Collection Highlights from the Partition Museum, Town Hall, Amritsar

The Partition of India was one of the most defining events in the Indian subcontinent’s history. Estimates suggest that up to 18 million people lost their homes and up to 2 million people lost their lives. The Partition Museum is the world’s first Museum dedicated to the Partition of 1947. It is a People’s Museum that aims to tell the stories of the millions impacted through oral histories, refugee artefacts, personal artefacts, letters, photographs and original documents from that time. Housed in the historic Town Hall building in Amritsar, which was constructed in 1870 by architect John Gordon, the Museum is located at the beginning of the heritage street in Amritsar, a 5-minute walk from the Golden temple. The building used to house the court of small causes, city police headquarters, municipal offices, a free library, and a meeting room. It suffered severe damage during the Punjab uprising of 1919, and was subsequently rebuilt, witnessing violence again in 1947. The Partition Museum opened on 17 August 2017, marking the day as Partition Remembrance Day, as it was on 17 August 1947 that the actual boundaries of India and Pakistan were announced. The Partition Museum comprehensively charts the Partition with a narrative arc that moves from the time before Partition, proceeds to the independence movement, the social, cultural and political events of the decades leading to 1947, and ultimately the Partition and its consequences. Here are some of the highlights from our collection!

Now a collectable item, these textile labels act as great sources of historical records to show shifts in design and printing techniques, while also throwing light on historical trade routes, systems and businesses. During the colonial period, Bombay, Calcutta, and Amritsar rose as prominent trading centres for textile industry. In Amritsar, it was the Hall Bazaar near Town Hall that became a landmark for textile trading.

A certificate for permission to sit in the presence of a British official is testament to the many humiliations Indians faced during the Raj. Generously donated by Amar Kapur.

The Young India weekly journal was published by Mahatma Gandhi from 1919 to 1931, and used by him to spread his ideology of non-violence and resistance against the British.

In 1933, Rahmat Ali, a student in Cambridge, coined the name “PAK-STAN” from an acronym of the provinces in the North-West.

Meeting with Indian Leaders on 2 June 1947. From Lord Mountbatten’s left: Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Sardar Rab Nishtar, Sardar Baldev Singh, Acharya Kripalani, Sardar Patel, and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Some of the most iconic photographs of the Partition show refugees traveling on train carriages. So large were the numbers of refugees that they had to find space to sit on roofs, in doorways and on the engines of both goods and passenger trains. Courtesy: “Refugee Travel between India and Pakistan”, The Railway Gazette, 24 October 1947.

The thali and katori made of kansa metal, and lassi glass made of brass, were owned by Kamal Bammi’s family before Partition. They were brought across from their house in Lahore by a Muslim friend of the family, when he traveled from Pakistan to visit them in Delhi in 1949. Generously donated by Kamal Bammi.

This pocket watch belonged to Pt. Devi Dass of Nowshera, now in Pakistan. He got separated from his family and for weeks they had no news of him. One day, an acquaintance of Devi Dass, Kishori Lal was helping with the mass cremation of unclaimed bodies when he recognized the body of Devi Dass. He removed the watch from his pocket and later advertised in a daily newspaper, asking any surviving family members to collect the watch from him. The family thus came to know he was no more. Generously donated by Sudershana Kumari.

Susheila Hotchand Shahani was a microbiology student at the D.J. Sind College, affiliated with the University of Bombay. This is her Bachelor of Science degree certificate conferred in 1945. Soon after Partition, Susheila left Karachi with her mother and two younger sisters and came to Bombay by steamer. Donated to the Partition Museum by Susheila's brother, Mohan H. Shahani.

The movement of people across the border took a different form in Bengal as compared to Punjab. West Bengal had 5 million Muslims in a total of 21 million, while East Bengal had 11 million Hindus in a total of 39 million, almost equal percentages of the minority communities. Initially, cross-border movement was limited. However, communal riots later triggered migration a few years after independence. Between February and April 1950, riots led to a million and a half people migrating. Because a lot of migration in Bengal happened after 1947-48, this was viewed as economic migration by the government, reducing the official aid that displaced persons received. Photo: This Dhakai Sari, gifted to Bakul Chanda at her Wedding in 1951, was carried by her when she migrated in 1955 from Comilla, (then) East Pakistan to India. Generously donated to the Partition Museum by Bakul Chanda.

