Perspectives

Current issues

The essay “Blood” by Urvashi Butalia discusses the consequences of the Partition of India. One consequence that affects India and Pakistan even today is the Kashmir conflict. This conflict began soon after Partition when both India and Pakistan claimed the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The con…

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Textual perspectives

A similar text to “Blood” by Urvashi Butalia is Mahatma Gandhi’s speech “Quit India”. Gandhi aims to persuade Indian people to resist the British rule of India and to campaign for India’s independence. In his speech, he mentions the rift between Hindu Indians and Muslim Indians and appears to be against the Muslim’s claim to Pakistan. This issue will later result in the Partition of India which Butalia discusses in her essay. 

Another important text about this topic is Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech “Tryst with Destiny”, which was delivered the night before India became independent from the British Empire. His speech encouraged national unity and aimed to prepare the Indian people for the responsibilities of self-government. In his speech, he alludes to the Partition of India and Pakistan and the way political boundaries now divided people.

A fictional text that addresses the Partition of India and Pakistan and the Indo-Pakistani war is the short story “Another Community” by Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan. The short story presents the outbreaks of violence between two communities that have so coexisted in relative peace. The short story highlights the fear and paranoia that was present in India and Pakistan as a consequence of t…