1947 Partition - Preparing Chappatis (Flat Bread)

A refugee camp in Lahore set up after the 1947 Partition of Indian subcontinent. The camps were not equipped to receive the scores of people arriving from across the border.

This image shows batches of chapatis (flat bread) being made for refugees settled in the camps. Food was scarce and diseases like cholera were rampant.

The chapatis were rationed. Each member of the household was entitled to two per day. Each household was given a ration card. Often families who lost loved ones at the camp did not declare their demise fearing a cut in ration. Usually volunteers were drawn from those who could read and write from amongst the refugees to assist with the rationing.

This image is from the collection of F.E. Chaudhry, the only known local Pakistani photographer who captured the events at the time.