Forced to migrate from East Pakistan to India, Sunil Chandra Ghosh shared a very close bond with his mother. She used this rosary to pray when she was alive. He kept it safely as a remembrance of his mother, whom he credits as being his strength as long as she lived. Generously donated by Sunil Chandra Ghosh.

The Partitioning of the subcontinent meant that everything needed to be divided between India and Pakistan, down to office equipment and books, for the use of the two governments. However, even as August 1947 approached, the boundaries were left unclear and a vast majority of the people did not know they would belong to which country.

Phulkari, which literally translates as 'Flower Work', is synonymous with the culture of Punjab. The embroidery is made with a darn stitch on the wrong/reverse side of cloth with coloured silken thread. Phulkari has strong roots in community activity, as it was carried out by women of different households who would sit together to create exquisite phulkaris for their daughters. Our museum houses a variety of Phulkari embroidery items spread throughout to emphasise the essence of how partition had an effect on the intangible cultural heritage. Generously donated by Chhote Lal Bharany.

During Partition, Humayun's Tomb, along with Purana Qila and Safdarjung's Tomb, became a major refugee site in Delhi. It first housed Muslims who were migrating to Pakistan, and later provided refuge to Hindus and Sikhs coming in from Pakistan.

This medal was awarded to Gauhar Singh Waraich for his service to the British Indian Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer. He returned to his family after he retired in January 1947. But once the riots started, he was called upon to serve at the refugee camps. His ailing wife and five children navigated their journey from Radiala (now in Pakistan) to Amritsar on their own. His wife died of tuberculosis and was no more when he was finally reunited with his family in November 1947. Generously donated by his great-grandson, Gurshamshir Waraich.

The chaos and violence of Partition affected so many, but it’s impact on women was arguably greater. This sculpture by camp commander S.L. Parasher, was made from the earth of Ambala’s Baldev Nagar refugee camp, and speaks to the unspeakable violence inflicted on so many women during the time.

Born in Gujranwala, west Punjab (now Pakistan) in 1904, Parasher took his masters degree in English literature from the Forman Christian College, Lahore. In 1936, he joined the Mayo School of Art as a lecturer and vice principal. Towards 1947, Parasher’s first hope was of staying on in Pakistan. This was not to be – he had to move to Shimla, then to Bombay, and  finally settled in Delhi. Through these tumultuous times, emblazoned on several paintings, sketches, even sculptures, is Parasher’s experience of the agony, trauma, belongingness, alienation, and hope vis-à-vis the Partition. A fiercely private man, Parasher did not let anyone see this work, and it was discovered only after his death.

This has been made available to the Partition Museum, courtesy Parasher’s family.

Sudershana Kumari was 8 years old during Partition. Her family was displaced from their home due to the riots, and barely escaped with their lives. While waiting at a camp for an army truck to take them across the border, she found this tin box in the ruins of a broken down house. She thought of her dolls that she had left behind in Sheikhupura and decided to take the box to keep her her new dolls in her new home. Generously donated by Sudershana Kumari.

Amar Kapur, Asif Khwaja, Agha Raza and Rishad Haider grew up together in Lahore and graduated from St. Anthony's School. Amar's family migrated to Delhi in 1947 and the friends lost touch with each other. They finally reconnected in 1949. “[We] assure you with the utmost sincerity that distance has not made the slightest difference in our love and affection for you; that we remember you, and remember you very often, with the same brotherly feeling that for so long characterised our relations.”

This letter was written to Amar Kapur by his friend Asif Khwaja, after the Kapurs had left Lahore after Partition. Generously Donated to the Partition Museum by Amar Kapur 

"I was born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) in 1942. I vividly remember how I and my mother hid ourselves in a good's train and had been hit by stones. Somehow we reached India. Museum is a true depiction of many events. Generations will remember [the] sacrifices for freedom. My regards to the creator of the Museum." - Satish Kumar at the Partition Museum.