Staff reporter
Guwahati: The state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) believes in observing “Horrors of Partition Remembrance Day” as a step toward historical justice, while holding the Congress party responsible for the 1947 Partition of India.
In a statement issued from the party’s state headquarters, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan, Chief Spokesperson Kishore Upadhyay said the Partition was one of the most devastating geopolitical events of the 20th century, yet it has not been given its due place in India’s national memory.
Upadhyay cited figures estimating that nearly two crore people were displaced and 15–20 lakh killed during the Partition. “Lakhs of women were abducted, raped, and forcibly converted. Entire trains arrived from Pakistan filled with the bodies of men, women, and children. Hindu and Sikh populations vanished from cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan,” he said.
The BJP leader highlighted the sharp demographic decline of minorities in neighbouring countries, pointing out that Hindus and Sikhs made up 15–20 percent of Pakistan’s population in 1947, but today account for less than 2 percent. In Bangladesh, the Hindu population dropped from 28 percent in 1947 to just 8 percent today—changes he attributed to “systematic persecution, forced conversions, discrimination, and violence.”
Accusing Congress of accepting the “separatism and communal politics” of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League, Upadhyay said the party “can never escape historic accountability” for Partition. He added that India never went through a truth and reconciliation process, nor has Congress sought forgiveness, compensated victims, or commemorated the tragedy on a national scale.
Upadhyay stressed that remembering Partition’s horrors is not about reopening old wounds, but acknowledging and healing them. “A society that wants to move forward must confront its past honestly,” he said.
He also noted that Partition’s trauma has lingered across generations through what scholars call “post-memory,” where descendants inherit the emotional burden despite not experiencing the event directly. Observing a Remembrance Day, he argued, would allow historical reflection, recognition of suffering, and foster intergenerational dialogue.
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