Shillong: The Lok Bhavan Shillong, in collaboration with the Arts and Culture Department of the Government of Meghalaya, observed Partition Horrors Remembrance Day on Friday at Lok Bhavan, Shillong, to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Partition of India in 1947.
The programme commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag by the Governor C.H. Vijayashankar in the presence of the Director of the Arts and Culture Department, government officials from various departments, students and other invited guests.
Following the flag-hoisting ceremony, the gathering moved to the Durbar Hall of Lok Bhavan, where cultural programmes were presented by students, followed by an address highlighting the human cost and lasting impact of Partition.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. David Arnold Kharchandy, Assistant Professor at Synod College, said Partition should not be understood only as a political development that marked the end of British rule and the creation of India and Pakistan.
He said that for millions of ordinary people, Partition meant much more than the drawing of the Radcliffe Line on a map. It resulted in the loss of homes, separation of families, disruption of communities and the beginning of uncertain journeys for people who were forced to leave behind everything familiar.
Dr. Kharchandy said the maps depicting the Partition cannot capture the human suffering associated with the event. They cannot portray the experiences of mothers carrying their children for days, elderly people leaving homes where they had spent decades, or families travelling in overcrowded trains with no certainty about whether they would safely reach their destinations.
He stressed that remembering Partition is important because history must go beyond statistics and political boundaries and recognise the experiences of the people who lived through the tragedy.
Dr. Kharchandy also cautioned against turning the suffering of Partition into a comparison between communities. He said people from different religious and social backgrounds suffered and that reducing the tragedy to “our people versus their people” would prevent future generations from learning the real lessons of history.
Drawing attention to Meghalaya and the Northeast, Dr. Kharchandy said Partition had significant consequences for the region, particularly following the creation of the border with what is now Bangladesh. Migration increased, trade routes changed, and families and communities found them separated by newly created political boundaries.
“Partition is not merely the story of Delhi, Punjab or Bengal. It is also part and parcel of the history of the Northeast,” he said, urging students to explore the regional experiences of Partition more closely.
He urged students to remember the victims and survivors of Partition, study history from different perspectives, question rumours and stereotypes, verify information and reject communal propaganda. He also called upon them to respect people belonging to different religions, communities, castes, classes and linguistic backgrounds.
The observance served as a reminder of the immense human cost of Partition and the need for younger generations to remember its victims, learn from its history and work towards a more peaceful and inclusive society.
