Legacy of Partition 1947-2009 Exhibition

‘From Calcutta comes news of Gandhi’s “miracle”... on Monday he began a fast to end only if sanity returned to the city. On Thursday he was able to call it off after leaders of the various communities had given guarantees that the masses had already responded to the Mahatma’s appeal through soul resistance for a change of heart.’ Alan Campbell-Johnson 6 Sept. 1947

‘After one of his Prayer Meetings, Hindus and Muslims by their thousands mingled and embraced in the Maidan. Hardened Press correspondents report that they have seen nothing comparable with this demonstration of mass influence. Mountbatten’s estimate is that he has achieved by moral persuasion what four Divisions would have been hard pressed to have accomplished by force.’ Alan Campbell-Johnson, 6 Sept. 1947.

The Muslims in Bengal number 27,497,624 and the Hindus number 21,570,407. The difference is only of 5,927,217. This means that the Muslim majority in Bengal is only a majority of 12 p.c.

There was suddenly an air of suspicion, fear and anxiety… Then the most brutal riots broke out in Bihar.  Our parents decided to move temporarily to a refugee camp set up at the Palace of Sir Sultan Ahmad where we stayed for 22 days… Our parents decided to go to Calcutta as it was hoped that it will be a part of Pakistan and there was the Muslim League government with HS Suhrawardy as the Chief Minister... We stayed there for about two years but were not comfortable as there were constant communal hostilities and after the boundary commission award it was clear that Calcutta would not be in Pakistan. We then [in August 1948] migrated to Dacca, East Pakistan where my father and elder brother both got a job... Syed Faiyazuddin Ahmad

…when there were riots and things and endless problems between the races my father was obviously involved being on the railways because he used to tell my mother about these trains coming in with everybody killed on them, and they were very, very concerned because there was no communication between them and Darjeeling and for all they knew we could have been slaughtered up there. He wouldn't let my mother come up on the train to see how we were so he sent up his clerk to make sure we were all OK... Mrs Pamela Horsfall