we not let bygones be bygones and start progressing.

[Navita · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Footprints of Partition   by Anam Zakaria
 
LET’S BUILD BRIDGES AND NOT WALLS!!

Borders do divide, memories do fade, trauma does take over happy experiences but the nostalgia keeps bringing up the longing from a faraway land that was once a home!!

This is true for millions who crossed over border between India and Pakistan created amid the independence of the Indian subcontinent, and Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims headed towards different directions to find a new homeland. This was the largest migration that took place in the history of human displacement.

Anam’s book is a testimony of the generation that has witnessed the displacement, destruction, bloodshed, hatred of partition. It is collective memoirs of many who either have the nostalgia of their past or are carrying the burden of nostalgia of their elder generation which is on the brink of the ebb. The stories documented in the book is a proof that despite the carve-up of the borders between India and Pakistan, people still hold on to the human emotions and memories of love, the harmony that exist in the deep core of our existence about the shared history and culture between both nations.

The wounds exist on both side of the border and so does the hope to reach out to each other, in search of the lost legacy, belongings and the bits and pieces of their identity left behind.

I love how Anam has established that time has crystallised our identities. Where the creation of Pakistan is a matter of pride for all who are now a part of the new claimed nation, the Indian sentiment and nostalgia is a loss of a substantial self, its people, its age-old heritage, history, and culture.

Each story is a story of pain erupting from loss and separation, and of the inability to go back to the realm of what once was theirs and what now is left behind. On both sides, there are people who feel that they have something that still relates them to the ‘other’ regardless of many, especially, from the younger generation is unwilling to open the channels of conversation and dialogue with the ‘other’.

The new generation may not carry the same sense of loss as their ancestors because they can only identify themselves as ‘Indian’ or ‘Pakistani’, but they cannot escape this burden of loss, which will be entirely their own to carry if they fail to bridge the gaps of mistrust, hatred or fail to restore the shared history, the shared loss which resulted in building borders not only on maps but on hearts too.

More than seven decades have gone by, and we still hold on to the narrative of horrific misdeeds that shaped our lives around borders, while there is a parallel narrative that will be lost in time if no attempt has been made to preserve it and document it, a story of a man who still stands astride on borders that divides India and Pakistan.

This book personally resonates with me at so many levels and I extend my gratitude to Aman Zakaria and many other Indian and Pakistani intelligentsia, authors, artists, and most of all the commoners who are constantly building the bridges that are burnt each day by the politics of propaganda and jingoism on both sides of wire borders.

[Shoaib · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author attempted to make one look at the partition in entirely different way by producing the narrative of the four generations about the partition. There has been so much said about the partition, and its Geo-political, cultural and economic ramifications but there are handful of writers who had had been able to explain the madness that partition of sub-continent brought the lives of people of the two countries. Using the oral narratives of the four generations, mainly Pakistanis, the author presents the perception of those whose lives were affected by the horrific events of the partition – loss of homes and families.

The author has been very honest in accepting the prejudice she would hold about the India, thanks to the commonly held perception and the distorted history taught in the textbooks and how she managed to “unlearn” what she was taught in text books and “relearned” while she had an opportunity to directly communicating with Indians while studying abroad and further after visiting India while working with CAP (Citizens Archive of Pakistan) and spearheaded programs to allow the younger generations to exchange their views and become friends.

This book is recommended to anyone interested in history and Partition and trying to understand the effects of Partition on the common man.

[Vishal Talreja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longing, Yearning, Kindness and Silences defined this book as I am just beginning to explore experiences, stories and narratives around Partition. I cried through days and nights when I read stories of Intikhab Alam and Ambreen Raja as it took me to a time, hopefully, in my future when I will walk the streets of Sindh where by grandparents spent their childhoods. I will not find their homes for so little I know of their stories, but I will fully experience the feeling of being home. Argh! The helpless yearning continues as I realize that I don't have my grandparents with me today so I could have explored their stories with much nuance and details. Not, as I am left today, with missing pieces of a puzzle that I know I can never solve anymore.

Beautifully written Anam Zakaria and I hope our paths cross someday to share and listen to a few more stories. I loved your ending as your explore the questions of narratives that are being formed today through state sanctioned filtering as we lose the partition generation and their stories of love and friendship. The impact of this on the current and future generations is worrying.

