Lest We Forget
Partition of 1947 Archive & the "Never Again" Resolve
History Books & Original Source Materials on the Bloody Partition of India
Most of the academic research, history books, movies and fiction written about modern Indian history have avoided narrating the real facts and the actual bloodshed and trauma faced by the migrating population during the partition of India in 1947. In fact, many even distorted that history wilfully at the behest of vested interests. It is galling that they had the gumption to do so even while the victims of partition were still alive.
If those vested interests continue to hold sway, the present day and the coming generations who have no direct experience of Partition will be far easier to mislead.
Therefore, we have made a small beginning by dedicating this space for archival material which provides uncensored, undoctored information and insights into the forces that led to the Partition and the havoc they created.
We have begun by posting a number of rare books and materials that provide a glimpse into the deep scars and hurt that still haunt the soul of Mother India. These manuscripts are easy to access for reading and download.
We hope our readers will join in the endeavour to make this space a full fledged archive on the Bloody Partition of India in 1947 by sending us materials that they are aware of or can put together with some research. This may include video interviews with Partition survivors or sharing their personal diaries, if any. We hope this archive once fully deveolped will help the coming generation of researchers, historians, film makers, fiction writers to portray the reality without doctoring or distorting it.
1. Partition of India - SGPC Records (1946-47) Vol. 2, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (1946-47)
This volume of SGPC records some details of transfer of population from West to East and East to West Punjab and the amount of destruction and death of property and population following the partition of Punjab in 1947.
2. Photographs of the Rawalpindi Sikh Massacre (March, 1947), The National Printing Works, Mori Gate, Delhi (1947)
This collection of photographs showing charred bodies, demolished houses and Sikh shrines, heaps of human skulls, and photographs of four men (Sikhs) converted forcibly into Islam & all reveal the communal frenzy that gripped the people of west Punjab during the tragic days of India’s Partition in 1947.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/rawalpindi-riots-photographs-march-1947
3. Select Newspaper Coverage - Partition of India (1947)
Select newspaper coverage of the Partition of India (1947) from The Hindu, The Hindustan Times and The Statesman taken at the instance of Dr. Kirpal Singh, Incharge, Sikh History Research Department, Khalsa College, Amritsar.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/NewspapersPartitionofIndia1947
4. Khooni Saal Diyan Khooni Holiyan (Gurmukhi), Giani Kartar Singh (1947)
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/KhooniSaalDiyanKhooniHoliyan
5. 1947 Da Khooni Itihaas (Gurmukhi), Avtar Singh Bedi (1947)
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/1947-da-khooni-itihaas-gurmukhi
6. Partition of India - Report on Atrocities, Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation, Government of India (1948)
This volume contains official records of loss of life and property and atrocities committed on the migrating sections of population in the various parts of northwest frontier province and other Muslim dominated districts falling in the newly created Pakistan state.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/partition-of-india-atrocities-report
7. The Punjab Tragedy (1947), Prof. Darbara Singh (1949)
The truth about the happenings during the Partition of India in 1947.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/the-punjab-tragedy
8. Now It Can Be Told, Prof. Amar Nath Bali (1949)
Now It Can Be Told is a narrative of some of the events which followed the 1947 partition of India. In mainly deals with the riots which took place in West Punjab, in which Muslims attacked Sikhs and Hindus.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/now-it-can-be-told-partition-1947
9. Stern Reckoning, Justice Gopal Das Khosla (1949)
A Survey of the Events leading up to and following the Partition of India.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/stern-reckoning
10. Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947, Prof. Gurbachan Singh Talib (1950)
Published in 1950 by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947 is a narrative of some of the events around the Partition of India.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/GurbachanSinghTalib1950
11. Punjab Vich Sikhan-Hinduaan Upar Kite Gye Muslim Leeg De Hamle Di Vithiya 1947 (Gurmukhi), Prof. Gurbachan Singh Talib (1951)
Published in 1951 by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Punjab Vich Sikhan-Hinduaan Upar Kite Gye Muslim Leeg De Hamle Di Vithiya 1947 (Gurmukhi) is a narrative of some of the events around the Partition of India.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/GurbachanSinghTalib1951
12. A Diary of the Partition Days 1947, Dr. Ganda Singh (1960)
This diary was written by Dr. Ganda Singh, from several first-hand secret sources in 1946 and 1947, noting the activities of the Muslim Leaguers of Amritsar and Lahore.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/a-diary-of-the-partition-days-1947
13. The Partition Of The Punjab - Dr. Kirpal Singh's PhD Thesis (1966)
Thesis submitted for Ph.D. to the Punjab University, Chandigarh – Kirpal Singh, M.A., B.A. (Hons).
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/the-partition-of-the-punjab_202007/
14. The Partition Of The Punjab, Dr. Kirpal Singh (1972)
A true account exploring all the available materials from England, India and Pakistan on the Partition of India in 1947.
Download / Read: https://archive.org/details/the-partition-of-the-punjab
