Abstract

People have moved many a times from one place to another. Ideally such movements should be voluntary but it is not always so. There are several instances, in the history of mankind, of mass migrations to escape perceived prosecutions on the name of racial/ ethnic cleansing, political strategies etc. A few of these experiences, especially of the modern times, are well-documented and attracted people with the human sensitivity belonging to the academia and non-academia too. The partition of India in 1947 is one such major event in the modern history of South Asia. This division, beyond questioning, was a political agenda but its aftermath and the mass immigration were never thought of. Undoubtedly, the partition was not inevitable; India's independence was inevitable. The preservation of its unity was a prize that was paid, in our plural society for absentia of high statesmanship. There were many other reasons that deprived us of that prize - personal hubris, miscalculation, and narrowness of outlook (Noorani, 65).

Key words: Partition, Politics, Religion, Communalism, Adha Gaon, Train to Pakistan.