Bengal Partition Stories ― An Unclosed Chapter

This book throws new light on post-colonial evaluations of the Partition and its effect on eastern India. Until very recently, a striking state of ‘near silence’ has existed concerning the violence encountered by those who fled across the Bengal border. Bengal Partition Stories addresses this silence through the retelling of stories inspired by the division of Bengal, the mass exodus that followed and their repercussions on the cultural, social and economic character of the region, modern India as a whole and the newly-formed nation of Bangladesh. Despite numerous critical enquiries into the history, politics and social dynamics that contributed to the partition of Bengal, there remains a distinct lack of in-depth exploration into the personal experiences of those directly affected. Through oral histories, interviews and fictional retellings of the event and its aftermath, Bengal Partition Stories seeks to fill this gap by unearthing and articulating the collective memories of a people traumatised by the brutal division of their homeland. Through oral histories, interviews and fictional retellings of the event and its aftermath, Bengal Partition Stories seeks to fill this gap by unearthing and articulating the collective memories of a people traumatised by the brutal rupture of their homeland.

Dr Bashabi Fraser is currently a Lecturer in English Literature at Napier University and an Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh University. She has authored many publications and her most recent titles include A Meeting of Two Minds: the Geddes-Tagore Letters (2005) and Tartan & Turban (2004, a poetry collection). She has just finished an epic poem entitled From the Ganga to the Tay (Edinburgh: Luath Press, 2008).