[Munish Handa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good start and a great finish .... some stories in between had me loose interest, but I kept going
Am not a partition product, but have heard lots of stores from my parents and grandparents
And this time I wanted to hear from the other side ... and stories are all similar
“Khoya humne bhi hai khoya aapne bhi hai”
Sad is how this “hum” and “aap” gap came by and how it is increasing by the day
The gap, which I believe Anam has aptly captured in her last chapters ... the focussed agenda of painting non Muslims as devils in school curricula is corrupting the minds of the innocent young... and if they are constantly fed with brazen lies and half truths, they will grow with a negative image of India
Will back door diplomacy work? Will R2R program help? Even if it does for a handful few... it goes a long way

Thank you for a nicely portrayed book ...

[Mohammed A L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives an insight into the heart-throbbing incidents which took place during the creation of two neighboring countries. It's worth reading to understand that even after so many years of the event it still haunts so many and invites enthusiasts to search for their roots in another part of the land where they are not there. Eventually, this book gives a message that above all humanity and compassion is above all the difference, and gives hope that common people on both sides are just human beings who crave love.

You can get this book from this link
Paperback/kindle edition- https://amzn.to/2Le2x7F

[Nikhil Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a poignant recollection of stories of the progeny of the Partition of India - tales of families of Indians who had suddenly became Pakistani and vice versa. It brings out the role of memories - personal and collective - in the history and life of people who have been affected by Partition.

It also highlights education as an important tool of state propaganda that creates the 'other' and makes one learn to hate it. It asks many unsettling questions about Hindu-Muslim and India-Pakistan relations with an uncanny incision.

[Saira · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content was extremely interesting for me, since my own grandparents are of the partition generation. The interviews were all very informative. But there were certain aspects of her writing that prevented the stories from flowing, like the use of parentheses instead of annotations in so many instances.

[Kerry Holihan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm embarrassed to admit how little I knew about the Partition before reading this book.

It's an interesting and heartbreaking collection of accounts from those who now live on either side. It explores the legacy of British colonialism on the subcontinent and the enduring effects on both countries, down to the familial level.

[Zoha Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by my talented aunt and gave me perspectives of partition that I wanted to understand but could not muster the courage to ask my own family for. It has made me want to investigate my own family’s history through interviews.

[Shikha · Rating 5 out of 5]

got my answers...

[Mohan Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing from hyderabad deccan.
Otherwise a good read.

[Sarrvesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"... as we lose the partition generation and move further and further away from 1947, we are at risk of absorbing an increasingly rigid and myopic narrative of partition ..."

[Naveed Qazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reflects a sense of longing among characters, who have had a connection with India or Pakistan.The sense of longing, as believed by the author, is felt much more in the older generation, while the newer generation mostly wants to move on, despite having a deep curiosity about the life of their forefathers back then.

There is hardly any mention of the historic realities happened on the ground during the partition. The book doesn't focus on the causes but rather on the impact it had on lives. Being my first book on partition, I would have rather read something else. The author also mentions her own longing about seeing her hometown, Batala, but she never went there due to loss of connections, despite visiting India several times. Sometimes, she brings facets of her own life, and blends it with the narrative. This fact makes this book an emotional read, but not informative.

Zakaria talks about the cumbersome bureaucracy that halts visa decisions, the love-hate relationship partition survivors have with India or Pakistan, the resentful mentalities, the unity and animosity of different communities, the cultural disparities of cities where people moved, the social taboos that come along in being an Indian or a Pakistani, the biased school history books, and the importance people give to discover their roots - the part of inherent human nature.

The author has compiled the book by making direct interviews with people. Infact, it was one of her interviews that prompted her to write this book. Not a bad read, but it doesn't talk much about the history, just narrates blurring memories of people who suffered due to partition, years after.

[Shama Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely changed the notion , I had about partition. The India - Pakistan Partition always reminds us of all the negativity and bloodshed , maybe because that is how it is portrayed in our print and electronic media.But this book gives a new perspective, even in those hatred and negativity , there was hope , love and humanity.

[Mahesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice reading about nostalgic memories of people regarding pre partition india and how it affected their lives after the creation of pakistan.

[Ron Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in simple language, the book is full of hope and heart. Unlikely that the indo pak equation can be done justice through an anthology of short interviews, but the objective set out by the author to record and share micro narratives that have been pushed to the back burner by state controlled meta narratives, is achieved. Her particular references to concepts by Ashish Nandy and treatment of school history text books being colored to propagate the dominant view of criminalizing the other drives home the point effectively. Must read for all in the subcontinent to tone down tempers and assuage baseless hatred towards the other. Happy to have read it and recommend it strongly to the mainstream consumers of partition narrative

[SHANKU SHARMA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent work