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The 1947 British subdivision of colonial India into Pakistan and the independent Indian nation caused the loss of 500,000 lives and the relocation of millions-one of the most extensive movement of peoples ever.
After centuries of coexistence, Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims became victims of mutual suspicion as violence swept through the countryside. The resulting mass relocations of these groups transformed village populations overnight.
In DIVISION OF HEARTS ordinary people from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh - cartdrivers, laborers, tradespeople, farmers - tell this history and recount their own tumultuous experiences. Their memories, combined with archival news film, bear witness to the traumatic birth of two independent nations.
'The real success of this well-produced film is that the refugees' repeated 'why?' and 'what was achieved by this division of hearts?' finds a responsive echo within our own hearts when we view the communal strife in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and in India itself where Sikhs were burnt alive in the haven to which they fled at Partition.' -The Sikh Messenger
'Tells the survivors' stories in graphic and realistic descriptions and visuals. Recommended.' -Landers Film and Video Reviews
'Poignant... an interesting video well worth viewing by South Asian scholars and students.' -W.W. Reinhardt, Choice
'Pick of the Day... An extraordinary slice of history.' -Elizbeth Cowley, Daily Mail (London)
Citation
Main credits
Chappell, Peter (film director)
Chappell, Peter (film producer)
Chappell, Peter (cinematographer)
Khanna, Satti (screenwriter)
Khanna, Satti (film director)
Anthropology; Asia; Bangladesh; Cultural Anthropology; Geography; Global Studies; History (World); Human Geography; India; Migration; Pakistan; Sociology; South Asia
Keywords
Pakistan; India; Bangladesh; partition; migration; forced migration; Indian; creation; South Asia; division; subdivision; 1947; upheaval; regional; refugees; documentary; film; video; subcontinent; Independence of India; raj; communal; violence; borders; DVD; regional geography; human populations; political history; historical geography; "Division of Hearts"; Icarus Films;
WEBVTT
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[sil.]
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Amritsar in the East Punjab
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is one of the places which has suffered very
heavily in the communal fighting in recent weeks.
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It’s the holy city of the Sikhs who with Hindus
have been engaged in localized civil war
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against the Muslims. And caused the railway
station in Pakistan, Sikh and Hindu
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dead and wounded add to causalities.
These are huge and still mounting.
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Meanwhile, there’s a worse trek by Sikh and Hindu
refugees making their way as best they can
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from areas in Pakistan to the
competitive safety of Indian territory.
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Where communities are so mixed, it is of course
impossible to go boundaries which will segregate Hindus
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on the one hand, Muslims on the other. The result is
that there are two virtual migrations in progress.
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For Muslim refugees, in their tens and thousands
are fleeing from India into Pakistan.
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It was a fore gone conclusion that something like
this would happen when British authority withdrew
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and Britain sympathy undoubtedly goes out
to all the peoples of the two new dominions
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at this time of trial.
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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In August 1947, the British
withdrew from India.
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Two centuries of colonial rule had sharpen
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religious difference and many
Muslims felt, they would be secure
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only in a Muslim homeland
to be called Pakistan.
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Hindus and Sikhs felt they
would be secure in India.
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This film is the story of ordinary people.
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It is the story of their bewildered migration
and the slow re-building of their lives.
