The partition of the Indian subcontinent which was an epoch-defining moment in the history of modern South Asia marked the end of British dominion over the Indian landscape, and also subsequently led to the creation of twin states of India and Pakistan. This seminal event of the twentieth century is also marked by genocidal violence and wiping out of an enormous populace. The mass migration imposed by the government abruptly on its people is elaborately 'aestheticized' by the official accounts from both the countries. The partition scholarship spanning over eight decades has analysed the causes and ramifications of the separation and explained in detail the inception of the claim for a Muslim Homeland, but the scholarship in its entirety fails to address the frameworks and modalities regarding the memorialisation of the Indian Partition.
Identifying this discernible research gap, this paper seeks to examine the public representations of Partition memory in India through the medium of memorial sites, museums and digital archives. It attempts to question the modes of remembrance and amnesia adopted by the Indian nation-state and its partakers in memorialising the Partition trauma.
Adopting an ethnographic approach , the Wagah Border and The Partition Museum situated at Amritsar will be studied on the aspects of how collective memory is solidified at these sites. Digital archives such as The 1947 Partition Archive, The Memory Project are analysed to comprehend the politics behind its memorialisation(which narratives get to be represented).In its purview, this research will also seek to investigate the politics of public memory related to the event particularly the question of "who allows whom to remember what and why"(Confino 1997). The study will also attempt to document how museums and archives has translated to a digital ambiance during COVID-19 and how social media users respond to these digital curations. The study will attempt to archive the micro memories of the survivors of the Partition using oral testimonials, evidence from various 'sites of memory' and enquire into the various alternative commemorative practices concerning the event.
The study will adopt ethnographic and archival research methods to address these concerns.
Key Words : Memorials and Museums, Politics of Memory, Collective Memory
