Untold Partition Stories

I hosted ‘Untold Partition Stories…celebrating Pakistan Independence Day on Saturday 12 August.

We had a packed audience as clearly there was a huge appetite to listen to the history of partition from a Muslim perspective and share experiences and stories in a safe space.

Many said they have never had that safe space to speak about what they’ve gone through.

Partition was one of the darkest moments of the 20th century. There was the displacement of 15 million people and over 1 million people lost their lives.

I spoke about Indian partition history and the role of Muhammad Ali Jinnah - the Father of Pakistan.

I also interviewed author Samina Uddin who has written ‘ Delhi nights to London lights’ which is a loving memoir to her father. She talks about his experiences of partition, and how he and the family settled in London and the challenges that they faced.

I was touched by the many audience members who shared their own family stories and the trauma of partition – with many people getting emotional as they recounted the experiences.

There was an appetite to record our stories for future generations- a project we all need to work on as you can’t expect others to tell your story in an accurate way.

Feedback from audience